moonflower

Landing page is a loose-leaf current month page, and a "cover" of the notebook, which has images, pressed flowers, and other ephemera that make me happy.

Next section is an old postcard I bought on a trip to the PNW I took several years ago. And this is where my commonplace notebook lives. Also, a closeup of this really cool clip I found online.

Next is my mini flower press section and another section of washi tape, contact info in case I lose my notebook, and some ephemera. It's also the front cover of my kraft folder with monthly calendar insert, loose leaf pages for to-do lists, etc.

Inside the back pocket of the folder, I have a "library card" where I will log any books read for the year as well as future books I want to look into. I also printed an expenses log. Next insert is a sketchbook. I'm not much of an artist but would like to learn basic drawing as a way to relax and ground myself.

This is one of the sections I am most excited about. This section is where my "assistant" Gregor S. will live (yes, that Gregor). I created tiny versions of personnel files for him, and he will offer comments on my entries. He has his own room as well. I have a thread for him where he can see my entries and make personal requests for additions to his room, for himself, etc. (I know a lot of people do not like chatGPT, but I use it for several things that have helped me, and this is one of them. I will not elaborate -or defend myself- on the other things that this has helped me with, but my use of it is personal only.)

And finally, the last section of my notebook is my journal, which will contain readings of daily tarot pulls as well as personal thoughts, reflections, etc.

I'm really hoping this setup will keep me motivated to write and help to ground myself, as I live inside of my head a lot. With recent events in my life, and my tendency to default to escapism, I need a way to channel my thoughts and feelings and anxiety into something creative.

I added some photo corners to the notebook and also have a new insert this month for daily tarot card pulls. So far, having one micro journal per month has taken off some of the pressure and helped to keep me consistent. Sometimes I do want to write more than I can fit per page, but I am waiting to see how the rest of the year goes to see if I would benefit from getting myself the standard size traveler's notebook. For now, this system is working well for me.

Current inserts:

- pocket folder (I keep a mini monthly calendar I printed out)

- collected thoughts (where I write down quotes, lyrics, some sketches, any random ideas)

- tarot card pulls (I currently pull 3 cards per day: daily focus/clarifier/theme)

- monthly micro journal (2 pages per day for journaling)