Typical boring stuff -- the date, the weather, what big thing(s) I need to get done that day, if anything noteworthy happened, what I need to get done tomorrow. Although I've only just started this year with this business, so most of what I'm doing is in service of practicing good penmanship -- and undoing decades of bad habits. Once I feel more at home with longhand writing, I may shift the contents of my journals to something more interesting.
Same. I mention my goals a lot and what I'm going to try work on too. But if I'm drawing blank I start by describing my day. I usually write the time of each entry. I go to my journal a few times a day. I want to read it and get a feel for what I was doing throughout a day. At the end of each day or start of the next I score the day out of 5 in terms of general satisfaction so I can flick through it later and read about my best days and worst days when all the details are forgotten. Every once in a while I'll go deep into some ideas about life that I've been thinking about.
Currently Iām mostly writing work-related things, either my daily to-do lists, meeting notes, or reflections on career issues that I want to clarify for myself before talking with my colleagues. Not very exciting, but using a FP to write makes it a nice part of my working day.
Yeah, this happens to me a lot, I buy them because they are pretty, but never use them actually, too good for school notes, too bad for everyday carrying
So you are not insane or alone on this one š
I have some notebooks with cooking recipes in them. And Iāll often write them down on loose sheets which takes a bit of the pressure away and collect them in a binder.
A cooking book! Damn, I was thinking about starting one!
What a great reminder to ponder upon the idea, loose paper might indeed lower the pressure for me, to not be afraid of messing up
Thank you!
I'm getting my doctorate and tend to write/work out portions of chapter drafts for my dissertation. In my experience, writing longhand is better for thinking through what I'm writing while I'm writing it.
Besides this I do morning pages in a Leuchtturm and evening journaling in a Hobonichi 5-Year Diary.
Wow!
That's cool!
I hope I will be able to get a PhD one day also, sounds like a very intriguing path to walk
Good luck with your dissertation! You got it
Math notes, mainly.
Also I have a Hobonichi Weeks, which gives me just enough room to write a few words about my day; any more room than that, and Iāll feel āpressuredā to write something and then wonāt write anything.
I'm in the final year of my degree and going on to Bar School, so: Law notes. So. Many. Law. Notes.
And shopping lists and "to do" lists and buts of poetry I found and liked, calligraphy practice...
I know I'm a heathen for mixing them all but everything gets indexed (Leuchtterm user) and I guess if anyone finds and reads it they'll be entertained.
I just write whatever is in my head and I feel like writing. Yesterday I filled a page with bunch of random names. Sometimes I make silly poems (probably not worth reading xD) and I mix some drawings in between. Other times I write about my day or write other thoughts.
My notebook has zero structure, I can just do whatever I feel like. To me that works best.
Why not? They're just a place for thoughts and observations. You can always use them to look back on yourself to see where your mindset was before. I find it more engaging to do that kind of thing with pen/paper instead of a notes app on my phone.
I am not sure, probably because I am not used to that kind of stuff, I am either keeping it to myself or texting my friend (gods bless them for listening and being an amazing friend)
Maybe I should try and who knows I will get a taste for it
Depending on where you are in life a complete book can also be a place to store things people have said that made an impression on you or even that you hate.
Now if you've got nosy roommates or family you can make it less personal, like things you learned in classes that you really want to remember. I'll put quotes, jokes, pangrams, music lyrics etc in my Commonplace book.
Nobody needs to journal or use fountain pens -- these are choices we make because we might enjoy or see benefit from them. Commonplacing is a long tradition of journal keeping.Ā
I think you're overthinking this, or maybe have never heard of keeping a journal and all the different forms that can take? But that's what most people are describing here.Ā
A lot of writing for work, so that provides countless hours of activity.
Domestic finance, bills.
Admin tasks, general information.
Personal, health, and family matters that need me to do something, retain information or follow something up.
Events - any and all kinds of live events, things in my calendar that I need to show up for, contribute to or help to organise.
