Notebook Shopping: Online Window Shopping

by | Apr 21, 2016 | From the Author, Get Motivated

There are many, many, many, notebooks I would love to buy in one massive splurge; I get emails from Knock Knock, Paper Source, Barnes & Noble, all of which show off such pretty and inspirational notebooks. Doomed to never-ending lists of beautiful notebooks, I’ve given in and started online window shopping. Here are my top notebooks suppliers:

Knock Knock

Knock Knock is sarcasm and inner frustrations printed prominently on notebooks, notepads, and other helpful office supplies. In addition to relatable notepads like My Portable Pessimist or Paper Tantrum, there are notebooks featuring fun designs and even notebooks to achieve inner peace, like I’m So Freaking Freaked Out or I’m Kind of Awesome or The F*ck It List.

Paper Source

Paper Source is all about the aesthetics. Even offering customizable options, Paper Source has a lot of well-designed, high-quality choices. Spanning nearly every aesthetic, even visiting the site makes me wish I had a whole separate budget just for stationery stores. Watercolor Notes, Cavallini Vintage Clocks, and the Gold Star Journal are only the beginning of a great varied collection.

Anne Taintor

Anne Taintor might not have notebooks, but there are notepads. And they make my day at least ten times better with their clever, bitter, sarcastic humor. We Go Together Like Drunk and Disorderly is a personal favorite, along with Success is 1% Inspiration 99% Caffeine. The entire brand crushes expectations of pretty 1940s/1950s housewife images, and it all started with phrases like “Born to Be Wild,” and “Intellectuals Gone Bad.”

Notebooks make up a large part of a writer’s expenses, and understandably so; they are creative and inspirational. When in doubt, buy a notebook. Or, use one of the many you probably already have.

April 21: Thursday is Friday

by | Apr 21, 2016 | From the Author

Procrastination plagues even the best of us. Sometimes everything that needs to be done in a day looks overwhelming and the urge to just not can win the day instead. But, hark! There is a solution: lists.

Aside from obvious reasons for owning notebooks as a writer, one of the main reasons I own so many notepads is to make lists, breaking down Mount Overwhelming into tiny rocks of I-Can-Do-That ore.

For example – Today:

  • Feed self
  • Clean room
  • Reading Challenge
  • Schoolwork
  • Upcoming blog posts
  • Daily writing stretch
  • Early to bed

That’s a basic example, but it reduces the pressure of a busy day, especially when you also have writing bouncing around the back of your mind as well. The process works just as well for any writing project, from an overall outline kind of list to a list of character likes and dislikes.

Still a university student, I usually don’t have classes on Fridays, making them available for household tasks and for creative influx. Keeping all my tasks listed out means less time being stressed and more time being creative.

Whether you make your lists on notepaper, sticky notes, an app, or Excel spreadsheets, lists are a highly recommended part of organizing writing, work, and a busy mind.