Over 40 Ways to Use Blank Journals and Notebooks

if you're anything like me, than you may just have a blank notebook problem. 

Picture this... you're browsing in a shop and you come to the stationery section. It's filled with pretty blank journals and notebooks with empty pages just beckoning to be filled. You run your hands over the covers - they're all so lovely. You pick a few up, flip through the pages and feel the paper... oh how you would love to take this beauty home.

And then you remember the pile of 47 blank journals you have stashed in a closet at home.

But you buy it anyway. 🤣

Does that sound familiar to anyone? Or is it just me... it's not just me, right? Tell me it's not just me! 

Let's make this the year that we start using those journals and blank notebooks! And I've got over 40 ways to help you do just that!

The First Step to Using Up Blank Journals and Notebooks

One of the biggest roadblocks a lot of us have, myself included, when it comes to using up our stash of blanks is getting over the "it's too pretty" hurdle. I do this with notebooks, journals and sketchbooks. The book is so beautiful or the paper is so perfect that I worry I'm going to mess it up or use it for something silly like grocery lists and "waste it".  It doesn't matter if I paid $40 for it in boutique stationery store or $3 for it in Dollar Tree.

And yet I have dozens of empties doing absolutely nothing except taking up space (their spines do like nice on my bookcase though). I know I'm going to keep buying them because I love beautiful paper things. I love things that are beautiful and functional. 

So if that's the case, why can't I use something beautiful to write my grocery lists? Especially if it's already sitting in my house with 30 other friends? When I write these thoughts out, it seems even sillier than when I ask myself these questions in my head!

And so, I've decided that this year I will use my beautiful notebooks and journals and sketchbooks - even for the most mundane things (and for important things too!). 

If you want to do the same thing, here are some ways to use up all those blank journals and notebooks.

40+ Ways to Use Blank Journals and Notebooks

There's literally dozens of ways to use up all our blank journals and notebooks. I've put together a list of ideas that includes practical uses, artistic and creative uses, personal growth and even collaboration! 

Planning, Organization and Tracking

This is one of the most popular ways to use our blank journals and notebooks!

1. Daily Planner: to track appointments and tasks 
2. Goal Journal: use it to track goals but also break goals down into manageable tasks
3. Habit Trackers: a great way to help you build habits that benefit you
4. Shopping Lists: for groceries, toiletries, home improvement tasks, hobbies, sports etc
5. Home Maintenance Tracker: track tasks that need to be done weekly, monthly, seasonally and annually, when they were last done and by who
6. Packing List Journal: if you travel a lot you can create and refine packing lists for different types of travel
7. Project Planner: for any personal projects you want to undertake: hobbies, DIY, renovations, home decor etc
8. Garden Journal: track your plantings, plan your layouts, reflect on the season, keep lists of plants to try, seed starting dates etc.
9. List of Songs, Books, Movies, Wines etc that you want to try or find
10. Recipe Log: collect and record your favourite recipes in one spot for easy reference

Business Uses for Blank Notebooks and Journals

If you're a small business owner, there's no shortage of ways to use blank notebooks and journals! This is probably where I use my blank notebooks the most - I have them for product planning. social media content planning, goal tracking, KPI tracking

1. Business Planner: that might include the same things as a daily planner but also tracks goals, key metrics or as a dumping ground for ideas
2. New Product Planner: for business owners to brainstorm new ideas and how to execute them
3. Project Planner: break down projects into actionable steps and assign tasks
   
4. Blogging Planner: brainstorm ideas for blog or video content and what needs to be done for each
5. Content Creation Planner: for bloggers, YouTubers, or influencers
6. KPI Tracking: tracking important key numbers in your business can help you grow and pivot where necessary.
7. General Scratchpad: use a notebook to take notes during client meetings or zoome calls, or when you need to jot something down quickly before you forget
8. Brainstorming Notebook: for capturing ideas when they pop into your head. I do this all the time and then go back through these journals months later to pick up threads of great ideas that I still think are worth pursuing.

