Writer. Blogger. Geek. Gamer.
Ah, that classic end-of-the-year tradition. One of my first posts on this blog was about goal-setting, and that was back in January of this year. Seems only fitting that I close out the year with another post about reaching your goals.
I’ve always been a little conflicted where the New Year is concerned. I like the atmosphere and the optimism around goal-setting, but I also think the hype and the expectation undercut the value behind it all.
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We have less than a week now until Christmas, and if you’re one of those last-minute mall shoppers, then I have a couple suggestions if there’s a geek or word nerd on your Christmas list this year.
All of these can be ordered with Amazon Prime or are readily available in a store, so you don’t have to worry about something being out of stock or any long delivery times. They’re also very affordable if you’re on a budget. Everything on here is under $50.
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Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I earn a small commission. If you’d like to learn more, you can read my affiliate disclosure.
It’s the holidays, and let’s be honest, sometimes brainstorming great gift ideas is hard. But there is one item that comes to mind every year, something I’ve received as a gift myself a few times. It’s super versatile and can be enjoyed by pretty much anyone.
And that item (if the title hasn’t already made it clear) is the notebook. That’s right. Those sheets of paper bound together that hold all your ideas and creative thoughts.
I recently finished my digital notebook experiment and it’s really reinvigorated my love for notebooks and stationery. I firmly believe that notebooks make a really versatile and reliable option for gifts. So I set out to brainstorm how many ways you could use them to prove that very idea.
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If you’ve been around a while, you might have guessed that I am something of a minimalist. I don’t like clutter and I don’t like excess.
I wasn’t always this way, of course. Once upon a time I used to hoard. I loved owning movies and tv shows on dvd. I would buy an overwhelming number of books, especially after Book Outlet became a thing. Every day I would check for sales and I was constantly looking to add to my growing collection.
At my peak I had three full-sized bookshelves, stuffed to the brim with books. Everytime I bought new ones I’d have to rearrange those shelves to find the space.
I know why it got so out of control, too.
In trying to discover new books to read, I found this thing called Booktube, and one of the conventions of such a channel was this thing called the ‘Book Haul‘, where booktubers would show off all of the books that they purchased that month. So I began to do the same. I wanted to own a lot of books, because maybe then I would feel like a true reader. That it was something I was supposed to do. I bought into hype and bought books I might not have been as interested in because they looked pretty or because someone on Youtube managed to pursuade me.
Thus the collection started. And it continued to grow until about 3 years ago.
Call me nosy, but I love seeing what people have in their bags. It’s fun to see what people carry with them from day-to-day. I especially love looking at what fellow writers and artists carry with them. It gives you some insight about how they work, what is essential, and how they work best. And sometimes you get some ideas for things to bring along on your own journeys to the coffee shop or library.
I like to keep my load as light as possible. I’ve had back issues since high school, and too much weight on my back for long periods of time only aggravates that and causes me more injury than it’s really worth.
But as I’ve mentioned before that I can be something of a workaholic when I’m super motivated and mentally healthy, so the stuff I’m going to show you I keep with me pretty much every time I go out. I like to be able to pull out my laptop while I’m on the bus or write something in a notebook when I have a few moments to spare.
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If you’re not sure what the heck the Digital Notebook Experiment is, it’s essentially using a tablet as a notebook/bullet journal for 8 weeks to see how it measures up as a viable alternative. If you’re interested in learning a little more, here’s the blog post where I describe the whole experiment.
It’s been a couple weeks now, and though I’ll be using my digital notebook for another couple of weeks, I thought this half-way mark might be a good time to share some spreads as well as some thoughts about the whole thing.
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