How to Organize Your Life With a Notebook

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It’s the beginning of a new year and a lot of people are super motivated to organize their lives and get back on track during this time.

(Even though you don’t need a new year to give you an excuse to do that because any time is a great time! ;))

My problem with getting organized is that I feel like I’m a little too chaotic. I have a million thoughts swirling around my head, a million projects I wanna be working on, a million things I need to remember…

It can get to be too much, haha.

Can you relate?

BUT I’m doing better about this and you can do better too. All you need is a simple notebook and a pen!

Here’s how to organize your life with a notebook!

 

 

Choose a notebook that works for you.

This may seem silly but there are so many different types of notebooks out there! You can choose from dotted bullet journals, lined notebooks, blank journals or even plain sketchbooks if you want to be more artsy and creative.

There are also so many different sizes! There are composition notebooks, A5 notebooks, and even pocket-sized notebooks! It’s all about how much space you need, what format you need, etc. So just choose one that works for YOUR needs!

 

Create sections in the notebook.

After you have your notebook, the next step is to create sections inside it. Think of different areas of your life that you need to organize – like your work, your hobbies, your home, your health, school, family, etc.

You can do this in many different ways: assign different sections starting at different page numbers, or you can use sticky notes or sticky page dividers, you can use washi tape, you can use stickers… You could even simply use a pen or marker to color the edges of the paper!

 

Always keep your notebook with you.

I used to always keep my planner and journal in their permanent home on my desk. But I decided to do something different with my notebook and keep it in my purse when I go somewhere instead. It’s SO helpful to always have it on hand when I have something to add. This keeps me from having a dozen different papers with random to-do’s and notes jotted on them, and it eliminates mental clutter because I don’t have to remember anything until I can get home and add it to my notebook.

I guess if you don’t want to or have no way to carry your notebook with you, you can always use the notes app on your phone. Just be sure to transfer the notes to the physical notebook later, haha.

 

Keep lists, keep lists, keep lists.

This is the most important part! Now that your notebook is all set up and ready to go, it’s time to create your organization system: lists. This allows us to organize everything and know what we need to do in every area of our lives and gives us time and space to relax and focus.

We all need different lists for different things but here are a bunch of suggestions and ideas to help:

• Master to-do list
• Daily to-do list
• Yearly goals
• Monthly goals
• Important tasks
• Grocery list
• Gifts to buy
• Important dates
• Upcoming appointments
• Reading list
• Notes / things to remember
• Hobby or project planning
• Workout routines
• Meal planning
• Self-care ideas
• Mental and/or physical health tasks
• Weekly chores
• Income / Expenses
• Work tasks
• Dreams or “someday” goals
• Seasonal bucket lists

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Are you going to organize your life with a notebook? What do you struggle with most when it comes to organization? Let’s chat in the comments!

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