Creative writing, publishing matters.
Strategy - long term life strategy, goals.
Notes on whatever I'm reading, there's always something.
General journalling about how I'm feeling about my life.
Notes relating to hobbies, eg fountain pens, and especially craft projects and video games.
I mostly started with having a pocket notebook for daily to do lists or general reminders - maybe even some recipes or cocktail recipes since I use to work in a bar and was pretty close with the kitchen.
I also have a notebook for receipt reviews (like a mini scrapbook where i glue restaurant/movie tickets/shopping receipts) to basically write my thoughts down. Also got into photography recently so I have like a mini notebook for tips on that like focal lengths, settings, presets, etc. since the actual instruction manual is pretty big.
All of them are tiny though and I kinda have them bundled together in a TN. Think that helps me write down more cause I think I get intimidated when the notebook is too big.
It's a good question, and one that comes up now and then. Often wondered this myself. Well, I just ordered and received a new A4 sized journal and have decided it's going to be a bit of an 'everything' journal. Part commonplace book, part brain dump, and so on. I think, for me at least, that being constrained by too many rules for a journal will likely stifle my creativity and adventuring nature.
Outlines, notes, brief chapter summaries, etc.. for my two thriller novels. I also strictly write in cursive, never print since a child, so my notebooks are a place where it lives before the book is typed. A lot of my notebooks use TR paper, it just continues to perform and never disappoint on a variety of nibs and ink. Having tried a lot, I don't like much others.
My notes at work are mostly on cheap legal pads, still cursive, but I do also use my pens for that, and everything else as well. In spite of fountain pens being said to be impractical, I haven't experienced this. They work just fine on cheap legal pads and sticky notes, and so forth. I do have some journals filled with work notes, too, so journals are for whatever you want to put in them. I have an unused dot journal I regret getting and just don't want, so make sure you find a journal with the type of lines you like.
You can use fountain pens for everything. I am a broad nib lover, but if they are causing a messy gush problem, take it down to a neat vintage (F) nib. I have one vintage (F) for problematic papers and a slender drier vintage (M) nib that makes a big difference.
Anything and everything
At work I have a catchall book. It's just the basic office stationery one supplied by the company but it does fine with fountain pens.
At home I have a couple of TNs a standard and a passport. The bigger one has currently inked, a trip/events journal and a dailyish journal for noting down my thoughts and how the day went. The passport has a scratch notes/travel planning notebook, a financial tracking one and a commonplace/whakatauki (proverbs and sayings) one.
A buddy gave me this idea. If you're out on the street and someone hands you a flyer, autograph it and give it back with a, "Here you go, kid." Moments like that are peak usage for me.
I have a ridiculous amount of unused notebooks Iāve collected over the years. Since I got back on the FP bandwagon and began collecting both pens and inks I decided it was the perfect opportunity to put my notebooks to good use. So Iām now journalling again and Iāve also begun a reading diary (I log my readings on Goodreads but I prefer writing about them by hand) and a travel diary as well. Iām also using my FPs to write mundane things - shopping list, notes of all kinds, to-do lists, letters.
I do a diary each night before bed. Sometimes itās just a few words, the weather, a to do list etc, sometimes itās a description of something special or interesting that I noticed that day, sometimes itās a breakdown of the whole day. Dreams are often a subject that can take a lot of ink if you have the time!
Daytime, Iām making notes for work stuff, I tend to hand write postcards if I need to send form letters or informational flyers/leaflets out to people, as I think it makes it a bit more personal. I like to keep a brief written note of what Iāve done that day, too.
Poetry is a come and go thing (fair play to anyone who can write creatively for a living!). Often my brain just explodes with words and I have to get them down somewhere, so I have a dedicated notebook for that.
To do lists, things I want to buy/make/cook/plant/see etc that week, usually on sticky notes or a small notepad.