Creative and Artistic Uses for Notebooks and Journals

There's lots of ways to use your blank notebooks and journals for your creative or art practice. Whether you're a painter, illustrator, fibre artist, mixed media artist, writer, or any kind of creative, there's a use for them!

1. Swatch Journal: for colour swatching markers, pencil crayons (coloured pencils), paints, pens, washi tapes etc
2. Doodle Diary: drawing little doodles or sketches - you don't need a purpose built sketchbook for this kind of thing!
3. Collage Journal: like a mini scrapbook, keep track of important or daily adventures with images, packaging, brochures, ticket stubs etc
4. Pattern Book: fill pages with repeating patterns or textures for inspiration or meditation (I do this with my rainbow squares journal)
5. Hand-lettering Practice: for calligraphy, typography or hand lettering
6. Daily Art Prompt Journal: to help you build a daily art practice
7. Writing Prompt Journal: to help you build a daily writing practice
8. Knitting, Crochet or Fibre Arts Journal: track projects, patterns, yarn, threads etc

Personal Reflection and Growth

Using your blank journals and notebooks for personal reflection and growth can be a very satisfying way to make the most of them. Get things out of your head and onto paper, go back and review old journals to see how your life has changed or... stayed the same!

1. Vision Boarding Journal: use a journal to create mini vision boards for your life, projects, hobbies or your business
2. Morning Pages Journal: if you follow Julia Cameron's Artist's Way, this is perfect for doing your daily three pages of stream of consciousness writing
   
3. Gratitude Journal: note the things you feel grateful for on a daily basis
4. Dream Journal: record your dreams as soon as you wake up to help remember and understand them
5. Affirmation Journal: write daily affirmations or mantras to help you build confidence and belief in yourself and your abilities
6. Word Association Journal: can help with improving your writing or with stream of consciousness writing
7. A Challenge Journal: for projects like the 100 Day project or 30 days of eating veggies or 30 days of cycling etc

Memory Keeping with Blank Journals and Notebooks

I love going through my reading journal where I have been tracking all the books I've read since 1988, just before I turned 16!

1. Diary: one of the most self-explanatory uses
   
2. Mini Diary: instead of writing long daily entries, write 3-5 lines per day capturing the most significant moments
3. Photo Journal: use polaroids or use your home printer to print off photos from your devices to make a mini photo album you can browse
4. Quote Journal: track quotes, affirmations, song lyrics, short poems that resonate with you
5. Adventure or Travel Log: chronicle your adventures on big trips and small trips 
6. Restaurant Log: track meals and experiences at new and old restaurants
7. Cataloguing: Use them to track books you've read, wines you've tried, your music collection, scrapbooking supplies or anything that you collect or keep track of

Use Blank Notebooks and Journals to Experiment

Blank notebooks are great for brainstorming, working out problems, talking things through with yourself, tracking iterations and making notes of what worked and what didn't

1. Recipe Development Log - if you love to create new dishes track your ingredients and steps so you can tweak where needed
   
2. Quick Sketch Journals for potential sewing, woodworking, minor building projects
3. Tiny Story Journal for writing flash fiction, capturing moments you might like to use in a story or poem, interesting conversations you hear that inspire your writing
4. Brain Dump Notebooks for getting things out of your head and in one place before you forget them!

Collaborative Uses for Blank Journals and Notebooks

Collaborative notebooks might be one of the most fun! You can mail the journal back and forth as a fun way to keep in touch with long distance friends and family or, simply exchange it in person with friends and family! The anticipation of reading what's been added since you last saw the journal is always fun!

1. Collaboration Journal: pass it back and forth with a friend or two with each person sharing a doodle, a funny quote, book review or quirky story
2. Family History Journal: pass it around amongst family members and have each person leave a favourite family memory or story or biography of themselves or a family member who has passed on. Include photos or government records

Need just one more blank notebook? Check out my collection of blank lined journals created from my own illustrations!