The Big Book of Everything and how to use it

I’ve been known to be a paper lover ever since I was born. That I’ve turned into a real notebook addict didn’t came as a surprise for anyone. My love for all things that fall into the category office supplies is a genetic thingie, put there by my father who still has a thing for fountain pens and good paper to write on.

What didn’t come as a surprise either is that I would start a diary about a zillion times and then rip out pages because I was not happy with what I wrote and how I wrote it. Of course I couldn’t really use the notebook again, because who would want to write in a diary with ripped out pages? Who, I ask you? *you can put drama mode off now*

Diaries and notebooks are one thing, but you can add journals, calendars, list books, and even the digital versions of those to the list. I’ve never managed to stick. And then I came across the concept of bullet journaling. I though that could be it for me and I eagerly waited for a new month to start – in a new notebook of course. Guess what? It didn’t work for me. I still like the idea a lot though. So I tweaked it a little. And came up with The Big Book of Everything.

Use it as what it’s meant for: everything. No more loose lists, calendars, apps, diaries: if you can write it down, you can put it in the book. I use it for my to do lists, my grocery shopping lists, journaling, doodling, meeting notes, student results, you could stick pictures or tickets or scraps or snippets in it if you’d like. You decide. It’s yours, and it has no specific function but keep you from getting overwhelmed by keeping track of where you can find which information.

 

Doodle away. It makes your book look pretty and working in a pretty book encourages you to use it even more. You could have fun with stickers and colors and full page drawings, putting pictures in it or dried leaves. Heck, you could even put in a lock of hair if you’d want to. It is The Big Book of Everything after all and it’s yours.

 

Choose a notebook that suits you. I can’t help it but I really love Moleskines. I recently switched to a larger format and I chose a bright color for variation. I like it! I like the feel of the pages, the lining, the fact that it stays open once you start to write on a page. Choose one that’s big enough to have some breathing space while writing, but small enough to travel with you. Everywhere.

Breathe because you know it’s there. Really. You can transfer appointments to a family calendar, because the date, hour, phone number are in your book. You’ll have ideas for blogposts jotted down and maybe some posts written out. You will have recorded what you’ve done on a certain rainy day and what kind of activities your child actually likes. You’ll remember how to remake that fabulous dressing because you scribbled down what’s in it. You can easily compose a grocery list (in that same book) because you’ve marked all the things that you should buy with a little star for future reference. To me, this book is a life saver.

 

 

Sharing with
Natasha @ Say g’day Saturday
Suzanne @ Saturday Sparks