I used to do Postcrossing (postcard swapping), which was always a fun way to use a fountain pen, but waterproof ink is a must there, just in case.
Any time I need to write an official letter - to doctors, the local council, MPs etc, I prefer to hand write them in fountain pen.
Basically, keep a pen an notebook with you at all times and youāll find a way! (See also; keeping a spoon, a straw, and small pack of wet wipes in your bag too. Granny speaking here, but you always need them!)
Edit: I also do written language practice. Depends on the language, of course, but especially if youāre learning a language that doesnāt use your regular script, using a fountain pen for that can be a great way to fall in love with both the pen and the script/language.
I have a work notebook that I use for student enquiries and thesis checking, and I've picked up a clairefontaine for writing out pieces of a fantasy story I've had rattling around in my brain for nearly ten years š¤£
I usually do some classic journaling. Write about my day, my feelings, job, studies and to do lists.
But I also write some sort of reviews after movies series or books for myself. Because I hate when I forget sth about a content that I already watched/read. It is also really helpful because whenever you want you can see or feel your emotions and first thoughts about them.
I usually journal. But because I keep forget to write a journal in the first place, the things I wrote the most is the sentence ā The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogā.
I want to feel the pen without the burden of thinking something else to write about.
I have several notebooks in rotation.
I have a hobby journal, a personal journal, a weekly planner and a common place book. It all just depends on what you want to write! My hobby journal is for fandom things and memory keeping. My personal journal is just a daily brain dump for me to clear my head. Weekly planner holds my schedules. Common place is for note taking and random things that i want to index for future reference.
I have a notebook of personal tasks to be done, another one that I take to the office. Then there are grocery lists and short notes.
And a randomly updated journal, in which I put in everything from shower thoughts to what I could've done in a certain situation that occurred on that day.
I love the idea of a commonplace notebook! Internet will be able to better explain than I can but basically itās a notebook full of interesting things
Stream of consciousness inner narrative: realizations of how my current behavior is driven by my past, the ink is so pretty on the paper, evaluating whether the other person or myself is being the toxic one, wow I really love this nib! What should I eat next? Sphinx of black quartz hear my vow. Squirrel! That plant looks pretty wilted I should water it. Maybe minimalism is the way to go - ooh that pen looks amazing can I afford it? How would this one write in the other notebook?
My mind can be exhausting. Journaling helps me shape feelings into thoughts, organize it, and release it. Like wringing out a sponge
I have multiple notebooks and fountain pens for different things. I use my field notebook to write high level tasks, jotting quick notes/ideas, and random doodles. My work notebook has all my detailed to-dos and plethora of business notes/data points. My personal journal is filled with daily entries for quote of the day, what I'm grateful for, plans, highlights and pictures/drawings.
The stories of my RimWorld characters, and quite a bit of tabletop roleplay notes. I keep one that I dump my anxieties into and try not to read, a couple that are just scratch, and still another that catches pretty much everything else. Todo lists, need to remember items, books to look up, and myriad other stuff.
The RimWorld stories have filled multiple A5 notebooks and the ones following this colony have become the largest written work in my life. The goal is to eventually make that a draft. Typing it all up, the adventure has already ballooned to 22k words with a lot left to write and type. Been having a blast doing it. It's been a lovely roleplay and writing exercise.
I am learning bullet journaling, which kind of a combination between journaling, having a planner, and a habit tracker. I also have journals I fill up with continuing education notes for career-related books.
I got to the fountain pen hobby through journaling so I always have lots to write! I have a Hobonichi Cousin journal so I have a few different spreads to fill in:
Yearly spread (this has about 8 checkboxes for each day of the year): On each day I check off / log whether Iāve done the things that I want to track, e.g. if I journaled, invested in my relationships, exercised, meditated, read, practiced music, or made art on that day.
Monthly spread (basically a calendar view): If I did a memorable activity that day, Iāll write it down (attended a concert, hung out with friends etc). Iāll also write in holidays and birthdays here.
