> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://blog.annabyang.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # All of the Notebooks - URL: https://blog.annabyang.com/all-of-the-notebooks/ - Published: 2019-03-03T22:40:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-03-13T08:14:16.000Z - Description: Every notebook has a purpose. - Author: Anna Burgess Yang - Tags: Habits & Goals, Writing, Productivity & Organization My husband wanted to know why I have so many notebooks. I had been writing in several on Saturday morning and they were strewn around the kitchen. “They all have a purpose,” I said, indignantly. “Would you like to know what they are?” “Not really.” He shrugged and walked away. I admit to being a bit disappointed because I was fully prepared to offer explanations for ALL of my notebooks. I do a lot of things. I am an executive at a software company and have a million things to keep track of. Running a house with three kids is akin to being the CEO of a small business. Plus, I have my own things that I want to do. Much as I’m a firm believer in [automation](https://annabyang.medium.com/why-i-use-both-trello-and-todoist-dd137b96ef86?ref=blog.annabyang.com), streamlining, and making things as easy as possible, I have also learned not to “force” things into roles or tasks for which they are not intended. Notebooks are such a thing for me. I cannot have one giant notebook for all of my content because, for me, that doesn’t work. They [each have a unique function](https://medium.com/curious/the-best-tools-for-capturing-your-many-different-notes-b13d7fa2fe64?ref=blog.annabyang.com) in my world, and I need to dedicate them to their purpose. I have a Moleskine Daily Planner, and at the end of each day, I jot down what I did that day. Who I saw. What I did. No commentary, hardly more than a sentence of detail. This is as close to a daily journal as I get. I have a Simple Elephant weekly planner, with no prescribed weeks (the dates are blank — I fill them in as I go). This is my writing planner, where I put thought and commitment into what I am going to write. A blog post? Submit an article to an online publication? Some weeks just suck and the wheels fall off the wagon and I plan nothing, writing only as I am able to squeeze it in. And that’s fine. Having no prescribed dates in this planner makes me guilt-free if I miss a particular week. I have a small spiral notebook that I keep in my purse for when I am out and about. If I feel the need, I can write something down. I have a daily planner where I outline my “home time” and, more specifically, my goals for myself. First I write down all of the commitments for the week — like last week had the school science fair in the evening. Around that, I detail out the evenings, including exercise, laundry, watching an episode of Sherlock with my husband on Fridays (our “date night in”) and bath night. It gives me a realistic perspective of the time I have to myself and how I want to use it. I’m still *working on* using that time productively and not just flopping onto my bed with Netflix, but it has helped me at least recognize when I have pockets of time in the day that I can use. (Note to self: need to write in this notebook in PENCIL instead of PEN) A similar daily planner breaks my workday into 30-minute chunks. I have found that this has helped me tremendously, even down to 15-minute increments. If I know I need to spend an hour on a project, I block it off. Shut the email and focus, crossing off as I go. It has served me much better than a giant to-do list for the day. (I also use OneNote and Outlook Tasks for work.) A spiral decomposition notebook holds more long-form writing. Essays? I have prompts from various sources and try to write in this notebook once per week. There is a huge distinction between writing by hand and typing, as writing by hand is slowed by the physical limitations of my fingers. I am forced to slow down. Think more. Then there are days like today that did not go as planned. I had blocked off in my notebook that I would be taking my 9-year-old and 6-year-old ice skating from 3:15–5:45, including travel time. But the 6-year-old announced after [nap time](https://betterhumans.pub/power-napping-is-a-superpower-1b03cd29530f?ref=blog.annabyang.com) that he no longer wanted to go ice skating. “Maybe next weekend,” was what he said. I had suddenly found free time in the afternoon. Though it was only 21 degrees outside, I bundled the two kids up and sent them outside to run around. “Oh good,” said the 9-year-old, “I was looking for a way to get my energy out.” I called my husband down and informed him that he and I were both going to use this time to run on the new treadmill we just bought a few weeks ago. We both have joined a running challenge, hosted by a friend of ours, where we need to run 20 days in March. This could be one of the days. My husband went first and I followed, plugging along at a steady 12–minute mile. As I was wrapping up, the kids wanted to come back inside. The door from the sunroom to the backyard has issues and needs to be opened by an adult, so I motioned for my husband to come and let them in while I continued to run. He walked past me and opened the door and as he passed a small table in our sunroom, he said, “ANOTHER notebook???” Why, yes. This notebook was labeled “**Quotes**.” For when I am reading outside or in the sunroom and trip across a quote I like, I write it down. He shook his head. And I kept running. --- ***Like what you’re reading? Consider supporting writers by becoming a Medium member.*** [Join Medium with my referral link - Anna Burgess YangAs a Medium member, a portion of your membership fee goes to writers you read, and you get full access to every story…![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/fit/c/160/160/0*_Q45n5iM0cIKsssM)](https://annabyang.medium.com/membership?ref=blog.annabyang.com)