Keeping a little notebook has been appealing to me for a long time and I wrote On Note Taking in 2017. I’ve made a few poor attempts at it over the years and never formed the habit. I’d been watching some YouTube videos about notebooks and then on Monday night I started my own pocket notebook/journal. It’s out of the norm to start a habit like journaling on the 9th of a month at 9pm, but it works for me or else it’s too easy to keep putting it off until next month again and again. The best time to start is right now.

I’ve been in a rut for a month and a half and I think a little pen and paper can help me out of it. I’m using a Field Notes classic (Amazon affiliate links).

If this journaling habit sticks I’ll probably make my own notebooks. What I put in the notebook will definitely change as I figure out what works for me, but here are some things I’m starting with.

Each month will get a dedicated page for tracking habits, which is an idea from a video by Peter McKinnon. Here’s my first version, which I’ve already improved by using blue for good habits and red for habits I’d like to limit. I started using a Pilot G-2 gel pen, but the tip was too big and look how much it smudged everywhere. I bought a Uni Jetstream Slim Compact 3 color pen (both Amazon affiliate links) and it’s a huge improvement. A full month won’t fit on one page, so I’ll probably have to rotate this sideways in the future.

There’s a page for todo items, where I actually draw a box I can mark off when the item is completed. It already paid off when I wrote down “Fix Garage Step” and tackled it within hours. I’ve been thinking about making the fix for almost two years and it took a whole 30 seconds! It was so satisfying to mark it completed. Reminds me of Adam Savage’s method from his book, Every Tool’s a Hammer. Instead of partially and completely filling in the box, I think my method will be a diagonal slash for partially completed and an X for done. For repeating items or things with a deadline I’ll continue putting them in Apple Reminders.

Another dedicated page is for daily highlights. One line per day so it has to be short. It’s a fun and positive way to think back on each day. If I rotate the habit tracker, this could work well to share the space across two pages. The idea came from a video by Matt Ragland.

Every day I write whatever comes to mind and I might pick up the journal several times. So far it’s only one or two pages per day, but I expect that to vary, especially if I sketch something or eventually stick things to the page.

I’m a big user of Apple Notes, Google Calendar, and Apple Reminders, but everything doesn’t need to be digital. It’s refreshing to look away from a screen and write words on a page. It’s only day four, but it’s going well. I’m enjoying the new habit and bringing back old ones, like making time for exercise.

Is there something you’d like to start doing? Don’t wait for the new year—make today your day one.