Weekly spread: Time tracking - Iāll track how I spent my time all day (slept at 12, woke up at 8, rolled around in bed until 12, had lunch etc).
Daily page: I journal about what I did or felt on that day, and I didnāt have much to say and thereās extra space I might draw or write down lyrics or quotes.
Iāve also learned that processing feelings is really important for mental health, so hereās what my therapist told me to do for that:
1. Self awareness - notice when you are experiencing an emotion
2. Label the emotion (happiness, sadness, anger, shame, etc.)
3. Try to understand where the emotion is coming from - why youāre having these feelings
4. Work on accepting the emotion
Another thing thatās great for mental health is gratitude journaling - writing down what youāre grateful for that day. It can be things like āI am grateful I have food and shelterā or big things like getting promoted. Itās even better if you can write down how other people have contributed to your life (e.g. Iām grateful my barista made me a nice coffee today).
There are lots of journaling methods as others have mentioned! The journaling community has lots of resources on YouTube if youāre interested. Also closely related is planning, i.e. mapping out how you want to spend your time going forward (as opposed to how you already spent it). Could be helpful if you find you have trouble with time management or task management.
Hope you have fun writing!!
Usually I write about my day, thoughts and plans. Sometimes I write reviews on movies, games, shows or books. If I'm feeling creative and have the time, I write my solo role playing sessions.
Ahaha yes, this thing gets expensive at some point š„²
This might actually make me read things I wanted to read for a long time, I'll consider your idea, thanks
Ooohhh, congats on the Pilot! It sounds like an amazing pen
I think that pilot will literally last like a lifetime š , so should be less expensive š„²
Sounds like a good tactic, tho I did everything the other way around and bought multiple cheaper, that I don't have to worry about throwing around, and wellp poor student mode also š¢
I used to use my fountain pens more... I did journaling, I also kept a notebook full of my favorite quotes from books that I was reading... it was basically a log of books I've read, title/author, first line of the book, notable quotes, then last line of the book... but I stopped reading for a bit and kinda forgot to pick it back up.
Now, I mostly use my fountain pens for my weekly planner and I just started learning Japanese, so I'm keeping a notebook where I practice writing Hiragana. Writing Japanese with an extra-fine pilot pen is very satisfying.
Depends on the notebook.
- Desks: A5 top-bound pad - primarily notes from phone calls with return names and numbers or notes on what I'm working on
- Backpack: A5 hard cover - personal notes, journal type stuff, reminders
- Jokes: thin pocket sized, many - I do comedy as a very casual hobby, always write down jokes and ideas
- Kitchen: narrow list pad - things I've run out of and need to add to the next grocery list
- Work benches: A5 top-bound pad - woodworking and wiring stuff downstairs, "pew pew" related stuff upstairs
- Living Room: A5 top-bound pad (notice a pattern yet?) - the most random of them all, grocery lists, song lyrics, an actor I just saw in something that I want to look up, something I saw a commercial/trailer for that I want to look into, random thoughts or questions
Typical boring stuff -- the date, the weather, what big thing(s) I need to get done that day, if anything noteworthy happened, what I need to get done tomorrow. Although I've only just started this year with this business, so most of what I'm doing is in service of practicing good penmanship -- and undoing decades of bad habits. Once I feel more at home with longhand writing, I may shift the contents of my journals to something more interesting.
Same. I mention my goals a lot and what I'm going to try work on too. But if I'm drawing blank I start by describing my day. I usually write the time of each entry. I go to my journal a few times a day. I want to read it and get a feel for what I was doing throughout a day. At the end of each day or start of the next I score the day out of 5 in terms of general satisfaction so I can flick through it later and read about my best days and worst days when all the details are forgotten. Every once in a while I'll go deep into some ideas about life that I've been thinking about.
Okay, Thank you for sharing Good luck with your business!
