Four months on, I’m using my notebooks regularly and have made them part of my life.

Note: This is part 3 of my Traveler’s Notebook saga. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here. – Maria

Time has gone by. I haven’t written much in this blog, mostly because April, May, June, and most of July have been crazy hectic for me. I finally got my boat into San Juan Yachting’s charter program, I made jewelry inventory for and attended four art shows, and I even managed to spend just over two weeks on the boat with a good friend of mine. Along the way, I planted my garden, maintained my vehicles, cared for my home and pups, and socialized with friends.

In other words, I lived a busy life.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What I’ve Learned

I learned a few things about my Traveler’s Notebook solution along the way:

• No one uses Traveler’s Notebooks anymore. It was a craze that faded at least 6 years ago. Although the inserts are still available to purchase here and there online, they can’t be found in stores.

• 
  My design for daily planner spreads is similar to Ray’s but starts the day earlier, ends the day later, and includes spaces to record exercise and water consumption. (I don’t drink enough water.)

  The Daily Dashboard solutions I’d downloaded from Ray Blake’s website weren’t quite what I needed to plan my day. Because Ray is a Brit, his week starts on Monday so the month-at-a-glance calendars were difficult for me to use. And I didn’t like his labeling. So I made my own version, which I printed and turned into books. August is the first month I’ll use.

• I like making the little books that I insert into the leather folder. I really like sewing paper. It’s so relaxing. I’ve been using paste paper I made months ago as covers.
• I’m not 100% happy with the leather folder. It does the job, but I wish it was stiffer. I’ve been thinking a lot about using newly acquired bookbinding skills to fine-tune it, possibly to glue the leather onto book board with a hard spine. I’m not ready to possibly ruin the leather yet, so I haven’t done anything.

The Notebook in My Life

I’ve incorporated the notebook into my daily routine.

I start my day with a cup of coffee and my iPad, which I use to do a series of word puzzles and sudoku that I share with friends. (Lately, I’ve been doing it out on my deck in the cool morning air, often just before dawn.) Then I pull out my notebook and my journal. I journalize the previous day’s highlights and my thoughts about them while adding the things I need to do that day to the day’s to-do list.

The binder has inserts for the current month and next month. This makes it possible to add events and tasks for dates in both months.

Once that’s all done, I get dressed and get ready to start doing things on the day’s list.

I don’t journalize in the notebook. I have a separate journal book for that. The only thing I use the lined day page for is taking notes during phone calls or just writing down things I need to remember.

I leave the notebook open on my kitchen counter so I can consult it and stay focused throughout the day. This is exactly what I did with my old looseleaf planner pages, but now the pages are portable.

Speaking of portability, I take the book with me when I travel. I travel an awful lot. Sometimes I use it when I’m traveling but most times I need to admit that I don’t. My morning routine is difficult to keep when I’m on the boat or in my camper or staying with friends or in hotels. I don’t know why. I need to work on that.

The Bottom Line

The Traveler’s Notebook style of notebook meets my needs for organizing and note taking. Although I don’t use it as much as I could/should, I’m definitely sticking with it for day planning. When it’s part of my routine, it helps me keep focused and be more productive. It also helps me track how I spend my time.

Will I blog about this again? No, not unless I find some new and exciting way to use it. How likely is that?