Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A Woman and Her Notebooks

A favorite colorful journal; round corners make this ideal for stuffing into panniers. Tiny purple book is my maintenance log. Red Marble book is for blog and round the world blogpost updates.
I am ever a woman of lists: jotting blog ideas, particular phrases I want to capture, scribbling notes/designs for sewing projects, items to buy for my bikes—separated, of course, into necessary maintenance items and things designated for the wish list. And there's the ongoing purple bike maintenance log.

You name it, I write it down. So far, I've avoided using digital devices for reminders and I intend to keep it that way. I love the tangible process of pen and paper. I sketch—something that can't be easily done with a finger on a screen. On the other hand, I know there's a drawing app (aren't there appps for everything?), but I'll resist that temptation/convenience. To me, nothing can replace old fashioned ink and, you know, that flat stuff made from trees.

Besides, I have a year's supply of notebooks. If the price is right, say marked down 75%, or it's a quarter at a garge sale, and the style is perfect, well, I can hardly pass that up. Okay, maybe I have a fetish for notebooks, but I can think of worse things to collect!

A new notebook tempting
 my twitchy fingers.
All this blabber comes around to a journal I recently cracked open, creasing the first page. Like the stylish, crazy patterned book (favorite, so far—see above photo) I used for the European Adventure, I've started adding content. Writing lists. Ideas. Online research. Recording websites for later exploration. All for 2013's bicycle adventure. This then becomes the journal I tote on the bike and add daily notes. So, the thought process begins, once again in a new year. Besides, it's frigging cold out and all I do now is ski!* This is my solution to to keep those wheels turning—at least in my mind.

How do you organize upcoming trips?

*Actually, I love skiing.
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3 comments:

  1. TrevorW�� January 8, 2013 at 11:47 AM

    A bit like you Annie I have notebooks with Ideas...Records...Anecdotes...etc in them.
    Problem is I am not as organized as you obviously are.
    I tend to jot things down in whatever notebook I have to hand and then later, I find that I have made things as difficult as possible for myself by not being able to find what little bit of information I'm looking for...I end up flicking through them all....

    -Trevor

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 8, 2013 at 11:35 PM

    I am a one notebook person and that is my diary, I also cannot see myself using an electronic device in its place, I like to see my whole week in one view, it makes it simpler. Blog ideas I do put into my iPhone though.
    Vicki

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  3. adventure!January 9, 2013 at 2:09 AM

    I use a mix of paper and 'puter to organize. For instance, I have an old-fashioned address book for postal mail, in which phone numbers but not email addresses are listed. I've tried to use paper planners/calendars over the years and always failed at them, no matter what. But I have found my Google calendar useful. I used to organize travel plans in a notebook, but now with all the devices I own, I don't.

    I'm not much of a notebook person but more of a sketchbook person for obvious reasons. And I've gotten quite picky about my sketchbooks over the years.

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