I'm so impressed!!!!!! I love how you use yours for EVERYTHING. The element of art (sketches and collages) are especially cool.
I've been keeping a joint notebook with two friends since 2016. Each of us has a journal at any given time, and then about 4 times a year, we mail to the next person. That way, it feels both like journaling, but also like writing a letter to a friend. It's "journaling for an audience," if you will. I like to call it Sisterhood of the Traveling Journals :)
The journals began when we were 22. We documented the most turbulent time of our lives! First jobs, losing jobs, relationships, engagements & marriages, moving states, moving countries, making friends, losing friends, having a child, etc. I feel I know them on their deepest level, and they know me.
And you're so right about sometimes not liking the person you see on the page, or reading back on an old entry and not recognizing that part of you anymore. It's fascinating and I wouldn't trade it for the world!
I don’t know why I have never thought to put everything in one notebook! As a huge supporter of the one pile method for any papers/documents I need to archive, the one notebook method speaks loads to me. Time is the best organizer. Thanks!
It takes a bit of organization work, but I love it. The index is key. I get to see everything I was up to and thinking about at a certain time all in one place. Thanks for reading!
I loved your description of why, with all of the fantastic samples here, Nathaniel! Keeping one book makes lots of sense, and I've shifted toward this idea, too. As of late last year, I keep a separate health journal to track those details, but my primary notebook is a bullet journal, which is also practical and not done for the beauty of it.
Thanks Mike! I use a pocket notebook for when I’m out and about, but I love knowing there’s just one book to use for everything. Like not having to choose what you’re going to wear.
Loved this so much! I also keep a notebook that is like a commonplace notebook meets journal. A mix of everything. And it has made my life so much better ❤️
I don't keep a bullet journal, but I do write in my leather diary every day. Mostly, what I write is mundane; I've become comfortable with the fact that my journal is NOT being written to impress other people. It's written so that, when I'm elderly, I'll have a way to revisit the person I am now--even the mediocre parts of her. Excellent article - thanks!
I do the same! The only thing i'm intentionally adding this year is a constant reflection/check in /review, cause i lost track of the practice and my notebook becomes just full of stuff and chaos. I love yours!
i never realized how much shame i felt around journaling (and therefore myself, my emotions, existing, etc.) until i saw someone share the contents of their journal--something i never would have dreamed of doing myself until today. words cannot describe how much i appreciate this post and how it inspires me to live shamelessly. thank you for being yourself !
Loved this one... I've kept a journal for almost 4 years now, and as the year is ending, my mind gets cocky about getting a second or third book for junk journaling and commonplace writing. Voila! Appears this article.
The thought and pressure of having to fill and finish multiple notebooks by the end of the year is too much. Although, I realized how difficult it is to write in the notebook when it has become unbelievably thick from all the junk you've pasted. So, I'm planning to get a second notebook lasting me maybe 2 years for just junk journaling.
My notebook is my lifeline. It's where I scribble down half baked ideas that more often than not end up blooming into song ideas. I quite honestly don't know where I'd be without it.
All well said. I had kept a "girl's" diary when I was a pre-teen (small bound red dimestore book with a clasp lock), then stopped keeping one until my last year of college/art school (UMich, believe it or not), when my father began to pressure me about my future and what the hell I was planning to do with this studio art & academics degree. So at age 21 I started using a spiral notebook with grid paper to let me do both sketches & writing. Continued using that until I moved to NYC 2 years later; started using the usual horizontal-lined college spiral for writing and real skechbooks for drawing and visual ideas. I still do both now as a 72-year old (having never really stopped). Life has been full of changes that I had to make note of -- and, like you, I've experienced dementia in my family (both father and mother, at the same time but in different ways) such that I needed to have some sort of baseline documentation as to where my memories were now living. I have hundreds of these notebooks stashed away in boxes in my apt., rarely taking a look at them (probably wouldn't be able to find a particular event I needed to see anyway). It's satisfying to know they're here and will outlast me (they actually held up pretty well in a big apt fire in NYC in 2000!).
