National Notebook Day

There’s a holiday coming to town, and it’s one that will definitely be one to take note of, as it strives to fill the world with anecdotes and commentaries and memoirs. There likely isn’t one of us that hasn’t tried journaling at some point in their lives, especially as teenagers. Remember all that cringe-worthy poetry? Yep, probably still moldering away in a journal somewhere, just waiting to embarrass you with the soppy angst-ridden days of youth.

History of National Notebook Day

2016 saw the inauguration of Notebook day and sought to speak to the world about the importance of journaling and what it can do to help us. As we’ve mentioned, we know all the things we journaled about before, most of us kept one as a kid, and all the poetry we read in English class often filled us with inspiration to write our own. As we encountered the challenges of youth, especially first love, the journal began being filled with angry thoughts, deep emotions, and the general process of trying to figure out who we were and what the world would make of us. Time has come to reveal that journaling is a vitally important process that can have profound psychological effects on the one keeping it.

“The notebook and planner community is so vibrant and alive,” said Mica May, CEO of custom notebook company May Designs. “If anything, our customers have become even more dedicated to paper over the past few years. There’s this amazing connection between writing something down that you can’t get typing it into your phone or laptop.” The power of paper has yet to decline, and in certain circles, is being raised in unexpected ways. CEO’s in technology-driven Silicon Valley are jumping on the cellulose bandwagon, choosing paper notes over digital apps. There’s just something that comes into perspective when you see it down on paper.

The emerging popularity of bullet journaling has also led journals to make a fashionable comeback. Who hasn’t seen color-coded and highly organized journals popping up on Pinterest? From daily to-do lists to yearly yearnings, the bullet journal is designed to compartmentalize your life into identifiable codes that can be matched and cross-referenced across the year to spot themes, trends, and things you didn’t know about your own life. Insightful and imaginative, the bullet journal became the must-have, from the person who needs to remind themselves to eat their five a day and drink their eight glasses of water, to the super-business-executive with their mammoth to-do task list.

Scientific studies have also supported the benefits of journaling (especially into adulthood) on your mental health. Taking your thoughts and splurging them onto a piece of paper can be extremely therapeutic and clear your head. You don’t have to create a wonderful weave of detailed thoughts like a bullet journal, simply sprawling your thoughts on a page can work wonders on your mindset.

Creative writing into adulthood can also help keep that imagination alive and helps generate feelings of positivity and happiness. You might love that element of escapism, from reading that holiday book in darkest winter to creating your own characters and world that might be completely different from your own. Notebooks can help us organize our thoughts, ignite our imaginations, and generally help us take a bit of time out of the whirlwind world around us.

How to celebrate National Notebook Day

Grab yourself a notebook and bust it open, start writing down all the thoughts and worries of your day and see them put into a form that makes them manageable. Got an idea forming? Jot it in the corners or write it out in complete detail so that you never miss a beat. You might find it develops into a regular or even semi-regular diary, a new story, or simply helps you move past a difficult or even dull day.

Find your thoughts are emerging into a creative writing piece? Why not take a day or a rainy afternoon to really develop your characters, create a world for them to live in, and then storyboard your plotline. What might start as a day of brainstorming can grow into hours and even years of story development you never even knew you had in you.

If you find you are more of a technophile, why not aim to take time away from your screen and jot down your to-do lists or thoughts onto a notepad? Even those five minutes looking at something other than a glassy screen can help you focus your mind and avoid that zoned out eye-glaze you might experience after hours at a computer. Even if you’re a regular blogger, if your laptop breaks or runs out of charge, you can always turn to a trusty notebook to jot down your thoughts.

Idle and bored? Let your hands do the walking and doodle on the page. Psychologists reveal that a lot can be shown by what a person chooses to doodle. If you are an art-lover, why not look at developing that sketching hobby by sitting at the park and drawing the world as it goes by, or joining an art class? You can join a class or start a new hobby for any notebook related hobby. From creative writing to still life drawing, you can enjoy the hobby solo, with friends or in a class environment.

You might not have time to embark on a new journey if you’re simply trying to understand your current one. Why not start a simple journal where you jot down your daily thoughts for five minutes. Just carry a notebook and pen or pencil around with you and see what the day’s ideas and opportunities bring.

Whatever you do, National Notebook Day is the best day to open up those old journals, read our past thoughts and see how we changed, and open up a new page in our lives by starting a new one!