Applying Bullet Journaling to Creative Hobbies: How to Set Up a Song Journal

I don't know how applicable this will be to you, but this is something that I'm personally quite passionate about. Along with calligraphy, my other "main" creative hobby is music making - especially songwriting. Ever since I started writing original music and getting more serious about music, I've kept a song journal. In it, I primarily have stuff about my own original songs, but I also use it as a resource for music-related things in general.

My first song journal, which I started a little over three years ago, was honestly a bit of a mess. However, because of my knowledge of the bullet journal system, I was able to apply parts of bullet journaling to the setup of my second one. In this post, I'm going to show you how to apply bujo techniques to your songwriting notebook if you're also a songwriter (specifically a singer-songwriter), but I'm also going to show in general how the bullet journal system can be adapted to not just your planner, but to other notebooks for creative hobbies and such--or really anything else that you need organization for. Read on!

PSA: Planner vs. Bullet Journal vs. Normal Journaling

Something I see that confuses both people who do and people who don't is the difference between a planner, a bullet journal, and just a normal journal. A little egotistically, I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert on all three, so in today's installment of my "PSA" series, I'll be explaining each one of these words and how they relate to each other.

The Transformative Benefits of a Journey in Journaling

Hey, everyone! Today's post is a little different, as this is a guest post from Tabitha. Tabitha is the founder of Mighty Journals and has been an active journaler since 2008. Mighty Journals is committed to seeing people to and through their journaling journey by providing the journaling community with the just-right materials that keep them keepin’ on. Mighty Journals will launch in September of 2017 with limited pre-sales before the official launch. Anyway, as a fellow stationary lover, I hope you enjoy what Tabitha has to say!

If you’re reading this blog, then you may already know… the benefits of journaling are tremendous. If you don’t already journal, read on to discover how journaling will transform your life and then get started! If you’re looking to grow, to change, or to improve the flow of your life, journaling will take you where you want to go.

If you start to journal, here’s what may happen:

You might learn something about yourself, for better or worse, but usually for better.

I’ve been journaling since 2008, and when I flip back (and I always flip back), I see consistent patterns in

my behavior. Patterns in my happiness, in my anxiety, in my put-togetherness. Patterns, patterns, everywhere. It reminds me of that Will Durant quote, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Once I get my eyes on it, I can say, “Hm. I can clearly see now who I am. Is this who I want to continue be?” It can be difficult, but sometimes the answer is… NO! In which case, your journal will be there for you yet again. A couple of years ago, I realized that I was perpetually moody and I wanted to better understand what was causing it. I used a mood tracker to pinpoint what was going on. And *poof* I was able to deal with the problem.

You’ll suddenly find yourself in a big, warm hug from one of the most active online communities that's out there.

It’s actually biology; human beings need to be part of something, to belong to something. We all thrive most in communities, even us introverts (hi!). When you start your journey in journaling, you’ll be welcomed by large and active online groups on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Pinterest, and blogs. Our community will offer you the opportunity to learn new techniques, to understand you’re not alone when you face challenges, and to motivate yourself to reach higher and grow.

You’ll get time for yourself to do something intentional every single day.

Journaling is a sort of active meditation; you get all the benefits of meditation like reduced stress and anxiety, AND you get a pretty journal spread to show for it. Jackpot! Literally everyone has had the experience of being stressed or overwhelmed, and we often forget to take care of ourselves. Once you’re into the habit of journaling, you will always have that sacred time with your journal that is reserved just for you.

Mighty Journals is committed to helping people make journaling a transformative habit, and habits are born from routine and commitment. That’s why, this September, we’re launching a project to help our friends in the community stick to journaling. Science shows that when people are rewarded for behavior, they stick to that behavior and start to build a habit. Reward yourself (or someone you love) for consistently journaling with our monthly box of journaling goodies - which is 30% off during pre-sales! And don’t forget to keep in touch (@mightyjournals) -- you’re part of our community now, and we want to know how journaling has transformed you!

Comment below - how has journaling transformed you?

Ways to Use Empty Notebooks and Journals

I have something to admit: I'm a stationery addict. JK, you guys probably knew that already. Anyway, this addiction extends to journals. I have a bad habit of buying more of them then I can use, so I've got quite a large collection of blank notebooks. However, I want to use them more, so I've come up with this compilation of ways to use your paper products - both for myself and for all of you out there who also have the same problem as me of buying too much stationery. Some of these ideas are things that are a little more obvious, but some of them are more niche and unique. Nonetheless, I think you'll still be able to get inspiration from this list of different ways to use empty notebooks and journals!

New York City Stationery Haul (AKA My Irresponsible Spending Habits)

Hey, everyone! If you don't follow me on Instagram, then you probably don't know that I went on a trip to New York City this past week. I was there for 10 days total - from July 9th to the 18th. In that time, I went shopping quite a bit. I actually spent almost $300 on stationery! Ahhh!!! As to be expected, that amounts to a lot of stuff. Anyway, that's enough talking; here is my New York City stationery haul!

Rhodia A5 Dot Grid Webnotebook Review (Best Notebook for Bullet Journaling?)

In terms of supplies needed for your bullet journal, there are two main components: a writing utensil and something to write in. Today, I'll be reviewing something of the latter: the Rhodia A5 Dot Grid Webnotebook. This is the notebook I've been using as my bujo for almost an entire year (since August 2016), and I'm currently on my second one. If you are trying to find a good notebook for bullet journaling, then read on to discover if this will be a good choice for you!