Keep it up, Nathaniel! It's gratifying that there are other folks out there understanding how valuable a tool notebooks are for extending our cognitive and creative powers, esp as we age and realize the brain is otherwise dispatching memories to the dustbin of the universe before we're able to really appreciate them anymore.
Regular printer, Polaroids, and then I also got a mini printer that connects to my phone and prints about Polaroid size. I wouldn’t say the quality of my particular model is very good, though.
So far everything has held up okay, but I imagine there could be some issues in the future. My librarian wife suggested putting paper on the glossy prints so they don’t stick to pages down the road, but so far I haven’t bothered haha.
I should maybe post more attention to the archivability but I don’t want it to get in the way of me using the notebook freely or how I want to in the moment, you know?
My family has a long history of Alzheimer's, so this resonated with me. Forgive me if this has been asked and answered in the comments already but...favorite brand of notebook?
Thanks! I just ordered a Leuchtturm A5 120g...my first experience, and just starting some collage/art journaling. Looking forward to it. Love your work...thanks for the inspiration!
I'm so impressed!!!!!! I love how you use yours for EVERYTHING. The element of art (sketches and collages) are especially cool.
I've been keeping a joint notebook with two friends since 2016. Each of us has a journal at any given time, and then about 4 times a year, we mail to the next person. That way, it feels both like journaling, but also like writing a letter to a friend. It's "journaling for an audience," if you will. I like to call it Sisterhood of the Traveling Journals :)
The journals began when we were 22. We documented the most turbulent time of our lives! First jobs, losing jobs, relationships, engagements & marriages, moving states, moving countries, making friends, losing friends, having a child, etc. I feel I know them on their deepest level, and they know me.
And you're so right about sometimes not liking the person you see on the page, or reading back on an old entry and not recognizing that part of you anymore. It's fascinating and I wouldn't trade it for the world!
Paige, I ADORE this. Please tell me you have plans to scan and/or archive these books!
Now I do!! 😅
This is so interesting!
I don’t know why I have never thought to put everything in one notebook! As a huge supporter of the one pile method for any papers/documents I need to archive, the one notebook method speaks loads to me. Time is the best organizer. Thanks!
It takes a bit of organization work, but I love it. The index is key. I get to see everything I was up to and thinking about at a certain time all in one place. Thanks for reading!
I loved your description of why, with all of the fantastic samples here, Nathaniel! Keeping one book makes lots of sense, and I've shifted toward this idea, too. As of late last year, I keep a separate health journal to track those details, but my primary notebook is a bullet journal, which is also practical and not done for the beauty of it.
Thanks Mike! I use a pocket notebook for when I’m out and about, but I love knowing there’s just one book to use for everything. Like not having to choose what you’re going to wear.
Loved this so much! I also keep a notebook that is like a commonplace notebook meets journal. A mix of everything. And it has made my life so much better ❤️
I don't keep a bullet journal, but I do write in my leather diary every day. Mostly, what I write is mundane; I've become comfortable with the fact that my journal is NOT being written to impress other people. It's written so that, when I'm elderly, I'll have a way to revisit the person I am now--even the mediocre parts of her. Excellent article - thanks!
I do the same! The only thing i'm intentionally adding this year is a constant reflection/check in /review, cause i lost track of the practice and my notebook becomes just full of stuff and chaos. I love yours!
i never realized how much shame i felt around journaling (and therefore myself, my emotions, existing, etc.) until i saw someone share the contents of their journal--something i never would have dreamed of doing myself until today. words cannot describe how much i appreciate this post and how it inspires me to live shamelessly. thank you for being yourself !
Loved this one... I've kept a journal for almost 4 years now, and as the year is ending, my mind gets cocky about getting a second or third book for junk journaling and commonplace writing. Voila! Appears this article.
