The currently trending lingo the kids are using on YouTube and elsewhere online is a “Journal Ecosystem” and while that’s a cute name, it personally peeves me just a bit since every system is does not work together symbiotically as a true ecosystem does.
Still, the concept of relying on analog tools, paper first, for planning, writing, organizing thoughts and projects is absolutely down my alley.
For years creators have used the term “Techo Kaigi” or planner meeting in Japanese, to describe this reflection on current notebooks in use, as well as the journals and creative supplies that go along with them to form a cohesive method.
Though my main squeeze is dance, if you’ve been around you know that writing, poetry, collage, photography, music and other creative media are very much at play and in recent years I’ve caught the fountain pen & inks bug, too.
Whatever term you use, if you want to be more creative, organized, and effective, then developing such a system for yourself could help unlock the next level of your practice.
Learning & Teaching
I’ve been writing (daily-ish) Morning Pages for a few years since going through _The Artist’s Way_ by Julia Cameron, I use a version of _The BuJo Method_ by Ryder Carroll, and have applied concepts from James Clear’s _Atomic Habits_ to help those practices stick, and these continue to form a foundation for my current journaling practice.
Being inherently flexible, my system continually evolves to suit my needs well as other tools I learn along the way, such as Tiago Forte’s _Building a Second Brain_. I’m not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned, they are just what I happen to enjoy and currently be using.
Creative Notebook System
In the videos, articles, and playlist below can be seen the real-time evolution of my journaling and notebook system. Depending on my posts, projects, inspirations, it is an ongoing process of adaptation, growth, experimentation and play!
Creative Materials Playlist
Teaching Artist Notebooks & Journals
The core books of my note-keeping, journaling and planning are:
- Daily Field Notes/Pocket Rapid Logging BuJo: small pocket notebook (Moleskine Cahier or similar) with leather cover from Liebhardt (gift from my gf coming up on 7 years ago!), this is what I actually have with me almost all the time to capture inspirations, nuggets of ideas and poetry, memories, gratitude, tasks, etc.
- Annual & Seasonal Books BuJo A5 dot grid notebooks (previously Moleskine Cahiers, now Rhodia Rhodiarama softcover notebooks due to their fountain pen & ink-friendliness), inside ManufacTica saddle leather traveler’s notebook-style cover handmade in Germany, contain everything to do with my current classes, workshops, projects
- Morning Pages: college block, composition book, looseleaf, or scrap paper
- Current Tools Binder: teaching tools, illustrations, visualization, daily attendance and course lists
- Signature Program Binder: coaching tools, resources, inspiration, client notes, etc.
- Honorable mentions: Dry Erase Board for capturing big ideas, mind-maps, and lists, Evernote for habit reminders, digital project management and archiving and digital, Google Docs for word processing
This has emerged as a pillar of my content, so I created a YouTube playlist to provide a home base where updates and archives of my journaling, notebooks, pens, inks, and creative process can gather. Here is where you may find past, current, and future sharing around the materials I use the most:
2025 Books & 2026 Plan
I recently filmed a video with all of the books I was working in last year and proposed lineup for the next year:
Reviews & Reflections Playlist
For further behind-the-scenes insights into how I use my books and my reflective process, I have been recording monthly, quarterly, and annual reviews which involve a flip-through of the period in my books, favored materials, glows and grows. These regular reflections too have their own playlist, which will continue to be updated:
Resources for Further Exploration
- Over a Decade of Dance Notebooks – A Teaching Artist’s Journals of Class, Rehearsal, Performance
- Reflective Practice Through Journaling
- Bullet Journaling for Order and Inspiration
- Current Notebook Lineup – Analog Journals for Creativity (2022)
- Artful Archiving
- My Creative Morning Ritual
- Learning from Mistakes and Failure
Questions for Reflection
- What notebooks (or idea-capture devices) do you have in current use? For what purposes do you use each?
- Which refinements in your system or supplies are you applying for this season?
- What are your plans for the coming year? 5? 10?
- How do you stay present to and keep track of your values, priorities, and quests?
Glad you joined me for this nerdy voyage through my current and historical notetaking, journaling, and productivity system.
Now is a great time to align our resources and systems that we need around us, to dream and plan, reflect on our processes and results from the year so far, goals for the year ahead, and what we want to take up going forward.
Thanks for reading and making together in spirit or in fact, take good care of yourself.
I’ll soon be sharing more about my personal curriculum, creative living, mindful movement (dance, yoga) and coaching, see you again next time!
Blythe Stephens, MFA, Bliss Catalyst
they/them or she/her
Creator of A Blythe Coach: dance through difficulty
and take leaps of faith into a joyful, fulfilling life