Keeping an Idea Notebook

We live in a digital world, but the digital world is one of fleeting whims. When I think about my phone I associate it with entertainment, instant connections and actions/thoughts that evaporate. On a daily basis I send 100s of texts, like innumerable photos/posts on Facebook and Instagram, scroll through articles mindlessly and check and recheck dates, times and messages that I instantly forget and have to look at again. My phone does not feel permanent. But, putting pen on paper does. My brain does not associate permanency with my phone, so whenever I write myself a note (in the hundreds of notes that I have) my brain tends to continue turning the thought over in anxiety and not releasing it the same way it does when I put it on a paper list. And speaking of the hundreds of notes I have in my phone, I never return to them. Ever.Therefore I keep an idea journal. I have ideas about projects or designs or painting or project life or blog posts that come to me constantly and if I don't write them down, they disappear. I used to keep them in a note on my phone, but again I never checked it, it got jumbled and confusing. I didn't label it well, etc. The point is, those ideas went nowhere. Elsie from A Beautiful Mess talks about her idea journals often and how she fills them up constantly and we all believe her, just look at their project/product list! (Ps her pie chart of the idea breakdown is dead on) So a few years ago I decided that I would move my oh so precious creative thoughts from digital to analog and truly designate a place for them. And I have never looked back.Having all my thoughts in one, permanent place is unmeasurably beneficial for me. I am a maker. I make things with my hands. So I need to feel like I am capturing those to-make-with-my-hands ideas WITH MY HANDS. It just makes sense. I can literally sketch out the idea I have quickly, I can scribble notes and draw arrows and connect ideas in ways that you just cant in a note on your phone. I can also see my train of thought. If I write something, cross it off and correct it, then when I'm working on the idea I know what I already thought of and decided didn't work. This medium also serves as a visual account of what I have accomplished. I can see the tasks or projects I checked off or just crossed off.Keeping an idea journal helps me remember where I've been and where I'm going creatively and give me the confidence of knowing that I will never not have a 'next idea' to tackle. I carry it EVERYWHERE with me. Like obsessively. I get anxious when I don't have it. And as you can see, if I find myself with out it, I will add sticky notes in from where I have to make do.Elise posted a peek into her Action Book (which I also have and use for developing specific projects in-depth) and I was SO intrigued. And in case you are as curious as I am, here's a peek into a few pages in my idea journal. It is from Target and came in a 3 pack. It is light and compact, but has room enough to draw and get a good list on a page, oh and its adorable. I wish it was spiral bound, that's its only dilemma, but I'll remember that for next time!Some people have notebooks for everything and they are so organized, like Andrea, but I need one quick go to place. One thing to carry. One thing to consult. Even remembering if it is in my phone or in my idea journal is too much for me. Everything goes in here that is related in any way to creating/blogging.  This is my 'title' page. It's a sticky note that I frantically scribbled down during the episode of Gilmore Girls when Lorali decides to not get married and they go on a roadtrip. Such a perfect quote for such an epic moment, oh and life.   I use my journal for ideas, but also for more formal note taking surrounding the creative world. I was probably taking some kind of blog class or reading a post about organizing your blog and wanted to jot down my main blog topics and subheaders under that. I'm glad I have it in my idea journal, because I can refer to it when creating projects as to how they will fit on the blog.   Seriously, SO many projects! I recently saw (I cant remember where) someone use a notecard file system to write down projects they want to complete and keep it on their desk so they can pull out a card for direction and keep track of their projects. That is genius!  Again, formal note taking on the left from a podcast and then frantic idea generating.  Sticky notes from a podcast that I'll probably never organize efficiently, but they are there if I ever need them.  When I had the idea for this blog post I listed out my ideas and who I could ask to contribute. When I finished the post I marked it as a success! By far the most important page in my book. I refer back to this page constantly for art journaling. I also have a pin board for quotes, but these are quotes I find randomly: in books, in prints, on things I can't pin, etc.  Rarely do I sketch out my art journal pages, but I needed to collect items for this page and the prompt just took a little more brain power than I could just throw on a page.  More note taking of Sean Wes's brilliance.  Sometimes idea lists turn into to do lists. As you see these pages are just the beginning, stems of ideas that I just need to get out on paper so I can visually see them and allow them to develop or just lay them to rest. There are notes, sketches, words and references in these pages. They probably only make sense to me, but it is my perfect system for remembering imperfect things. How do you keep track of ideas?