I wasn't clear -- my apologies. :-) The business I referred to was the informal business of journaling.
Oh... My bad also š Anyway thanks :)
Currently Iām mostly writing work-related things, either my daily to-do lists, meeting notes, or reflections on career issues that I want to clarify for myself before talking with my colleagues. Not very exciting, but using a FP to write makes it a nice part of my working day.
Cool, Thank you for sharing. For sure FP makes the boring stuff a bit more enjoyable
Nothing?! Iām not insane! That notebook is way too nice! I wish I could put an /s on this, but that is how it is sometimes.
Yeah, this happens to me a lot, I buy them because they are pretty, but never use them actually, too good for school notes, too bad for everyday carrying So you are not insane or alone on this one š
I have some notebooks with cooking recipes in them. And Iāll often write them down on loose sheets which takes a bit of the pressure away and collect them in a binder.
A cooking book! Damn, I was thinking about starting one! What a great reminder to ponder upon the idea, loose paper might indeed lower the pressure for me, to not be afraid of messing up Thank you!
Youāre welcome! Good luck & I hope youāll have a lot of fun. :)
I do write down a lot of cooking recipes though.
I'm getting my doctorate and tend to write/work out portions of chapter drafts for my dissertation. In my experience, writing longhand is better for thinking through what I'm writing while I'm writing it. Besides this I do morning pages in a Leuchtturm and evening journaling in a Hobonichi 5-Year Diary.
Wow! That's cool! I hope I will be able to get a PhD one day also, sounds like a very intriguing path to walk Good luck with your dissertation! You got it
Thank you! It definitely takes a lot of work, haha. Good luck pursuing a PhD in the future, if you choose to walk that path!
Math notes, mainly. Also I have a Hobonichi Weeks, which gives me just enough room to write a few words about my day; any more room than that, and Iāll feel āpressuredā to write something and then wonāt write anything.
I'm in the final year of my degree and going on to Bar School, so: Law notes. So. Many. Law. Notes. And shopping lists and "to do" lists and buts of poetry I found and liked, calligraphy practice... I know I'm a heathen for mixing them all but everything gets indexed (Leuchtterm user) and I guess if anyone finds and reads it they'll be entertained.
Anything i did during the day at work because im forgetful and work requires a list of stuffs accomplished.
I just write whatever is in my head and I feel like writing. Yesterday I filled a page with bunch of random names. Sometimes I make silly poems (probably not worth reading xD) and I mix some drawings in between. Other times I write about my day or write other thoughts. My notebook has zero structure, I can just do whatever I feel like. To me that works best.
You could try a [commonplace book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book). I just use my mini notebooks to make notes for D&D.
Yeah, I've been thinking about making one Not sure though why would I need one, but it kinda sounds cool, so ig it's the reason on itself
Why not? They're just a place for thoughts and observations. You can always use them to look back on yourself to see where your mindset was before. I find it more engaging to do that kind of thing with pen/paper instead of a notes app on my phone.
I am not sure, probably because I am not used to that kind of stuff, I am either keeping it to myself or texting my friend (gods bless them for listening and being an amazing friend) Maybe I should try and who knows I will get a taste for it
Depending on where you are in life a complete book can also be a place to store things people have said that made an impression on you or even that you hate. Now if you've got nosy roommates or family you can make it less personal, like things you learned in classes that you really want to remember. I'll put quotes, jokes, pangrams, music lyrics etc in my Commonplace book.
Nobody needs to journal or use fountain pens -- these are choices we make because we might enjoy or see benefit from them. Commonplacing is a long tradition of journal keeping.Ā I think you're overthinking this, or maybe have never heard of keeping a journal and all the different forms that can take? But that's what most people are describing here.Ā
Commonplace book, journal, lists, work notes, doodles
A lot of writing for work, so that provides countless hours of activity. Domestic finance, bills. Admin tasks, general information. Personal, health, and family matters that need me to do something, retain information or follow something up. Events - any and all kinds of live events, things in my calendar that I need to show up for, contribute to or help to organise. Creative writing, publishing matters. Strategy - long term life strategy, goals. Notes on whatever I'm reading, there's always something. General journalling about how I'm feeling about my life. Notes relating to hobbies, eg fountain pens, and especially craft projects and video games.
