If you currently or ever have gone through a stationery phase you probably have a bunch of empty notebooks lying around. And rather than letting them collect dust or throwing them away I made this list of 45 things to do with empty notebooks you have lying around!
Using up these empty notebooks can be as productive, organized, creative, or fun as you want! So I broke this list of ideas down into those 4 categories so you can find the right use for your empty notebook.
*** This article may contain affiliate links that I receive a small commission off of. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I always appreciate any support to keep this site running! Thank you!***
In the chance that you are reading this for inspiration but don’t actually have notebooks that are empty but want to do some of these ideas here are some of my favorite notebooks:
(Also they are all from Target and super affordable!)
Lined Journal Pink Dot – Sugar Paper™
Wit & Delight Lined Journal Black Linen Note to Self
Leatherette Storage Journal Khaki Rainbow – DesignWorks Ink
Moleskine 192 sheet 1 Subject Narrow Ruled Notebook 9.75″x7.5″ Hard Cover Classic Hydrangea Blue
45 Things To Do With Empty Notebooks You Have Lying Around
Productive ideas for empty notebooks
- Goal setting– use your notebook to set daily, weekly, monthly, and annual goals. The daily goals will take up a lot of the pages to be ready for that!
- Habit tracking– this is a wonderful way to use a notebook. Especially if it is a grid (or bullet journal) notebook.
- Meal planning/prepping- using a notebook to keep track of your meal planing and prepping is a great way to actually stick to it. And be able to easily reference back to it.
- Self improvement journaling– working on yourself is one of the best ways to be more productive. Here are 75 self improvement journal prompts!
- Fitness tracking- use the notebook to keep track of your fitness progress as well as goal setting.
- Schoolwork progress– if you are a student it can be so helpful for productivity to track where you are in each class and what needs to get done.
- Project tracking– notebooks work great for tracking and planning projects whether they are personal or professional projects.
- Online course note taking- use this opportunity to take a free online class and use the notebook to take notes from it.
- Daily planner– if you don’t currently have a daily planner you can use the empty notebook for it. Here’s a free daily planner I released that you could use for inspiration for the layout.
- Time logging– this is something I talk about a lot on here because it is so helpful for being more productive. Use the notebook to track what you do with your time each day.
Organized journal ideas
- Calendar- you can use an empty notebook as a calendar and to keep track of all appointments and meetings you have.
- To do lists– this is something I strongly recommend doing! Using your notebook to keep your daily and weekly to do lists easily accessible will help them stay easier to stick to and help you be more organized.
- Budgeting– using a journal to keep track of your budget, spending, and financial goals is such a great use of one.
- Daily routines– use your notebook to keep track of and start building on your daily routines. This can help you really have a more organized life.
- Grocery lists– keeping your notebook as your grocery list holder is a great way to build a routine of sticking to a grocery list and always having one.
- Passwords/usernames– try using the notebook to track your passwords and usernames.
- Gift ideas– this is one of the best uses of a notebook I have ever personally used. Using it to keep track of gift ideas for others when you think of them makes the holidays so much easier.
- Shopping lists– keep a running shopping list of what you need and where you need to get it. This can really help with being efficient.
- Important facts– this is a super helpful notebook to create. Put important information about your life, home, family, etc all in one notebook.
- Travel planning– use the notebook to plan out your next travel adventures.
Creative things to do with empty notebooks
- Self care lists– here is a list of 17 ideas for this!
- Brain dumps- get into a mood where you have a ton going on in your mind? Then turn one of your empty notebooks as the place you use as a brain dump.
- Self discovery- use your notebook to work on different elements of self discovery such as following journal prompts and writing questions and answers to yourself about yourself.
- Kindness ideas– I love this for using an empty notebook! You can even get your whole family involved which keeping and planning ideas for spreading kindness.
- Sketchbook- this may seem like an obvious use but we often forget that we can use any unlined notebook for sketching especially if it’s casual.
- Visualization– use the notebook to write about visualizations you have for the future and what you want your dream life to look like.
- Letters– you can use the notebook to write letters to yourself or others that you don’t actually send to express yourself honestly.
- Mental health journaling– this is a great way to focus on your mental health and ensure you are making it a priority.
- Dream journal- put the notebook on your nightstand and when you wake up remembering a dream you can journal about it.
- Daily journal– this is a simple journal that is just a reflection of your day but is a great use of your journal and can be wonderful for personal growth.
- Scrapbook– this can be as simple or detailed as you like (doesn’t need to be scrapbooking like your grandmother does!).
- Travel journal- make it into a fun journal with stories and pictures from your travel adventures.
Fun ideas for your journal/notebook
- Bucket lists– this is a great way to use your journal while still having fun.
- Recipe book– turn your empty notebook into a recipe book that you can add to as you try new recipes and love them.
- Things to try– restaurants, foods, stores, etc that you want to try when you hear about them.
- Affirmations– use your notebook as a great way to write down your morning affirmations each day. This can also really help you stick to them.
- Self love bucket list– make a bucket list and then track it as you work on the items on the bucket list. You can even journal about how each item made you feel!
- Home improvements– use the journal to keep track of ideas, inspiration, project tracking, and completed projects.
- Seasonal activities– make bucket lists, project ideas, seasonal recipes, etc. You could use one notebook per season!
- Comfort zone ideas– use the notebook to brainstorm ways to get out of your comfort zone, a bucket list, track as you get out of your comfort zone, and then journal about how each of those occasions made you feel.
- Favorite quotes– this is such an inspirational use of a notebook that you can reference back to when you need it.
- Gratitude journal- keeping a gratitude journal is not only fun but also can be incredibly inspiring.
- Water tracker– hydration is so important! This idea is fun and helpful for your health.
- Fun facts– hear a fun fact? Add it to the notebook and make your own fun fact book.
- Life lessons– as you learn an important life lesson or even just a life hack add it to the book for your ultimate life guide.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this post gave you some helpful ideas and inspiration for how to use your notebook! Remember, that these are ideas that should help you use it however works the best for you and either benefits your life or entertains you in a way that you are looking for.
If you want more helpful posts, fun videos, and all my newest content make sure to keep scrolling so we can stay connected!
Korra-Shay
Let’s get social!
If you liked this post on things to do with empty notebooks then you probably (hopefully!) will like these too:
- 24 Fun Lists To Make When You’re Bored: Fun Notebook Ideas!
- Why Writing Lists Is Beneficial To Your Life: Importance of lists!
- 11 Easy & Fast Areas Of Your Life To Get Organized Today!
- Productive Things To Do During Free Time And You’re Bored: 125 Ideas!
- 31 Tiny Habits That Can Transform Your Entire Life
- 17 Important Lists To Write For Self Care and Wellness
Let’s really connect and stay in touch!
Below is a quick sign up for my weekly round up (only 1 email a week!) that gives you access to email exclusive freebies, my 3 new posts from that week, finds and favorites from that week, and so much more awesome stuff!
You must be logged in to post a comment.