HOW TO START A JOURNAL FOR GRATITUDE
A step-to-step guide in collaboration with Puk Hyllested, an advocate for Learning With Your Heart. For this project we recommend VITA, UMA or BEA.
1. Find a magazine that you’ve finished reading. Look for colours you like and tear small pieces that fit into your journal
2. Select 4-5 small pieces of paper. Move them around on the page until you’re satisfied withe colour combination and the look. Stick them to the page with glue leaving a bit of space between them
3. Now think about your day and find a few things you’re grateful for. Write it down in short sentences or just words between your coloured pieces of paper
4. Optional: Use a date stamp or write the date to remember this day
Thank you to Puk, whose projects and workshops you can learn more about on www.laermedhjertet.nu/
5 REASONS TO CHOOSE PEN AND PAPER OVER YOUR PHONE
We teamed up with an advocate for mental health, Puk Hyllested, who tells us below why exactly we should put our phones to the side and start working the analogue style!
I’m sure you connect with a lot of people using your phone and other digital devices every day. Online meetings, texts, emails and messages on various apps. On one hand it’s very easy to get in touch with each other. We can check in on our friends and ask how they are and maybe get a quick response. But on the other hand it’s easy to get overwhelmed. What if we forget to answer to an important question? And what does it mean if we don’t get an instant reply? Communicating this way brings uncertainty. It can be really stressful to be online for many hours a day.
With a notebook and a pen by your side you can counterbalance your time online and at the same time enjoy these 5 benefits:
1. When you sit down and write by hand you’re forced to slow down a bit. Your breathing becomes calmer and your heart rate lowers
2. Writing in a notebook makes you more creative as you activate your brain in more ways when using your fine motoric skills to form letters and numbers by hand
3. Taking the time to write about your thoughts and feelings can increase your thoughtfulness and ability to reflect
4. Using pen and paper to write or draw is a sensory activity that enhances your memory and encourages learning
5. If you put your phone away for just an hour during your day, you can work and think without distractions from notifications, commercials and other people’s content. Write in a notebook instead of using a keyboard for a while and you will find it is a great way to train immersion and presence
WHEN OUR NOTEBOOKS ARE PUT TO FANTASTIC USE..
Kelly Harris Smith is a textile and product designer specializing in natural, sustainable and recycled materials in commercial and residential interior design. She has used our notebooks to design patterns in stunning vivid colours, using mostly our dotted grid notebooks such as VITA and NELA.
- What made you get into drawing? Was it something you did as a child?
I was always a creative kid but I learned a lot more about drawing when I went to school for architecture. As you can imagine that required quite a bit of detailed drawings, but eventually moved to solely computer drawings. I didn't move away from drawing completely but I focused more on my textile work and running several businesses I started over the years.
I've more recently gotten back into drawing, painting and doodling as a way to relax and de-stress. My dear friend went to Copenhagen and brought me back this beautiful NOTEM notebook with a subtle dotted grid that inspired some creativity.
Now it's pretty much an integral part of my evening routine, almost meditative. Once the dog has been walked and the kids are in bed, I make a cup of sleepytime tea and open up my NOTEM notebook for some drawing and to wind down. The dotted grid notebook is my favorite to draw on, as I love creating repetitive patterns, setting up systems and working within grids, which this notebook makes so easy!
- How do you choose your colours?
As a textile designer I tend to prefer tonal groupings in most of my designs. This could be all warm tones or all cool tones, or maybe gradations of specific colours. It's also important to consider the type of space a product is going in and if the colour may relate to the furniture, fixtures or flooring.
- What is your favourite Notem notebook to work in?
The Vita notebook with grid dotted lines is definitely my favourite.
We are so happy to hear it Kelly! Find her inspiring work on www.kellyharrissmith.com where you are able to view some of the pattern designs that started from sketches in NOTEM notebooks.
All images courtesy of Kelly Harris Smith.
A GUIDE TO A BULLET POINT JOURNAL
Whether you would like to set personal or professional goals or simply get an overview of tasks that lay ahead, a Bullet Journal is a great system that can help you.
You set up your journal into sections by month, week, and year. From there, you track what needs to get done. You also track significant events and milestones. This analogue way of writing engages your brain and encourages more thorough thought processes. Here is a simple step-by-step guide on how to get journalling:
Step 1. Pick the right notebook.
Simply select a notebook that you can easily transport from place to place. A notebook with an elastic band works well, for example our BEA, or one with dotted and lined pages such as VITA OR NELA!
Step 2. Create an index.
Start off by writing numbers on each page of your journal. Your index will help you track which sections fall on which pages. The first blank spread, meaning the first two blank pages that fall side by side, will be your index. To start, all you have to do is write "Index" on the top of both pages.
Step 3. Make your future log.
Go to the next blank page in your notebook. Use a ruler to draw three straight lines across the spread, dividing it into three equal sections on each page. Your future log is a way of getting a complete overview of tasks you need to complete within the next six months. It will include a month-by-month breakdown of events, tasks, and goals.
Step 4. Write the name of the next six months in each section.
If you're starting your bullet journal for the new year, you will start with the month of January. Write page numbers on the corners of each page. As your future log in your first section, the page numbers should be one and two.
Step 5. Add a monthly log.
Start your monthly log on the next blank page. It gives you an overview of a given month. Start with the current month and write the name of this month on the top of both pages.
On the left page, write down every date of the month in numbers, then the letters of the weekday after that. For example: 1 Mon, for the 1st of January which falls on a Monday.
On the right page, list your tasks for the month. Using bullet points, make a list of all the goals you hope to complete, and any deadlines you need to meet.
Step 6 Add a daily log.
Flip to the next blank spread and write today's date on the top of the page. Use small bullet points to write down daily tasks, goals and occurrences. Make a new entry in the line below for the next day.
Step 7. Write signifiers in your index.
Signifiers are the types of bullet points you use in your journal. You can have a signifier for every category, such as creative processes, bills, professional goals or school appointments. As you track your goals on your daily calendar, use your signifiers.
Step 8. Add collections.
At the very back of the notebook, add a global list of things you would like to achieve for the year. Some of these items can be copies into your monthly log. It can be books you would like to read to a fitness goal you would like to achieve.
Now you are ready to start!
Remember to cross off items when they’re done or transfer them to the monthly future log. You can always leave out tasks that are no longer relevant!
We recommend using our VITA, BEA or NELA for a Bullet Point Journal, they are thin, easy to carry and BEA has a great elasticated strap to transport it!
BE INSPIRED!
MAY 2023
This month we chat to Ulrike Lea Moormann, a ceramic artist from Berlin, about how she integrates our notebooks into her creative life.
Ulrike, which Notem product is your favourite and why?
I love the whole NOTEM universe, for me they are just the prettiest paper goods.
Especially the Vita series is lovely because of offers very diverse possible purposes. It is small, a pocket size, which is super because it fits in all my bags. The finely dotted pattern on its sheets helps a lot when I want to write down my to-do lists or just thoughts I need to remember. And the best is that it is also closeby to make quick illustrations or scribbles if something pops into my mind!
In what way do you use notebooks in your professional life?
Basically to make quick scribbles or illustrations, sometimes to write down some rough ideas when speaking with clients or key points that help me remembering ideas I have for my artworks.
Thank you for taking the time, Ulrike! Explore more of her work on ulrikeleamoormann.com or follow her on Instagram @ulrikeleamoormann!