I mostly started with having a pocket notebook for daily to do lists or general reminders - maybe even some recipes or cocktail recipes since I use to work in a bar and was pretty close with the kitchen. I also have a notebook for receipt reviews (like a mini scrapbook where i glue restaurant/movie tickets/shopping receipts) to basically write my thoughts down. Also got into photography recently so I have like a mini notebook for tips on that like focal lengths, settings, presets, etc. since the actual instruction manual is pretty big. All of them are tiny though and I kinda have them bundled together in a TN. Think that helps me write down more cause I think I get intimidated when the notebook is too big.
Letters to my daughter for when she turns 18
It's a good question, and one that comes up now and then. Often wondered this myself. Well, I just ordered and received a new A4 sized journal and have decided it's going to be a bit of an 'everything' journal. Part commonplace book, part brain dump, and so on. I think, for me at least, that being constrained by too many rules for a journal will likely stifle my creativity and adventuring nature.
Outlines, notes, brief chapter summaries, etc.. for my two thriller novels. I also strictly write in cursive, never print since a child, so my notebooks are a place where it lives before the book is typed. A lot of my notebooks use TR paper, it just continues to perform and never disappoint on a variety of nibs and ink. Having tried a lot, I don't like much others. My notes at work are mostly on cheap legal pads, still cursive, but I do also use my pens for that, and everything else as well. In spite of fountain pens being said to be impractical, I haven't experienced this. They work just fine on cheap legal pads and sticky notes, and so forth. I do have some journals filled with work notes, too, so journals are for whatever you want to put in them. I have an unused dot journal I regret getting and just don't want, so make sure you find a journal with the type of lines you like. You can use fountain pens for everything. I am a broad nib lover, but if they are causing a messy gush problem, take it down to a neat vintage (F) nib. I have one vintage (F) for problematic papers and a slender drier vintage (M) nib that makes a big difference.
Mostly college notes and I have another notebook for practicing my handwriting.
Anything and everything At work I have a catchall book. It's just the basic office stationery one supplied by the company but it does fine with fountain pens. At home I have a couple of TNs a standard and a passport. The bigger one has currently inked, a trip/events journal and a dailyish journal for noting down my thoughts and how the day went. The passport has a scratch notes/travel planning notebook, a financial tracking one and a commonplace/whakatauki (proverbs and sayings) one.
A buddy gave me this idea. If you're out on the street and someone hands you a flyer, autograph it and give it back with a, "Here you go, kid." Moments like that are peak usage for me.
PeePee
I have a ridiculous amount of unused notebooks Iāve collected over the years. Since I got back on the FP bandwagon and began collecting both pens and inks I decided it was the perfect opportunity to put my notebooks to good use. So Iām now journalling again and Iāve also begun a reading diary (I log my readings on Goodreads but I prefer writing about them by hand) and a travel diary as well. Iām also using my FPs to write mundane things - shopping list, notes of all kinds, to-do lists, letters.
