Sometimes a journal needs a rebrand.

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Hey pen friend!

There are so many journal styles out there. You can keep a bullet journal, a commonplace book, a junk journal, morning pages, etc. In essence it's all just a notebook, a writing utensil, and ephemera, but we've been trained to categorize our journals into specific types based upon what we write in our journal.

So if you're feeling stuck in your current journal, perhaps all it needs is some rebranding.

Rebranding my commonplace book into a mind dump book.

At the start of the year, I had good intentions of utilizing an A5 Leuchtturm1917 as my personal commonplace book. It wasn't necessarily a traditional commonplace book, but the idea was for it to house information: purchases I'm researching, book reviews, quotes, etc. However, in June, my brain was struggling. My mind was continually racing with thoughts and ideas, and it took a lot of effort to focus on the task at hand. So I knew I needed a change.

At this point, I needed to pivot and get over this hurdle in my brain. So, I rebranded my personal commonplace book into a mind dump book, and it's been smooth sailing since.

Honestly, the change was minor. My mind dump book is still a book that houses information. I don't do any traditional, long form journaling about my day or my emotions in there. And yet, it feels bigger than a book of information. It's random brainstorms that I may or may not find useful in the future, it's experimenting with printing photos, it's notes from things I'm hyper fixated on, it's pages of only ephemera, and simply all the things running through my brain that doesn't belong in my planner.

Somehow this small rebranding enabled me to shift my mindset and utilize that notebook, writing utensil, and ephemera to its fullest so that it served me.

I hope your journals are currently serving you and making your life better, but if you need a shift, maybe a rebrand will help.

If you're willing to share, I'd love to hear about the types of journals you're currently keeping!

My must have supplies for my mind dump book.

Just in case anyone was wondering what supplies I use routinely in my mind dump book, they include the following:

• ​A5 Leuchtturm1917 notebook in the color Rising Sun
• Whatever fountain pens I have inked at the moment
• A mechanical pencil
• A straight edge to draw a margin
• ​Midori Join Dots for color coding
• ​Kokuyo Gloo glue stick for pasting in ephemera

Next week, I plan on diving deeper into my journal keys and how I organize my journal entries. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask by replying to this email or by sending me a DM over on Instagram.

Currently Enjoying

I recently got some new lenses for my OM System OM-3 camera! I've been having a lot of fun testing them out. I'm still trying to discover what my must have focal lengths are, and I'm realizing what I may want for travel may not be the same as what I use everyday. My wallet is probably unhappy with the new lens purchases, but it's been a lot of fun rediscovering my love for cameras this year.

Thank you so much for reading! I’ll catch you in my next email!

<3, Amy