My Life at a Glance Notebook: A Journal and Planner System for Seeing Life Clearly: blog.ningnarrative.com
@ningkantida I really like this concept. I do my habit tracking in a weekly layout notebook separate from my daily/bujo notebook. I prefer analog for planning/tasks but the one thing I’ve struggled with is this high-level perspective. I’m going to incorporate some of these ideas. Thanks for the detailed write-up.
@ningkantida “Detailed Planning is a distinct mindset that deserves its own dedicated system. My life notebook will be for capturing lived experiences.” What do you use for detailed planning?
@ningkantida I’ve got a Frankenstein system of Field Notes, DayOne, Apple Notes, and OneNote (for work) that really needs an overhaul. You’ve got lots of great ideas here that I can incorporate. Thanks for sharing!
@annie Glad you like it. May I ask which parts of the system you like and plan to try out?
I used to use habit tracking on my weekly page before I realized it was too short of a time period to have any significant meaning to me. But doing “not breaking the chain” habit tracking for the month stresses me out and sometimes even makes me feel like a failure. Simply shifting from the idea of habit tracking to activity trackers helps me tremendously to see it as the flow of life. When I didn’t do something I planned to, it’s because I spent my time and energy elsewhere, and not because I’m a lazy bum who doesn’t have a life, lol.
I’m writing about another notebook system, “Life in Progress,” specifically designed for planning, accountability, and self-growth. I picked only the aspect of planning and rolling weekly from BuJo, structured the layout that can help you plan and schedule your priorities for the whole month with only 2 pages (because I hate flipping through pages to schedule things so much! haha). I even have a character building layout based on the chosen virtues! Hopefully, I can finish it before the end of the month.
@jake4480 Thank you. I now feel like my obsession with notebook layouts over the past few years is not in vain after your compliment. 🤣
@ningkantida haha heck yeah, and absolutely not a waste! Writing things down manually always helps you remember them better, much better for the brain, etc.
@jsit I’ve been using the Tweek app for scheduling and soft planning, alongside various other apps (e.g., Muse, Notion, Craft, UpNote) for detailed planning, materials and resources. I believe that detailed planning methods vary depending on the scope and nature of each project, making it difficult to rely on a single tool for everything.
Currently, I’m experimenting with my new notebook system focusing on accountability and life in progress, rather than purely detailed planning. I hope to share a write-up about it before the end of this month. So you might want to check that out later!
@mroutley I totally feel you. I’ve used dozens of apps and notebooks, but eventually, I felt overwhelmed by the flood of chaos I had created myself! That’s why I decided to create a system to at least give me an overview of my life. Other parts of my life are still a mess, though. LMAO
I’m sharing another notebook system, hopefully within next week, so you might want to keep an eye on my blog!
@srgower it's SO cool - I was just gonna tag you because I know you dig journals/planners so much heheh @ningkantida
@jake4480 For sure! No digital tools, even those e-ink tablets, can compare to the feeling of using the pencil to materialize your own thoughts onto a paper. You just cannot forget that feeling so easily :)
But my obsession even led me to have notebooks dedicated solely to collecting layouts. 🫣
@ningkantida hahaha to me, unconventional use of notebooks is even COOLER - that really shows innovation, I mean, we've all been perfecting our systems for a long time, right? I wrote a super brief post about systems almost exactly a year ago haha.. maybe you saw it. But it just occurred to me, we're all constantly starting, trying, and changing our systems.
https://spacetimetech.wordpress.com/2024/09/30/setting-up-systems
@jake4480 @ningkantida I have to admit - the system looks a bit overwhelming to me but it's interesting nevertheless!
@srgower @ningkantida totally. And that's why it's so cool to see what works for everyone, how it's different but the same, kinda in the end.. well, same goals - really dug the 4 anchors concept.