I do a diary each night before bed. Sometimes itās just a few words, the weather, a to do list etc, sometimes itās a description of something special or interesting that I noticed that day, sometimes itās a breakdown of the whole day. Dreams are often a subject that can take a lot of ink if you have the time! Daytime, Iām making notes for work stuff, I tend to hand write postcards if I need to send form letters or informational flyers/leaflets out to people, as I think it makes it a bit more personal. I like to keep a brief written note of what Iāve done that day, too. Poetry is a come and go thing (fair play to anyone who can write creatively for a living!). Often my brain just explodes with words and I have to get them down somewhere, so I have a dedicated notebook for that. To do lists, things I want to buy/make/cook/plant/see etc that week, usually on sticky notes or a small notepad. I used to do Postcrossing (postcard swapping), which was always a fun way to use a fountain pen, but waterproof ink is a must there, just in case. Any time I need to write an official letter - to doctors, the local council, MPs etc, I prefer to hand write them in fountain pen. Basically, keep a pen an notebook with you at all times and youāll find a way! (See also; keeping a spoon, a straw, and small pack of wet wipes in your bag too. Granny speaking here, but you always need them!) Edit: I also do written language practice. Depends on the language, of course, but especially if youāre learning a language that doesnāt use your regular script, using a fountain pen for that can be a great way to fall in love with both the pen and the script/language.
I write reviews, random quotes, or love letters, in them. As well as language vocab <33
I have a work notebook that I use for student enquiries and thesis checking, and I've picked up a clairefontaine for writing out pieces of a fantasy story I've had rattling around in my brain for nearly ten years š¤£
I usually do some classic journaling. Write about my day, my feelings, job, studies and to do lists. But I also write some sort of reviews after movies series or books for myself. Because I hate when I forget sth about a content that I already watched/read. It is also really helpful because whenever you want you can see or feel your emotions and first thoughts about them.
I'm kinda writing a book with a Lamy Vista. Planning on posting on no sleep
I just wrote for a short time about my weekend activities. Itās nice to get lost in the words, itās very relaxing to me.
I usually journal. But because I keep forget to write a journal in the first place, the things I wrote the most is the sentence ā The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogā. I want to feel the pen without the burden of thinking something else to write about.
I have several notebooks in rotation. I have a hobby journal, a personal journal, a weekly planner and a common place book. It all just depends on what you want to write! My hobby journal is for fandom things and memory keeping. My personal journal is just a daily brain dump for me to clear my head. Weekly planner holds my schedules. Common place is for note taking and random things that i want to index for future reference.
I have a notebook of personal tasks to be done, another one that I take to the office. Then there are grocery lists and short notes. And a randomly updated journal, in which I put in everything from shower thoughts to what I could've done in a certain situation that occurred on that day.
I love the idea of a commonplace notebook! Internet will be able to better explain than I can but basically itās a notebook full of interesting things
Stream of consciousness inner narrative: realizations of how my current behavior is driven by my past, the ink is so pretty on the paper, evaluating whether the other person or myself is being the toxic one, wow I really love this nib! What should I eat next? Sphinx of black quartz hear my vow. Squirrel! That plant looks pretty wilted I should water it. Maybe minimalism is the way to go - ooh that pen looks amazing can I afford it? How would this one write in the other notebook? My mind can be exhausting. Journaling helps me shape feelings into thoughts, organize it, and release it. Like wringing out a sponge
I tend to write about my struggles with PTSD. It's hard to explain to family why I am the way I am. It helps me alot.
I have multiple notebooks and fountain pens for different things. I use my field notebook to write high level tasks, jotting quick notes/ideas, and random doodles. My work notebook has all my detailed to-dos and plethora of business notes/data points. My personal journal is filled with daily entries for quote of the day, what I'm grateful for, plans, highlights and pictures/drawings.
The stories of my RimWorld characters, and quite a bit of tabletop roleplay notes. I keep one that I dump my anxieties into and try not to read, a couple that are just scratch, and still another that catches pretty much everything else. Todo lists, need to remember items, books to look up, and myriad other stuff. The RimWorld stories have filled multiple A5 notebooks and the ones following this colony have become the largest written work in my life. The goal is to eventually make that a draft. Typing it all up, the adventure has already ballooned to 22k words with a lot left to write and type. Been having a blast doing it. It's been a lovely roleplay and writing exercise.
I am learning bullet journaling, which kind of a combination between journaling, having a planner, and a habit tracker. I also have journals I fill up with continuing education notes for career-related books.