PSA: How to Pronounce Leuchtturm

I think that this will be quite a useful post for a lot of people. A couple weeks ago, I explained how to pronounce "fudenosuke", but in today's installment of PSA, I'll be addressing a very common issue: how to pronounce Leuchtturm. If you don't know, Leuchtturm1917 is a famous notebook brand based in Germany, and their notebooks are especially popular for bullet journaling.

The word "Leuchtturm" itself means "lighthouse" in German. I've seen a video on YouTube of an employee of the brand saying the term, but it's quite a heavily Anglicized pronunciation of the word. The correct German pronunciation is something like "LUOYSH-torm". That's really confusing (just like the language itself), so here's an attempted breakdown of each syllable:

1. LUOYSH: this is the accented syllable, and it's pronounced like "loo-oy-sh" but all mushed together so that you can't hear the distinction between each part of the syllable
• "Loo" as in British slang for toilet (rhymes with "moo")
• "Oy" as in British slang for getting someone's attention (rhymes with "toy")
• "Sh" just like in other words that end with "sh" (such as "lush" or "posh")
2. Torm: it almost sounds like the name "Tom" but with an "r" in it
• Kind of rhymes with the word "dorm" (and the pronunciation of the "o" is more similar to this than it is to "Tom"), but with a softer, less noticeable "r" sound

German is a hard language to speak, and nobody is expecting us English speakers to say it exactly like a native speaker. However, people should try to pronounce things at least kind of correctly, so I hope that this guide has helped you do just that.

What other other bujo/stationery words do you want to know how to pronounce? Make sure to leave it in a comment down below!

Edit: Sabine Dio, who lives in Germany, made a really high quality voice recording, and I think this'll be super helpful, too!

Goulet Pens Stationery Haul

A couple weeks ago, I made my first order from the Goulet Pen Company. I'm really excited about the stuff that I got, so I decided to make this haul post about said stuff. I ordered late at night on February the 9th (Thursday), and I received the package on the 11th (Saturday). I bought a variety of fountain pens, fountain pen inks, notebooks, and accessories for fountain pens.

✒ My first ever order from @gouletpens arrived today!! I'm so hyped to try everything out, since all I've done so far is unpack everything and try the Kaweco Skyline Sport Fountain Pen. However, I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna love everything that I purchased. Aside from the Kaweco, I also got a Noodler's Ahab, a bottle of Noodler's X-feather, a crap ton of ink samples (17 to be exact), a notebook sampler, a Rhodia pad, a Goulet notebook, the cleaning package set, and the cartridge converters for the Kaweco and my Pilot Metropolitan, which I got back in August. As you can tell, Goulet does not mess around when it comes to packing for shipping. I also really like the whale card thing. Anyway, now it's off to playing with my new goodies!! ~Mae-Mae ✒ #stationery #stationeryaddict #stationerylove #stationeryhaul #gouletpens #fountainpens #journals #notebooks #pens #bulletjournal #happymail #unboxing #luxurystationery

A post shared by Mae-Mae Han (@ourjourneyinjournals) on Feb 11, 2017 at 3:33pm PST

Goulet is famous for their incredibly extensive packaging, and I was not disappointed; all of the liquids were wrapped in case of any spills, and all of the paper products were also wrapped for extra protection. I didn't take any pictures of the package before I took everything out, but I filmed this video of me opening all of the products. There were also a couple of extra goodies, like a Tootsie Pop and a handwritten thank you note that includes what ink color was used (though I think there's also supposed to be a Goulet bookmark, but I haven't seen it :( ). Anyway, now that I've gone through some of the non-stationery stuff, let's go to the actual meat of the post, shall we?

HUGE China Stationery Haul!

Ok, I have a bit of a problem with stationery hauls. Well, the problem is that only in the past several months, this is the third haul I've had! I think I'm just making up for all of the years in my life that I missed out on awesome stationery. But seriously, I couldn't pass up buying stuff in the world's favorite continent for cute stationery - Asia (and more specifically, China).

As some of you may know, I went to China for about three weeks in July. While I was there, I got an almost obscene amount of stationery, mostly awesome pens. This post will detail all of the stuff I got, so without further ado, here is my China stationery haul!

Where to Buy Journals and Notebooks Online

Where to Buy Journals and Notebooks Online // OurJourneyinJournals.blogspot.com

If you're like me, you don't have a lot of stationery shops near you. I live in a small-ish suburban town, so I've been to approximately three stores in person. Thus, a lot of my journal shopping capability comes from the Internet! Consequently, I've compiled this list, for both myself and all of you out there, of places that you can buy journals and notebooks online.

Typo Stationery Haul and First Impressions

Typo Stationery Haul and First Impressions // OurJourneyinJournals.blogspot.com

For me, Typo has always been one of those shops where I just wanted to live in; though I've never actually been to a *physical* Typo store, stationery shops in general are just ~amazing~ - especially Typo. Their designs are extremely "boho" and "Tumblr-y" (or at least the hipster side of Tumblr). I was super excited a couple of weeks ago when Andie and I placed an order for Typo, and they arrived about a week later. Let me show you all what we got!