The thought and pressure of having to fill and finish multiple notebooks by the end of the year is too much. Although, I realized how difficult it is to write in the notebook when it has become unbelievably thick from all the junk you've pasted. So, I'm planning to get a second notebook lasting me maybe 2 years for just junk journaling.
"To remind myself that I get depressed in winter, and that that is okay."
Me too. I also get depressed in winter. It's reconforting to hear "that is okay" about it ❤
this is rad as hell dude
I bought a notebook and have been using it for a week now and it's loosely based on your system! Thanks!
My notebook is my lifeline. It's where I scribble down half baked ideas that more often than not end up blooming into song ideas. I quite honestly don't know where I'd be without it.
Absolutely love how you yours as well!
Take care,
Mo
All well said. I had kept a "girl's" diary when I was a pre-teen (small bound red dimestore book with a clasp lock), then stopped keeping one until my last year of college/art school (UMich, believe it or not), when my father began to pressure me about my future and what the hell I was planning to do with this studio art & academics degree. So at age 21 I started using a spiral notebook with grid paper to let me do both sketches & writing. Continued using that until I moved to NYC 2 years later; started using the usual horizontal-lined college spiral for writing and real skechbooks for drawing and visual ideas. I still do both now as a 72-year old (having never really stopped). Life has been full of changes that I had to make note of -- and, like you, I've experienced dementia in my family (both father and mother, at the same time but in different ways) such that I needed to have some sort of baseline documentation as to where my memories were now living. I have hundreds of these notebooks stashed away in boxes in my apt., rarely taking a look at them (probably wouldn't be able to find a particular event I needed to see anyway). It's satisfying to know they're here and will outlast me (they actually held up pretty well in a big apt fire in NYC in 2000!).
Keep it up, Nathaniel! It's gratifying that there are other folks out there understanding how valuable a tool notebooks are for extending our cognitive and creative powers, esp as we age and realize the brain is otherwise dispatching memories to the dustbin of the universe before we're able to really appreciate them anymore.
I love this. Thank you for sharing!
I can’t imagine what it was like for both parents to have some form of dementia at the same time. I’m glad you had your notebooks.
Reading this at the start of 2026, feels nice :^)
By the way, how do you paste photos from your phone into your journal?
Do you use a regular printer, or one of those mini printers with really good print quality? Like, how well do the prints hold up over time?
(maybe this is also a form of perfectionism that I rather put into practice by journaling, but I’m curious nevertheless haha)
Happy new year! I’ve done three things:
Regular printer, Polaroids, and then I also got a mini printer that connects to my phone and prints about Polaroid size. I wouldn’t say the quality of my particular model is very good, though.
So far everything has held up okay, but I imagine there could be some issues in the future. My librarian wife suggested putting paper on the glossy prints so they don’t stick to pages down the road, but so far I haven’t bothered haha.
I should maybe post more attention to the archivability but I don’t want it to get in the way of me using the notebook freely or how I want to in the moment, you know?
Hey, not bad, you’ve really tried out some options!
Totally reasonable, that last point: better smooth action than paralysis by choice.
I honestly can’t wait to be able to bring my notebook more to life with images .𖥔 ݁ ˖
And I’m going to keep the advice your librarian wife gave you, by the way, she sounds like a real authority on these kinds of topics, haha.
She did study archives, so that’s probably a good idea haha. I think she recommended a vellum or parchment style paper.
My family has a long history of Alzheimer's, so this resonated with me. Forgive me if this has been asked and answered in the comments already but...favorite brand of notebook?
Leuchtturm1917 A5, dot grid is my go-to!
I chose this one basically by process of elimination because it has: 250 pages, numbered pages, a dot grid option, and two bookmark ribbons.
Thanks! I just ordered a Leuchtturm A5 120g...my first experience, and just starting some collage/art journaling. Looking forward to it. Love your work...thanks for the inspiration!
This was lovely- thank you for the tour of your notebooks!