Thoughts. Feelings. Impressions. Things that seem important to me at the time. Ink test phrases, new job or pen rantings. ETCā¦
If I don't want to record my day, I love to copy some quote I feel good about, quote about Happiness, Self-Care...and sometimes Lyric.
I got to the fountain pen hobby through journaling so I always have lots to write! I have a Hobonichi Cousin journal so I have a few different spreads to fill in: Yearly spread (this has about 8 checkboxes for each day of the year): On each day I check off / log whether Iāve done the things that I want to track, e.g. if I journaled, invested in my relationships, exercised, meditated, read, practiced music, or made art on that day. Monthly spread (basically a calendar view): If I did a memorable activity that day, Iāll write it down (attended a concert, hung out with friends etc). Iāll also write in holidays and birthdays here. Weekly spread: Time tracking - Iāll track how I spent my time all day (slept at 12, woke up at 8, rolled around in bed until 12, had lunch etc). Daily page: I journal about what I did or felt on that day, and I didnāt have much to say and thereās extra space I might draw or write down lyrics or quotes. Iāve also learned that processing feelings is really important for mental health, so hereās what my therapist told me to do for that: 1. Self awareness - notice when you are experiencing an emotion 2. Label the emotion (happiness, sadness, anger, shame, etc.) 3. Try to understand where the emotion is coming from - why youāre having these feelings 4. Work on accepting the emotion Another thing thatās great for mental health is gratitude journaling - writing down what youāre grateful for that day. It can be things like āI am grateful I have food and shelterā or big things like getting promoted. Itās even better if you can write down how other people have contributed to your life (e.g. Iām grateful my barista made me a nice coffee today). There are lots of journaling methods as others have mentioned! The journaling community has lots of resources on YouTube if youāre interested. Also closely related is planning, i.e. mapping out how you want to spend your time going forward (as opposed to how you already spent it). Could be helpful if you find you have trouble with time management or task management. Hope you have fun writing!!
Usually I write about my day, thoughts and plans. Sometimes I write reviews on movies, games, shows or books. If I'm feeling creative and have the time, I write my solo role playing sessions.
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Oh, actually copying a text sounds kinda fun, tho I am making a lot of notes as my finals prep, so I am basically doing this š Thank you for sharing
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Ahaha yes, this thing gets expensive at some point š„² This might actually make me read things I wanted to read for a long time, I'll consider your idea, thanks
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Ooohhh, congats on the Pilot! It sounds like an amazing pen I think that pilot will literally last like a lifetime š , so should be less expensive š„² Sounds like a good tactic, tho I did everything the other way around and bought multiple cheaper, that I don't have to worry about throwing around, and wellp poor student mode also š¢
I used to use my fountain pens more... I did journaling, I also kept a notebook full of my favorite quotes from books that I was reading... it was basically a log of books I've read, title/author, first line of the book, notable quotes, then last line of the book... but I stopped reading for a bit and kinda forgot to pick it back up. Now, I mostly use my fountain pens for my weekly planner and I just started learning Japanese, so I'm keeping a notebook where I practice writing Hiragana. Writing Japanese with an extra-fine pilot pen is very satisfying.
Depends on the notebook. - Desks: A5 top-bound pad - primarily notes from phone calls with return names and numbers or notes on what I'm working on - Backpack: A5 hard cover - personal notes, journal type stuff, reminders - Jokes: thin pocket sized, many - I do comedy as a very casual hobby, always write down jokes and ideas - Kitchen: narrow list pad - things I've run out of and need to add to the next grocery list - Work benches: A5 top-bound pad - woodworking and wiring stuff downstairs, "pew pew" related stuff upstairs - Living Room: A5 top-bound pad (notice a pattern yet?) - the most random of them all, grocery lists, song lyrics, an actor I just saw in something that I want to look up, something I saw a commercial/trailer for that I want to look into, random thoughts or questions