#diary spread

Six Plus Boxes Too Small

Adding boxes can feel like adding structure, but every box needs room for handwriting, a heading, and inner padding.

When a spread is split into six or more small modules, the layout may look tidy at first and still become uncomfortable when you actually write in it.

Use the shrinkage test

Before drawing the full grid, imagine writing one real sentence in each box. If the sentence has to shrink, break awkwardly, or lose its margin, the module is too small for comfortable use.

Fewer boxes can make the spread more useful, not less organized.

A CHANGE OF SCHEDULE

I am sorry for the late update to my blog. Over the last week or so, I have come to the conclusion that the weekly blog post schedule isn't working in favour of my current schedule.

At the moment, I am spending a lot of time preparing for the next academic year and organising my living space. After the lockdowns lifted, I didn't have the energy or the time to commit to reorganising. However, I have taken advantage of this long summer to do what should have been achieved years ago.

Because of this, my blog posts will become biweekly. For the most part, that is what I have been doing anyway, but for the sake of transparency that is the plan.

ORGANISING MY LIVING SPACE

As mentioned, I have been reorganising my living space. It has been an uphill battle. There were a lot of areas that needed reorganising, including my desk, under the bed, and my wardrobe, among others. The worst part is I am nowhere near done yet, though the more time-consuming tasks have been crossed off my list.

To help my organisation endeavours, I bought a wall organiser and a trolley to place my art supplies and notebooks for the upcoming year. The trolley was a nightmare to assemble, but my boyfriend was on standby to lend a helping hand. Without him, the trolley would still be in pieces inside the box. I have not put up the wall organiser yet, but that's on this month's agenda.

This has been a two-month project that is stretching into September. However, I think this will be the last month of reorganisation (fingers crossed 🤞). I am proud of the small wins. They are something I have come to embrace in the last few years. Despite this being numerous small wins culminating into one larger task, I am still proud of what I have achieved with the room I live in.

STUCK IN LIMBO

On the job front, I am waiting for something to come up from the supply agency. It is what I like to call, 'being stuck in limbo' as you don't know where you are without making money to live. Thankfully, some things have cropped up but it is whether I get it.

I have been in this place before, but this time I have a safety net through being with the supply agency. Without it, I would be in the job centre and pushed towards jobs I have no interest in—as has happened in the past.

Overall, I am looking forward to what the future holds and I will still be looking for more permanent fixtures when they occur. Though I am wary of what the future might hold, I am trying to remain positive considering I still have my creative projects on the side.

READING

Lately, I have had a strange relationship with reading. Maybe it is because I am reading the last book in a series. Maybe it is because that same book is over 800 pages. However, I have turned to comics to help get me out of my reading slump.

After watching Deadpool and Wolverine twice, I have suddenly entered my X-Men phase again. I have two comic compilations on my bookcase (considering how much of a fan I was as a kid, I'm surprised there wasn't more) and I enjoyed both so much. I woke up this morning wanting to read the rest of the second one as it was getting really good—as a side note, can Logan/Wolverine please catch a break!

Anyway, I think I am ready to read the rest of my bulky book before moving on to something else. Although, I am glad for the small respite.

NEW ANNUAL DIARY

I have a new diary! I am a huge fan of Cleverfox in particular and this is the second year I have used their yearly spread. In my last planner, I experimented with some basic spreads for the dotted paper at the back and implemented those into two-page spreads. To give those pages personality, I have added stickers, washi tape and other scrapbooking odds and ends. The pictures of my proudest spreads are below.

As you can see May is not completed yet because I need to buy some more green-themed scrapbooking materials. I have also made this infographic for anyone who wants to know what each section is about:

IN CONCLUSION

I have more blogs to come. I am working on one for motivation that is taking a while because of the amount of research I am doing for it. On Wattpad, I am also a blogger and will be working on a blog post about music which I will also share here later this week.