20 Ways to Use Empty Notebooks

What to do with empty notebooks? I got you covered.

Do you have old empty notebooks lying around? I can relate. I have this inner satellite that draws me towards the stationery isle every time I go to a store. That means I have tons of empty notebooks lying around. Some have stuff in the first few pages, some are fresh, and most are filled halfway through and have been abandoned.

I’ve been getting into essentialism and minimalism, and quite frankly I just want to feel like I’m not being wasteful. I find it hard to use my notebooks for anything other than the original purpose I allocated to them before abandoning them, but I’m going to stop having that mindset. Let’s use the notebooks for anything we want!

So, I’ve compiled a bunch of ways to use those half empty notebooks. Let’s take a look in the list below.

20 Creative Uses for Empty Notebooks

Here are 20 ideas for what to do with empty notebooks.

1.      Stream of consciousness

I’m going to be honest. I have some diaries lying around that I don’t really like using because they are ugly. There, I said it. For these diaries, I use them to write stream of consciousness type of notes. I just write whatever comes to mind – things I don’t want in my actual journal. I’ll write really ugly and just be messy so it doesn’t matter.

2.      Take notes in empty notebooks

The second idea to use an empty notebook is to use it to take notes. I’ve been taking some courses at LinkedIn for work, and I decided to watch some personal development stuff just for myself. I want to take notes, but I don’t really want them to be neat and tidy, so I use an empty notebook that I stopped using for whatever reason.

I also read a ton of self-help books, and right now I’m reading The Obstacle is The Way by Ryan Holiday. The thing about me is that I am obsessed with taking notes. if I read something or watch something that resonates with me, I HAVE to write it down. Actually, this gets a bit annoying because sometimes I won’t read anything because I don’t want to write stuff down!

3.      Random thoughts

Remember that ugly diary I told you about? Well, I started using it for random thoughts. Here is what I do:
Write down one or two words that describe how you are feeling, and keep going, really digging deep into how you actually feel. Now you have a poem in your hands, but you also just did some therapeutic journaling! It feels so refreshing to do this single word journal thing.

4.      Poems

Don’t know what to use your empty notebooks for? Why not just use that empty notebook to try your hand at writing poems? Everyone thinks they can write poems, but they never do! Haha. That’s me. I could read a poem and go, hey I could write that! But that’s the thing… I could, but I don’t. Writing poems is a great way to express yourself creatively.

5.      Ideas

What are some good uses for empty notebooks? I read this article that had a really cool tip to improve creativity: Write down 5 ideas every day. The ideas could be for anything – business ideas, plans for personal development, anything really. I think the idea was to keep you on a lookout for identifying opportunities in every aspect of your life. If you have an empty notebook lying around, try this idea thing out.

6.      Blog ideas

If you are a blogger, or even if you aren’t, come up with a list of blog post ideas for your blog, and write them down in an empty unused notebook. I like to brainstorm ideas that would actually help people, or I do research for keywords. Either way, use your notebook to write down title ideas for your blog.

7.      Affirmations

The thing about affirmations is that you can say them over and over again, and get better results. Here’s what I like about affirmations: You don’t actually have to believe anything you affirm. It’s just a matter of repeating it until you change your mind about something. I have at least two notebooks dedicated to writing down affirmations!

8.      Goals for the future

I was watching a LinkedIn course the other day, and the instructor was telling everyone to write down their goals for the future. Remember that this is a guy who doesn’t believe in woo woo magic or Law of Attraction. He just knew that, if you write down your goals, you are mapping out a plan in the deepest corners of your brain – you are telling your brain where you want to go in the future. This practice has worked for a lot of people.

9.      Doodling

Among the good ideas for empty notebooks is doodling. Doodling can be for beginners or for pros. In fact, it can be for people who aren’t even interested in art. When I wanted to control my artistic stroke a little more, I found a few tactics to do just that: drawing circles over and over again. Drawing lines in different directions. That type of thing. Maybe you just want to doodle while you listen to a podcast or while you watch a lecture on youtube. Pick up your dusty unused notebook.

10.  Short stories

What to do with empty notebooks with lines? Write short stories. I never really allow myself to write fiction because it’s so hard to open Word and stare at a blank screen until inspiration strikes. But there’s magic in paper and pencil. I love the process of mapping out an outline and any details I want to include in my story. I really don’t care about the prose or whatever, because if I write fiction, it’s for leisure.

11.  Secrets

Ooh, secrets. Something you can’t keep inside and yet can’t tell anyone else. What do you do with those? Well, here is what I do: Write down your deepest darkest secret, and then burn it up. Of course that’s a fire hazard so you can just cut it up and throw it in a bin. But there’s something about burning it that makes it feel like it’s gone for good.

12.  Origami

If you’re into origami or even if you aren’t, use your empty notebooks to get folding on. Make origami birds and flowers, or my favorite, boats. Oh, and that talking paper mouth thing! I liked those.

13.  Quotes

Write quotes in your empty notebooks. They need some company, and what better company than a few quotes form the times of yore. Or hey, you can come up with your own quotes! I do that a lot actually. My quotes aren’t that articulate, but at least I understand them afterwards… sometimes.

14.  Sketching

I always tell myself I’ll practice my drawing skills when I get myself a high quality notebook and an HB pencil. But like..why? An empty notebook is perfectly fine for sketching.

15.  Learn a new skill

When I started teaching myself Python, I grabbed one of them old ugly diaries I was talking about. Turns out the insides were textured and I actually liked it. So I began to teach myself the basics of Python. I’m ashamed to admit that I stopped at the basics. However, that’s not the only skill I taught myself. Right now, I’m obsessed with UI/UX design.

16.  Learn a new language

Hola, yo soy una nina!

Haha. I am currently learning Spanish, even though I seem to not progress beyond the first few levels on Duolingo. I love to write down the words and phrases I use every day, and then I translate them. I once read that it’s always the same 20 words we use every day. So if you can learn those words, you’re pretty much set for life.

17.  Record your routine

This one is a favorite of mine. I learned it from a book called The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. Even though Hardy says to track all your financial habits, I put a spin on it. Track EVERYTHING. Track all your activities hourly. I know it’s a lot and sounds tedious, but it is essential for proper time management. It actually made me feel better whenever I did some work. I would record down all my habits in a day, and see how to use my time better.

18.  Dream journal in empty notebooks

It’s always fun to wake up in the middle of the night and write down your dreams – only to wake up in the morning and see the gibberish you wrote! It’s hilarious. I think I saw this idea on a tumblr post about waking up in the middle of the night and writing the first thing that comes to your mind? And the person wrote something so funny in their sleepy state. Jokes aside, keeping track of your dreams is a good idea.

19.  Height and weight measurements

I like keeping track of my body measurements so I can see what changes have occurred in my body. if you have an old notebook lying around, use it to consistently keep track of your statistics.

20.  Storyboarding

When I first started my YouTube channel, I did my very first story boarding on my current journal. At the time I thought that was a bad idea because it was messy and took up a lot of space, and it just wasn’t right for my precious journal. That’s why I began to use a random artbook I had lying around. I prefer my whole book to be messy instead of just one page.

So, there you have it. It’s now over to you. What will you do with your old notebooks? If I left anything out, let me know in the comments below. I enjoy hearing from you guys.