Life, mapped

Hello! Thank-you so much for calling in and I'm delighted you are here :). And if you you love paper, can't resist a notebook (especially one prefaced by traveller's) and are curious about ways of keeping track of your life, there might be something that sparks your interest today.

I hold my hands up - I am a bit of an organiser junkie. Isn't it fascinating that in this digital age, paper planners are everywhere? I think I've tried them all. Filofaxes and spiral-bound planners? I struggle to write comfortably with that lumpy metal in the middle. Bigger desk ones? If it doesn't fit in my handbag, it's not going to fit in my life. I think I have read up on every time management system on the planet; but if it's complicated, then it's not simple enough for me. So I owe many thanks to Julie at Notes on Paper and Melissa at Remember to Breathe whose posts on Japanese midori folders and bullet journalling respectively set me off down a happy creative track. I now have a ...

• yearly/monthly forward planner
• day-to-day reminders/to-do list
• record/journal of each day
• place to hold important information, ideas and projects
• mini on-the-road scrapbook
• address book (in case I lose my phone)

... all folding into a neat 8.5 x 5.5 inches, and the whole thing is bag-happy to boot! On the outside, it looks like this ...

If you haven't met a midori or Traveller's Notebook, it's a simple cover with elasticated bands which holds a number of notebooks in place. They can be used in situ or lifted out individually to work in. Covers are often made from vinyl or leather. Pinterest is full of Midori-shaped deliciousness. Me? I've made mine from a cereal packet. That kind of thinnish bendable card covered on both sides with gesso plus several coats of acrylic paint forms a surprisingly durable and semi-flexible material which I've often used in projects before. This time, double-sided tape, Herma, a corner-rounder, an old map (ahh, did you not know about my map addiction?), plus a coat of glaze medium for added protection, makes a great cover.  The final touch is one of Leuchturm's pen loops. You might wonder whether its adhesive strip is strong enough to cope with repeated pen in-and-out pullings, and I can assure you, having used them for years, that you could bond bricks with it.

For the inside, I've settled for Moleskin unlined notebooks which, in a pack of three, were comparatively inexpensive and acid-free. I was going to leave the lovely Kraft covers as they were, but as they seemed to pick up marks very easily, I covered them with Basic Grey scrapbook paper.  Our local shop only has 1.5 mm rolled elastic; I just used it double and it's fine. The address book I already had from a previous Moleskin, and it fits in perfectly. You could easily make your own notebooks, and staple or stitch them: Christy Tomlinson has a class specifically on the Midori, (scroll down to February 15) and a creative planner class too if you're looking for something more artsy.

                                                                                          
Bullet journalling (here) has one disadvantage, in my view: information which you may well want to keep on a more permanent basis is mixed up with daily entries. This means that when your bullet journal is full, all the notes, projects, personal info etc. are no longer accessible or have to be copied into the next journal again. So I have split mine into two sections: a journal notebook and a reference one. Here's how it pans out:

Monthly planner
Homemade, a double page for each month. Numbered down the left, and events and appointments go here.

Notebook 1: the main journal
Each month starts with a 'Do this month' list on a double page spread, to which items can be added. After that, each day I write an Appointments today and Do today list, and a journal entry at the end of the day. I might add weather information, or some stats from my Fitbit, or an item of news. I also tape in printed texts from my children, or photos which probably won't make it into the photobook, or any other slim bits and pieces which take my fancy! This notebook will probably last a few months, and be replaced with another. They'll be kept and bound together to form a yearly journal.

Notebook 2: the reference notebook
I've numbered the pages, and index starts at the back. From the front, I take a page or a double page for information which I want to have at my fingertips, and I add to information to it whenever I need to: e.g. pages for 'Car' (important info, ID numbers, garage/repair telephone numbers, dates when services due or completed etc.), books to read, websites of interest, insurance info, Important medical info for my Dad etc. I anticipate this notebook will be slow to fill and will act as a reference section.

Address Book
This came from a previous Moleskin diary and fits perfectly in here, but it would be very easy to make one.

'Moments' scrapbook
Containing small scrapbook pages, for on-the-go scrapping. I'll share more about this is a separate post.



And there you have it. Me? I am loving it. Life in one place. Mapped :).

Comments

[Helen]

Oh, Alexa, I hadn't delved in to this whole midori world but your post has convinced me to at least take a look: this might be a solution to my 'more notebooks than I know what to do with' problem.....thank you!

