

An elastic closure that firmly kept the journal closed.Grid lines to make it easier to draw things.Pre-populated calendar dates on pages so that I wouldn’t have to always write the date for my entries.Lay-flat wire binding that securely held the pages together.I went on to try several different types of paper based notebooks, and I eventually settled on my preferred configuration: I have dozens of electronic journals in cloud storage, but they aren’t as meaningful to me as my stack of paper journals. I’ve found that typing in a word processor didn’t have the psychological weight of writing. I loved the physicality of paper notebooks and writing in them with a pen. While some of these journals contain work notes like minutes from meetings, I would often write down my thoughts about those years, too. I have a stack of these notebooks in my office and up in the attic. I have to admit that it’s nice to revisit the things that seemed important to me during those years.Īfter I graduated and started my career, I started using to thicker paper notebooks that had dedicated pages for journaling. I used these calendars to organize my class schedule and also capture my thoughts about the people, places, and events in my life. My earliest journals were thin paper calendar organizers that I used in my years as an undergraduate electrical engineering student at The University of Texas at Austin.

Previous Tools Paper Journals Here are a few of my paper journals. I tried several methods and tools over the years ranging from day planners to notebooks, but I found the perfect solution for me in the Notability app on the iPad and the Apple Pencil. Getting these things out of my head and into a journal freed up space in my mind and also provided a sense of calm. However, I found that taking time to pause and write in my journal helped me pay attention to the thoughts, memories, and observations that I was missing.
#Notability app for ipad and macbook full#
After all, maintaining my relationship with my wife of eighteen years, tending to the needs of our three children, and performing my full time job as an Engineering Manager leaves very few spare moments in my day. My life usually goes at a fast pace from when I wake up in the morning to when I collapse into bed at the end of the day. I started journaling a few years ago as a mindfulness practice. Tech Notability and Apple Pencil: The Ultimate Journaling Toolset Journaling with Notability and the Apple Pencil
