Blank Book Tips for Smart, Dynamic Journaling

A blank book offers a world of possibilities. You can use it to track your progress towards a future goal or dream, to unlock memories from the past, or to create a time capsule of the present so that you will always be able to relive your current thoughts and feelings. It doesn’t matter whether you have a fancy, handmade, leather-bound journal or just a spiral notebook from the local five and dime: with a little bit of time and effort, you can make any blank book truly special. No matter what you choose to write in your book, here are a handful of ideas for how you can use a blank book to unlock your own unique creativity and create a lasting treasure.

Stay Organized
To keep things organized for future reference, number the pages. Then, leave the first few pages of your blank book empty, and add a table of contents item by item as you fill up the book. That way, when you want to check something in your book later, you’ll be able to find the specific pages you’re looking for. Make columns in your table of content for the page number, a brief description of the contents, and the date you created it. You can also add columns for things like your mood when you wrote it, or what you were wearing- use whatever you think will help you recognize different entries, even if it is what you had for breakfast that day. After all, it’s your blank book, so do your own thing, even with something as simple as the table of contents.

When To Work On It
If you can, set a regular schedule to work on your blank book project. If you decide in advance that you’ll be working on your book consistently, it will encourage you to stick with your project. Saying that you’ll journal “when you have the time” all but ensures that you won’t be able to find the time, so go ahead and make it a priority! Some people like having a quota, like a page every day, whereas other people prefer to set aside a specific length of time, like ten minutes a day or half an hour once a week. Try both methods and see which gets you more excited about working on your blank book.

The Look Of Your Book
Try a few of these tips to spice up your pages with some added visual interest. When you’re writing or drawing in a blank book, remember that you don’t have to fill the whole page from top to bottom, so experiment with different sizes of writing and margins. You can even try writing with the book turned upside down or sideways! Color can be a powerful visual tool, so try writing in different styles and colors to bring out the mood of different subjects. For example, casually printed letters in a blue shade can evoke calm and peace, and large, thick capital letters in a bold orange ink will make the reader feel excited and energized. These are just a few examples, but you’re sure to come up with plenty of your own innovations. The more color and style combinations you try, the more fun you will have filling your blank book.

Testing Your Materials
It is a good idea to have a range of pens, pencils, and markers to write with, but it is equally important to test your new materials. Keep a piece of heavy construction paper or watercolor paper on hand. Then, when you use a new writing utensil for the first time in your blank book, slide the heavy paper behind the page you’re working on. When the page is done, check your heavy paper for ink spots and bleeds. If there are no spots, your new pen is safe to use anywhere in your journal without protection. If you do see ink, continue to use the heavy paper to protect the rest of your blank book from bleeds.