[sandie]

Wow!! I am so impressed and admiring of your organisation Alexa!! I love the idea of having a number of notebooks within one cover... now known as a midori! I've not heard of this before but it is a lovely word and I will be following the links you provided and find out more. As always I love your post and photos!
You know only too well that anything to do with journaling, maps and making books makes my heart sing too! You ticked all my boxes here, thank you! x

[Becky]

Gosh - what organisation! And what a great way to make a cover for the notebooks :)

[Louise]

Oh Alexa...it's beautiful. Lovely to read your process and see your photos. These are so popular now...i have been thinking i should bring out my old filo fax and update it...now i am thinking i need a midori x

[Karen]

I splurged on a midori for our upcoming trip; have a book of graph paper and a book of watercolor paper in it. Hoping it will become the ONE notebook I want for travel. I have two spiral bounds that I use for daily journaling and organization. They work well, but the idea of combining them somehow is intriguing. I am always so impressed with your creativity!

[[email protected] at the sea]

I have been researching Midori/Fauxdori with an idea to make one for my girl, when she heads off to college in September, and another for myself. Yours is wonderful. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Sian]

Wow..such organisation, so beautifully presented..

[rachel]

This is such a great idea. I am decidedly NOT organized. When I see things like this, I dream though.

[Cheri]

Isn't it funny how with so many different electronic organizing tools available, so many people are turning back to traditional paper planners? I never stopped using them, but I've been through so many different styles and none seems to be "just right" yet. I love your ideas and the photos really help explain the system - and now I'm wondering if something like this would work for me. I really need a daily checklist to remind me every day to stretch, meditate, take my vitamins, etc. And then the daily/weekly/monthly planner for recording appointments and such. And a gratitude journal. And a project planner. Right now these are mostly separate things for me and here I sit after reading your wonderful post Alexa, just mulling over how this might work for me! Christy's creative planner class looks wonderful too!

[Jacky S]

All my 'organisation' is on paper....nothing at all on my computer....planner, diary, calendar,notebook,lists etc.etc!!
Maybe I need something like this to keep them altogether.

[Michele]

I haven't heard of Midori before, but what a great idea. I love the cover you've made!

[Ruth]

I thought I was organised, but no, not when compared to you!

[Honore]

What inspiration, Alexa. I keep a pseudo-type Midori - it's my Circa (Levenger ) Planner Journal - will need to share on my blog my set-up (soon). Great post and you've givwen me some super ideas. Just what I love about blogging - the sharing. Thanlk so much for the inspiration. TBC!
Cheers~

PS. and now we know what the maps are for ;-)).

[Susanne]

Really, really nice! Now you've got me contemplating making a cover for the 2 notebooks I carry in my purse.

[Mary]

What a great post! full of inspiration and information - thank you for sharing! For the last 8 years, I've used Moleskine notebooks for my daily journaling (I think I've filled 23 of them) but since I left work in 2010, I haven't had a good planner system. Just bought Elise Blaha's Get to Work book http://gettoworkbook.com/ and I'm going to start that in July. Honestly not sure how this will impact my Moleskine practice...I really don't want to have two notebooks!

[Yvonne Yam]

Love your Midori cover! I use mine only for my travel pages.
I actually don't bring mine out at all. I rely on my brain and phone because I already carry too much junk in the bag...lol
Glad you have a system that works for you. I'm still tweaking mine!

[Cate]

Ah, now I understand what a midori is! I love that you made your own cover for it, makes it so personal when they've become so popular again. Looking forward to your on-the-road scrapbooking post, it's something that I've never kept up with while travelling, I sure you've got some great tips

[Julia Heald]

Fascinated by this post Alexa. Love the map cover (a girl after my own heart!) I'm just a Filofax user but am lusting after an upgrade. Just not sure what it is yet but yours looks fantastic.

[Missus Wookie]

Oh this is pretty and makes me waver yet again about considering paper... I do like the idea of the monthly/slightly longer journals being bound together to create a yearly version. Think this might be a fun and easy way to do travel journalling during a trip too.

Love the map cover, especially now that I know it started as a cereal package!

[Lisa H]

I also have a map addiction so this appeals to me so much - pondering if I should put that inspiration into reality! Thanks for sharing

[Melissa]

Thanks for the shout out! I suppose you've already realised I have a similar addiction to all things organising. Love what you've done here and your cover is genius. I look forward to seeing more of your little scrapbook.