41 Things To Do In Your Blank Notebook

Do you love buying notebooks because they always catch your eye?

Then you get home and realize you have a pile of notebooks lying around.

Opening a blank notebook to write in can be awfully exciting.

And after a couple of minutes, increasingly frustrating as you don’t know what to write in it. Many people love Moleskine notebooks.

They are not only comfortable to write in but are also portable and have a little pouch to put in all your little bits of paper you don’t want to get lost.

If you can’t decide on what to write in your notebook, here are 41 ideas that will get your creative juices flowing!

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1. Journalling

This is by far the most popular thing people do when they get a notebook.

Life can be really stressful. And it’s a great way to reflect on life when you get home. Just take a couple of minutes to yourself and write down what you did that day.

It will make a great difference. 

And you get to keep a little memory of that day for the rest of your life.

I usually record whatever I’ve done during the day in my journal. And it’s really helped me remember events, people, and things.

2. Brain Storming

Suppose your work involves a lot of creativity, like mine, where you constantly need to develop unique ideas to make your daily project stand out (e.g., if you’re in advertising, writing, or designing). In that case, you can’t predict what will inspire you.

Maybe a dream at 3:00 am in the morning?

Or a display in a store window.

And if you’re not carrying a notebook with you at that time, it could mean the loss of a precious tidbit of inspiration required to finish that banner you’re designing or that last chapter you couldn’t think of the perfect ending to.

So make sure you have your notebook with you all the time so you can jot down your ideas quickly to save them.

3. Lists

Are you one of those people who love writing lists?

Like the “Top 10 Things to do when bored” or “Top ten countries to visit in this lifetime”?

Use your notebook to enhance your creativity and kill your boredom with this idea.

4. Movie Reviews

If you love watching movies and have a horrible memory (like me) to remember the names of the movies you’ve watched, you can write down the name of each movie you watch.

You can mention the actors, give it a 1-5 star rating, and write down the plot or your favorite bits of the movie.

Here’s a movie journal for all movie buffs!

5. Passwords

If you’re anything like me and love creating accounts on any website you join but can’t remember the password the next time you have to log in, note down the accounts and passwords.

Would you please make sure you remember which page you write it down on?

For easy reference, you can stick post-it notes or use the last few pages.

Just make sure that the book is in a safe place so no one can find it.

6. Doodle

This is the prettiest and most fun way to record your emotions and what you did that day.

When you have a boring class or are just in the mood to scribble away, open a blank page and let your pen/pencil flow freely to transfer your quirky imagination to the paper.

If you like journaling, you will definitely love this class. You will learn everything you need to know about bullet journaling.

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7. Short Story

This is a great way to improve your writing skills or cure a couple of hours of boredom.

Come up with a great story and out-of-the-world characters.

It will help you brush up on your vocabulary, and you get to work on your spelling.

8. Songs

You can write the lyrics to songs you cannot do without or songs you’ve always wanted to interpret. You can come up with amazing interpretations and then look them up to see how many wonderful alternatives are there online.

It’s a great way to bond with music lovers and also is lovely to read. 

You can also write songs in your journal. Here’s a lovely music journal I found.

9. Special Memories

There are certain memories we have from our childhood that we never want to forget. Write them down to keep them in your heart, forever.

10. Playlists

If you’re on a bus and have all your songs in one folder on your i-pod, you could list categories or make funky names for playlists to enjoy your music more.

11. Draw

A lot of people draw everything they see. If they are in the park, they draw pigeons, or when they are at the beach, they draw people around them.

It’s a great way of recording events visually. You can read this detailed post on how I became an Illustrator. 

This Domestika Class (use my coupon STRAYCURLS-10 to get an additional 10% off) really helped me become a better artist and illustrator.

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READ MORE: 13 SIGNS YOU WERE MEANT TO BE AN ARTIST

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12. Record your dreams

If you love keeping track of your dreams or want to remember how weird they got, keep a book and pen next to you while you sleep.

You can record your nightmares and your funny dreams. It’s also a delve into your subconscious mind.

13. Recipes

This is a great way to keep track of all the new recipes you’ve learned.

I love writing down recipes that I’ve learned from Instagram reels. It’s such a lovely way to be connected with food.

It can be a recipe you’ve just inherited from your grandmother or something you’ve concocted in the kitchen at the last minute that your family couldn’t get enough of.

Here are some beautiful recipe notebooks you can check out:

14. New Words

If you’ve learned a new word that day, write it down and conjure up a couple of sentences so you can improve your vocabulary.

I do this after my French lessons in Duolingo.

15. Goals for the Day/To-Do List

If you’re one of those people that have extremely hectic lives and can’t keep track of things you have to do every day, make checklists. It’s a great way to be punctual, and nothing will ever catch you off guard.

