10 Ways a Pocket Notebook can Improve Your Life

1. Write down anything that upset your day, and how you will respond better in the future

No day is perfect. Our peace is always disrupted by something. I call it the noisy neighbor effect. It may not be a literal noisy neighbor, but it’s a rare day when your equilibrium isn’t thrown off at some point.

Take a moment at the end of each day to reflect. What was your noisy neighbor today? A set of misplaced keys? Heavy traffic made you late? Did your internet service go out?

Write it down. Then write down how you responded. Then write how you’ll react better in the future.

2. Grab ideas

Have a great idea? A crazy idea? A dull idea? A dumb idea? Write it down. It’s impressive how quickly those ideas fade from memory when we don’t put them in writing.

But don’t stop there. Take a moment sometime during the week to review all the ideas you wrote in your pocket notebook and do one of two things -

Sketch out a plan to implement the idea. Ready to make it happen? Great. Your pocket notebook is a perfect place to sketch out your plan for taking the idea from imagination to reality.

What steps will you have to take? What material resources will you need? Who will you need to work with? Write it all down. Brainstorm it. Draw connecting lines from one thing to another to show how those things are related.

Or …

Add the idea to your someday list. If you’re not ready to implement the idea, get it on your someday list so you’ll be reminded of it every time you do your weekly review.

3. Make people feel heard

How often has someone recommended something to you — a book, a movie, a restaurant — and you’ve said you would check it out … then forgot as soon as the conversation was over?

The truth is, people have come to expect it. Most people know you won’t take their recommendations because they never take them either.

No one is listening anymore. We all know it, and for some reason, we all accept it. But not you.

Next time someone recommends something to you, take out your notebook and write the recommendation down, along with the name of the person who gave it to you, right in front of them. When they see you do this, they will feel heard and respected.

All you needed was a pocket notebook and a pen to make someone’s day.

4. Write what you learned today

Huge things, small things, inspiring things, fun things, sad things, unbelievable but true things. Anything you learn can be captured in a pocket notebook.

Write it, draw it, doodle it, deconstruct it. Whatever you learned, make it your own. In your own words. Your own images. Your own responses to this new thing that has entered your life.

It’s your notebook. Make it work for you, your way.

5. Capture quotes that inspire you

Here are a couple to get you started.

“The best way to get approval is to not need it.” — Hugh MacLeod

“When you accept what must be accepted, you can begin what must be begun.” — Eric Greitens

You never know when you’ll stumble upon a quote that inspires you, makes you stop and reflect, or brings you peace. It could be from a book, a podcast, a movie, a sermon, or a conversation with a friend.

It could come from anywhere. When you find it, write it down. Then write why it grabbed you. How does it apply to you? How will you use it? When will you apply this quote to your life?

6. Write what you’re grateful for

Go online and search the phrase “gratitude changes the brain” and you’ll find plenty of scientific reasons to practice gratitude. But do you really need a scientist to tell you gratitude makes you feel better?

You already know that when you feel grateful, you feel good. You feel happy, less stressed, and more generous. Who wouldn’t want to feel like that every day?

Your pocket notebook is an easy entry into this daily bliss. Take a few moments each day to write down one to three things you are truly grateful for, then allow yourself some time to sit and focus on that gratitude. Picture whoever or whatever it is, and allow your whole body to be swept up in the experience.

You’ll feel better, you’ll think better, and if you do it before bed, you’ll likely sleep better.

7. Plan tomorrow

A proven way to boost your focus and productivity is to plan your day the night before. Taking a little time to reflect on the most important tasks you need to get done tomorrow, then writing those tasks down, improves the odds you’ll get them done.

Spend a minute or two visualizing each task. See yourself working on them, and completing them with ease. This doesn’t guarantee there won’t be any “noisy neighbors”, but if you do it before going to sleep your subconscious will have time to work on the tasks while you snooze.

8. Draw or doodle your story

If you have a penchant for drawing or sketching, you can draw something from your day and write about it. A visual journal is a fun way to track the significant events in your life. The great successes, the brutal defeats, the fun surprises, and the places and people you experience throughout your day are all great subjects for a visual journal.

9. Write what’s on your mind

Are you stressed out? Confused? Overwhelmed? Writing about it can help bring clarity and focus to lift you out of the funk.

Getting your problems on paper helps you see them objectively and from a distance. That distance gives you a better perspective. With an improved perspective, you’re more likely to see ways to fix or at least mitigate whatever is weighing on your mind.

10. Write about how you will be a better person tomorrow than you were today

I know. You were great today. At your very best. But even if that’s true, let me ask you something.

Could your best be better?

Even on our best days, when we’re on top of our game and everything turns to gold at our magic touch, we could be better.

Your best right now is your best right now. It doesn’t have to be your best tomorrow. Or the next day. Or ten weeks from now. Or a year from now.

I’m no math whiz, so I looked this one up. If you improve something by only one percent per day, for 365 days, you will have made it 37 times better at the end of a year.

That’s the power of compound interest.

Could you improve by just one percent tomorrow? You know you could. What about the next day? Of course. Anyone can do one percent.

The reason most of us don’t is that we don’t think about simple, concrete ways we can improve each day.

A pocket notebook can change that. A pocket notebook can give you space to review your day and plan how you will be just one percent better tomorrow.

Do that every day for a year, and reap the benefits for a lifetime.