I already gave this one away in my last post, so I figured I should go ahead and post about it. Also, it makes more sense to do the notebook before I get to a couple other items. You will have to stick around and read to see what I mean. After the notebook though, I am going to drastically switch gears on the next item.
Growing up, I hated to write. It was like torture. I managed to work my way into all the advanced placement classes concerning, and to this day I have no idea how I did that. I currently write, when inspired, for two publications, one a web-based magazine, and the other a printed magazine. I still don’t consider myself a “writer”, I just tend to write how things come out, and I am sure folks that know more about grammar than me would just be appalled by what I write :)
I gave that bit of background because I find it extremely ironic that I love to write now, and spend so much time doing it. Some is made available publicly, but much is kept in a private journal.
A few of years ago, I tried keeping a journal and it only lasted for a month or two. I have three kids, and at the time only had one. Mostly it was about funny stuff he said and did. A few months ago, I found it, re-read it, and it was a blast! Some of the things I remembered as if they happened yesterday. Other stuff was a strain to remember. It was the stuff that strained my memory that scared the crap out of me, and prompted me to begin keeping a journal again.
I make it habit to write in it everyday, even if it is only a couple of minutes. Once it becomes a habit it does not seem like a forced activity that takes a tremendous amount of time. At the very end of this post, I will give you a couple ideas of things that can get you kicked off into other topics.
As I got back into journaling again, most of my initial writing relvoled around what the kids and the family were doing. As that seemed to be the general “theme” for my journal, I was afraid to throw in other entries about the random stuff running through my head. Perhaps it is the……I hate to say it…….the engineer in me……but that just seemed to disorganized for my brain. My solution was to come up with different physical books that had a loose theme. If you do some google searching, you will also find that this is a big topic and there are tons of other resources on this as well. For me, my journal themes are as follows:
Kids/Family: Pretty self explanatory. I write about the small things that happen with the kids and family. The big stuff I am sure I will remember, but the funny little things that are said and done have become priceless.
Me: I keep one about me and my thoughts. If you get into the habit of just writing something, you will probably find that other ideas creep into your head, and then you think “I should write about that.” I find that my own brain runs a mile a minute. I will have a fleeting thought, which is definitely worth dwelling upon. If I do nothing, the thought and feeling is usually lost. If I actually write about it, I examine further and usually come to a better understand of why the thought was in my head in the first place.
Outdoors: I like to keep a journal that captures the outdoor adventures of me, me and the kids, or the whole family. It can be about actual events, or used to record sketches and descriptions of trees, plants and wildlife. Unfortunately, this book has not been getting much use as my woods time as been minimum by some recent events. I am not complaining, because it was purposely chosen stuff, but is still a fact.
The possibility for journal themes is practically endless. You can have them about holidays, book reviews, your favorite hobby, vacations, wine or food, etc. I think the real important thing is to write about what you like.
Alas, I am getting a bit off track. The intent was to review a notebook, wasn’t it? My thinking is that if I am going to put all this time and effort into coming up with themes, writing a few minutes every day, with the intention of keeping it around for a good long time, I want to put those things in the appropriate container, right? Not a typical sprial notebook, with cheap quality paper in which can get pulled out of the notebook. What I use exclusively is Moleskine’s Extra Large Notebook.
Yes, I do agree that they are overpriced. Their marketing has done a good job of making them desireable, at least to me. If you overstretch the elastic band, it may get longer. If you have a pouch in the back, it may become ripped. But, my experience is that they hold up extremely well, especially to being carried every day. They show their signs of wear, but I have yet to lose a page, or tear anything. My son also has one of the smaller versions that he draws in, and it kicked around in the bed of our pickup truck for about 6 months. It has a topper on it, but stuff is always getting thrown in and out, and sometimes the bed was treated like extra storage : ) When he found it again, he started using it and you would never know the difference.
The other big reason for these for me is the paper quality is consistent and writes well with many different inks (which is yet again a topic for another time). In the end, for as long as it takes to fill one up, and the for the length of time I intend to keep them around, the cost per book, considering the value of what it holds it relatively negligble.
There are tons of different sizes available and hardcover or softcover. I find that the Extra Large is the only one I like to write extensively in. The smaller ones seem like they are better for taking down abbreviated thoughts, small notes, or even making lists. But sometimes when I write, it can be pages and I want the size page of the Extra Large book. At 7.5” by 10” it is not quite the size of your typical piece of paper, but the size works out great for me.
Now, if you find that the cheapie notebook is better for you, and you are afraid to carrying something expensive everywhere, then awesome! Do what works for you for sure. Especially when starting out. But, this post is supposed to be about my stuff :)
Finally, I am going to finish off this post with giving you some ideas for something to write about, should you want to give this journaling thing a try. First, if you do some google searching on “journal prompts” you will find loads of information. Some good, some not so good. But, it will probably keep you reading for quite a long time :) That is one option. Another good one is to simply write about what you love. You have to be into something, or enjoy something immensly. My only comment here is to pick something that happens regularly. If you love skiing in the French Alps, but only do it once every two years it is probably not a topic that is going to get you in the habit of keeping a journal :) It doesn’t have to be something big and grand, just start doing it. Finally, if all else fails, try this:
Write only 2 or 3 sentences per day. The topic 5 awesome things that happened today. If you like to write in the evening, it should be about the current day. If you like to write in the morning, like I do, it should be about the previous day. This doesn’t have to be about grand stuff either. It can be stuff like “I got out of work 10 minutes early,” or “Read my son a book before bed.” This will do 3 things for you. First, it will get you in the habit of writing something every day. Second, by forcing you to think about your day, if only for a few minutes, you are likely to come up with topics that you can expand upon and therefore generate your own writing prompts. Finally, it really helps you feel better about your day. If you concentrate on these small but wonderful things that happen every day, how could you possibly be in a bad mood about all the little meaningless things that tend to bug us through the day :)
All right…..that is it for now. The next topic is going to be more manly……promise!
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