16. Inspirational Quotes

These are fun to read and can brighten your day when you’re just not in the mood to step out of the house or have an unproductive evening.

Whenever I go through tough times, I love collecting quotes that I know will help pick me up.

17. Free Writing in your notebook

Set an alarm clock for 15 minutes and write anything that pops into your head. Don’t stop. You will be amazed at how fast your brain works and what is dwelling in your thoughts.

You can come up with great ideas.

18. Poems

If you love writing poetry or want to start, a new notebook is a fun way to get started. Make sure you have a thesaurus with you, and you’re good to go!

19. Books you’ve just read or want to read

You can write a little summary of the last book you’ve read.

It’s a wonderful way of remembering the story so that you can narrate it to your friends or loved ones.

You can even review books.

20. Wishlist

If you suddenly remember something you want to buy for yourself a couple of months from now, write it down, so you remember.

You can also write down great gift ideas for your family and friends.

21. Write down your encounters in your notebook

You could write down the encounters you had that day. This way, you get to remember whom you’ve met and what conversation was pursued. It will help you keep track of your life.

22. Letters

You can write down letters to friends and family as practice before sending them out.

Or you could start writing letters to your future self! I started this recently, and it’s been such an amazing experience.

23. Things to lookup

Has a question ever crossed your mind, and you decide to look it up, but when you get home, you can’t remember what it was?

Make it a point to write it down, so you keep your thirst for knowledge alive.

24. Grocery List

Stick a couple of sticky notes on the fridge, so you can write down whatever supplies you’re running out of. That way, you don’t have to scratch your head at the grocery store trying to remember what you need.

25. Make a scrapbook out of that notebook

You can always stick a couple of photos in your notebook to make it more personal. This guarantees a smile every time you open it.

26. Secrets

If you’re not into gossip but at the same time need to disclose your deepest, darkest secrets – write it down.

But make sure you keep your book in a safe place or get a book with a lock to make sure your secrets remain secret.

27. News Headlines

Every day, write down a headline that you find most interesting. After a couple of years, you can read through it, and it will feel like you’re going back in time.

28. Your ambitions

Suppose you want to progress in your career or achieve something that will take a lot of work, write it down. Write down goals you need to accomplish so you can achieve your ambition.

This will help create a positive approach toward life and help you acquire your dream job much faster!

29. Stick things in it

Paste tickets, wrappers, photos, pictures, magazine cutouts, and anything that will enhance your journaling experience and make your book feel more like yours.

30. A positive habit

Write down a positive habit you’d like to implement in your life. It could be something simple like drinking more water every day, or something life-altering, like deciding to work on your anger. Either way, it’s a great way to track your progress and help you get the habits you desire.

31. Mindmapping

Doing this once a week is a great way to organize your thoughts or see how deep your thinking can go. For more information, click here.

32. Pros and Cons

If you have trouble making decisions, write down the pros and cons. Write the expected outcome of your decisions and where you see yourself a few months from now.

33. New Languages

Start a language journal.

This can be really helpful if you’re beginning to learn a new language. You can write down grammar rules, vocabulary, errors you make so you can correct them, etc.

34. Travel Journal

Write down all that happened when you visited a new city or country. You can even stick mementos like stamps or brochures.

Here are some beautiful travel journals to check out:

35. Trip Planning

Write down ideas of places you’d like to visit. And make sure you do plenty of research. This will save you plenty of time later when it’s time to go on your vacation.

I know this is supposed to be the end of the list, but I’m adding two more uses that I recently started trying.

36. Make your own comic book

I recently found this book with comic book templates. And it’s absolutely wonderful if you’re an aspiring comic artist or want to make your own comic!

37. Record your expenses

I recently started using a notebook to do this!

You can separate your expenses based on categories and even make a pie chart at the end of the month. This is a great way to watch your finances.

38. Watercolor art

If you have a blank notebook, then you can use your notebook to create watercolor art.

It’s a fun idea.

You can even take a class to start learning how to do watercolor art.

39. Business Ideas

I get new ideas every day. And I record them all in my notebook. I have a whole notebook just to jot down business ideas.

A lot of them have helped me plan out my business systematically before I then start it.

If you’ve always wanted to start a venture or a side hustle, why not use a notebook to write down all of your ideas?

It’s such a lovely way to build a roadmap for your business.

40. Learning notebook

Let’s say you take a new class on knitting or guitar playing.

It’s always advisable to carry an empty notebook to record everything you learn.

This is such a lovely way to record all the things you’ve learned.

41. Lists of things I never want to forget

Let’s say you come across a super cool website, you can write it down.

Or let’s say you find a neat hack online that you don’t ever want to forget. Write it down.

I have a notebook full of interesting things that I don’t ever want to forget and I write it all down in that one notebook.

And that comes to the end of our list!

What do you use your notebook for?

I’d absolutely love to know! We can be notebook buddies!