When I first talked about my techo kaigi for 2025 (notebooks I plan to use for the year), I was so adamant that any decorative journaling in a traveler’s notebook would be a bonus and definitely not something I’m committing to. And right now, when I’m more tired than I’ve ever been with a three-month old in my life, the decision I made back then makes perfect sense.
But here I am with a traveler’s notebook anyway, because the pull this system has on me is strong. There’s just something about the way the simple leather cover draws me in, and I love how it picks up all the marks and scratches as I live my life with it.
Sometime in January, I took out the olive traveler’s notebook - my first one ever - and set it up with a refill. All I wanted to do then was save some daily ephemera because we finished a bag of coffee and a box of mini ice cream cones. As I stared at the packaging, all I could think of were matching washi/PET tapes, memo pads and stickers that I could use from my collection to make a spread. And even in my sleep-deprived state, the burst of creativity was something I craved. So, I let inspiration take me and began to put things down onto the page.
I remember feeling so much joy in my heart when I finished these pages. As silly as it sounds, having spent the time to save bits from my daily life made me feel more like myself again during this time of change. My identity has shifted in countless ways in the past three months, and yet the journal-loving part of me remains, itching to glue down labels and write notes.
Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly?), I haven’t stopped since. I kept going and made more spreads, taking ten, fifteen minutes here and there when I could. The desk in the living room continued to be a mess between all of the breaks I had to take for parenting and doing chores, but I felt it was worth it to keep the creative spark alive.
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