Something happened when I entered my fourth decade and beyond. I can’t seem to remember things as easily. I used to be able to remember entire grocery lists without making a note, but now if I have more than three items, just to be safe, I write things down. Something in the act of physically writing or tapping a message into your phone seems to connect more with my brain.

I am a notebook collector and that’s my favorite purchase whether in a museum gift shop or stationary store. There’s always a fresh new day waiting when you have a clean notebook page. You can carry your notebook everywhere you go so you can write down any ideas of inspiration that can be forgotten if you don’t capture them in the moment. You may be surprised by what you can create.

There are notebooks of every shape, style, and size for every person. Before, I would use scraps of paper and post-it notes that I would mispace. There are bullet journals, lined/unlined journals, and even journals with graph paper. You can personalize your notebook by decorating the cover. Spend some time in a stationary store to observe and feel the journal that speaks to you. I always like to look at the quality of the paper and I like to have something on the lighter side since I’m on public transportation

You can create lists of your favorite things, places you would like to visit, ideal qualities in a friend, people you admire, what your ideal day would look like. When you take the time to visualize what you want to bring into your life in an intentional way, the energy you bring makes things happen. When you return and see what has transpired from the lists you create, it’s very interesting and inspiring to see.