Back to making big plans

Hello!

For several years I was very into Bullet Journaling. Not so much the extravagant spreads with colour coded everything, but the basic logging and pages of ideas, collections and plans. I used to teach lettering workshops, do a little freelance, run a zine with friends, regularly blog, and I always had at least a few creative projects on the go. That all kind of fell apart after having kids and finding myself having very little spare time or personal projects to manage. A planner gets a little depressing when so much of it is empty.

I felt like looking after my family, working at my job, and maybe squeezing in a little art here and there was about all I could handle. With my limited spare time I tried to Optimise for curiousity, not productivity and just see where that led. I'm proud of what I did! But now I think I'm ready to dream a little bigger again. I've been keeping notes in random apps and bits of paper but nothing like my old journals.

I got sucked in by social media ads and bought myself a "pocket" sized notebook cover with some removable inserts. My main idea was to have a sketchbook and a blank notebook for writing notes in the same space but separate. No pressure, just always there. I underestimated how much it would make me feel like the old me, having a physical space to plot and plan again. It's not exactly the same. I'm still going gently, more freeform and up to my mood and interest than any kind of structured planning system, and I love it. I'm putting down thoughts and ideas instead of having them bounce around uselessly in my head. I've managed my best run of Morning Pages so far (not hard considering my previous record was about 3 days). We'll see if this enthusiasm fades away as the new shiny thing aspect fades, but right now I'm rolling with it.

Are you a planner? I'm always up for some stationery nerdery, just send me an email. And if you're in an intense phase of your life where you feel like you've lost yourself a little, I hope you can find your way again, whatever that looks like.