By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed.
I came across an Instagram post the other day that said, “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but you already have 6 blank notebooks at home.”
At first, I laughed. But then I allowed my honest reaction to come through: “So what? And I want a seventh.”
From there, I started thinking about notebooks in general – their usefulness, their convenience, and how they represent possibility. (Like, have you ever really sat and thought about how a blank notebook can be the beginning of anything?!)
Anyway. That Instagram post and my subsequent daydream about all the potential uses for notebooks were the inspiration for this blog post.
Below, I’m sharing 14 ideas for using a blank notebook. I’m writing the list with analog (paper) notebooks in mind. There’s something magical about the tactile nature of a paper notebook you can flip through.
If you’re a diehard digital notebook fan, I strongly encourage you to go back to the 1990s and touch paper.
14 Ideas for Using a Blank Notebook
Quick note: I’m not suggesting you go out and buy 14 new notebooks for each idea below. Use what you have around the house, and maybe start with just one or two ideas from the list.
I’ve organized the 14 ideas into five categories for ease of reference, but some ideas could technically fit more than one category. Play around.
Planning and Productivity
1. Goals and long-term projects
Larger goals we have for our future selves don’t belong on a daily task list, but we need to put them somewhere. Use a blank notebook to list out goals of multiple time scales: for the next month, year, 5 years, or “someday.” I recommend reviewing these lists at least once a month to remind yourself of what you’re working toward and to update any goals that have changed.
2. Tasks
This one is obvious. A blank notebook is an awesome place to list out the tasks you need to do today and over the next week. The tasks can be related to school, work, or your personal life. You can keep an ongoing list, or create a new list on a fresh page each day.
Note: Using a blank notebook for managing school assignments can absolutely work, as long as you have a system behind it. It’s not about the tool you use…it’s about your method for using that tool. That’s exactly what I teach you in my Assignment Management Power System.
3. Active Inbox
This is one of my favorite ways to use a blank notebook. Whenever I’m working at the computer, I keep a blank notebook open on my desk. Whenever an idea or thought pops into my head that threatens my concentration, I quickly write it down so I can come back to it later. This strategy improves my ability to focus on whatever I’m working on.
I also use this Active Inbox notebook to write down things I need to remember before closing a tab, or anything I’ll need to complete the task I’m working on. For example, when I’m editing my Learn and Work Smarter podcast episodes, I write down all of the related episodes I mention in the recording so that I can add those episodes to the show notes later (without having to go back into the transcript to find them).
Learning and Knowledge
4. Study Notes
You probably already have a notebook to write lecture notes in. Cool. This is different. A Study Notes notebook is for doing something with your notes so that you can learn them (aka study).
Mindmapping and the blurting method are two terrific active recall study strategies that can help you learn your material. Both are easy to do in a dedicated Study Notes notebook. I have YouTube tutorials for each of those strategies:
5. Book Notes
This is another of my favorite uses for blank notebooks. Many people annotate their books, which can be super useful, but sometimes it’s best to extract information from the books we’re reading and put it somewhere we can easily access it. (Confused about annotating vs. note-taking? Here’s the answer.)
I have a single-purpose notebook just for my book notes, and it has become a valuable source of motivation and ideas over the years.
I mostly use it when I’m reading non-fiction business or educational books, and here’s what I do:
- Read my book with my notebook open beside me
- Every time I encounter a strategy I want to try or an idea I want to explore further, I write it down in the notebook
- Every few weeks, I review my notes and choose which ones I want to act on.
- Finally, I add those ideas as tasks to my task management system (you guessed it, which is also in a notebook).
Creativity and Thinking
6. Ideas
You never know when a good idea will strike. And, you never know when an idea you have will turn out to be a good one! A blank notebook is perfect for capturing all the random ideas you have, so that you can return to them later and decide whether you’ll turn them into goals (see #1 above) or put them on your daily or weekly task list (see #2 above).
7. Brainstorms
Brain dumps (see #12 below) and brainstorms are different. Brainstorms are awesome for thinking through ideas, decisions, projects, or whatever else is on your mind. You can easily use a blank notebook to make pros/cons lists, decision trees, or SWOT analyses. (SWOT analysis stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; it’s a cool brainstorming framework that encourages you to view an idea from all possible angles.)
8. Writing
I’m probably the only person in the universe who has ever had this idea, but blank notebooks are excellent to …write in.
Bahahah.
Actually, though, if you’re a creative writer and like to write stories, there’s something so different about handwriting them vs. typing them. I know typing has its advantages, but at least for the early creative process, try writing your story outline or ideas by hand.
Reflection and Self-Awareness
9. One-Sentence-a-Day Journaling
Journaling can be intimidating. The thought of “What the heck do I write?” can prevent you from ever writing a single word. Of course, my primary recommendation is to start your journaling journey with my Executive Function Journal so that your daily journaling habit also develops your executive functions.
But if you already have a blank notebook lying around, you can try the one-sentence-a-day journaling method. That’s exactly what it sounds like. Write just one sentence a day. It can be a thought you had, the best part of your day, something you’re grateful for – there are no rules here.
10. Gratitude List
Gratitude is a baller thing to practice. According to the American Brain Foundation, “When we feel grateful, neurotransmitters trigger activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the ventral striatum, and the insula. These brain regions are involved in cognitive functions like higher-order thinking, decision-making, emotional awareness, and motivation.” (source) I mean, right?!
You can use an empty notebook to keep track of small things you’re grateful for every day (kind of like one-sentence-journaling in #9 above), or simply as a place to write down things you’re grateful for whenever they occur to you.
11. Motivation
I got this idea from a student of mine. She has a notebook she uses just to capture motivating thoughts, quotes, and ideas. Sometimes she writes down times when she was ultra motivated, so that she can recreate those conditions later. This is another one of those scenarios where there are no rules. Find something motivating? Write it down. You don’t need to explain.
Everyday Life
12. Brain Dumps
Brain dumps are awesome. They can reduce anxiety and help separate worries from tasks. I have a basic brain dump tutorial here. But when you join SchoolHabits University, you get my complete Brain Dump Mini Course as a free bonus, and that’s where the real magic happens.
13. Lists
I’ve written a blog post called “10 Lists Every Student Should Have.” I encourage you to check that out. My personal favorite is #4.
14. Night Table Ideas
Okay, this is another of my favorite uses for a blank notebook. I’ve been doing this for over twenty years. Keep a small notebook on your night table, next to your bed. Use it to write down any thoughts, ideas, worries, tasks, or reminders that pop into your head as you’re falling asleep.
Trying to “remember things for the morning” as we’re trying to sleep is a recipe for disaster, which is why writing them down before bed can relieve your stress and improve your sleep hygiene. Just be sure to check the notebook in the morning and move any tasks you wrote down into your task management system.
Final Notes About Blank Notebooks
Let’s go back to the Instagram post that I mentioned at the top of this blog post, the one that inspired me to write this list. I get the idea behind it … I really do. The author was making the point that another notebook will never take the place of the most powerful tool there is: action. And that’s true. I say that all the time. In fact, I have an entire podcast titled “The Secret Behind Every Accomplishment Ever” – and let me spoil the secret now: action. Action is the secret.
With that said, every powerful action I ever took started with an idea I wrote in a notebook. So if you’re the same as me, and you’ve got a bunch of blank notebooks lying around, I don’t want them to trigger shame. I want them to trigger action. Now go get it.
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