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Embrace Bold in 2025: My Ambitious Goals for the Year

Posted on by Jenna

Are you ready to go boldly into 2025 and conquer your goals? You’re not alone – I’m right there with you!

I want to share my goals for 2025 and how I’ve crafted a personalized goal-setting system that works for me. Over the years, I’ve tried countless systems and courses, but combining Jess’s EPIC Goals from JashiiCorrin and Sarra Cannon’s Your Path Forward/HB90 has been a game changer. Jess’s supportive community keeps me accountable, while HB90 has completely transformed how I view and manage my time.

Using these two powerful methods, I’ve identified six key areas to focus on this year: health, content, home, personal growth, fun, and finances. In this post, I’ll dive into five of those areas and save my financial goals for a future blog where I’ll also show you how I’m using my Budget by Paycheck workbook to set up January.

With my word of the year, bold, guiding me, let’s explore the ambitious goals I’ve set for 2025.

Health Goals

Health is a top priority for me in 2025, and I’ve set two specific goals:

  1. Weight Loss: I’m focusing on sustainable habits and practices that will help me reach my target weight. This includes mindful eating, consistent workouts, and celebrating small wins along the way.
  2. Ultra-Marathon Training: I’m preparing to tackle an ultra-marathon in early 2026. This year will be all about building my base and getting ready for the ultra! It’s a big, bold goal that will challenge me physically and mentally, but I’m excited to see what I can achieve with proper training and perseverance.

My health goals are all about building strength, resilience, and endurance—both physically and mentally. As I progress, I’m committed to embracing the process and finding joy in the journey.

Content Goals

This year, I’m stepping up my content creation game. My main goals include:

  • Publishing two YouTube videos per month that are engaging, inspiring, and valuable to you.
  • Launching my podcast, Runs on Planning, with bi-monthly episodes covering planning and productivity topics.
  • Building a strong connection with you through weekly posts in my Facebook group, Runs on Planning.

Creating meaningful content that resonates with you is at the heart of my mission for 2025.

Home Goals

Home is where we recharge, and I want mine to feel functional and reflective of my personal style. My goals include:

  • Decluttering and organizing my space to reduce stress and improve productivity.
  • Adding touches of my favorite aesthetic—think spooky vibes with celestial accents—to make my home truly feel like my sanctuary.
  • Establishing routines to maintain a clean and welcoming environment year-round.

These goals will help create a space that feels peaceful, inspiring, and uniquely mine.

Personal Growth Goals

I’m a firm believer in lifelong learning and self-improvement. This year, I’m focusing on:

  • Expanding my creative skills by exploring new mediums in art and crafts.
  • Prioritizing reading with a mix of fiction and non-fiction books to inspire and educate.
  • Practicing mindfulness and self-care to stay grounded and maintain mental clarity.

These personal growth goals will ensure I continue to evolve and thrive as an individual.

Fun & Relaxation Goals

Life isn’t all about work—fun and relaxation are just as important! Here’s how I plan to make the most of my free time:

  • Exploring new hobbies and revisiting old ones that spark joy.
  • Planning mini getaways to recharge and experience new adventures.
  • Incorporating more play into my daily life, whether it’s experimenting with photography or trying out a new recipe.

By focusing on these goals, I’ll cultivate a balance that keeps me energized and fulfilled throughout the year.

Wrapping It Up

So there you have it—my bold plan for 2025! This year is all about stepping out of my comfort zone, embracing challenges, and making meaningful progress in every area of my life.

I’d love to hear from you: What’s your biggest, boldest goal for 2025? Share it in the comments below so we can cheer each other on. And if you’re looking for extra support, join my Facebook group, Runs on Planning, or hop into my Discord community. Together, we’ll build a fantastic network of like-minded individuals ready to conquer their goals.

P.S. The first episode of my podcast, Runs on Planning, is live! Tune in to hear all about planning, productivity, and how to make it work for you.Listen wherever you find podcasts.

Here’s to a bold and beautiful 2025—let’s make it our best year yet!

How to Set Up Your New Planner for 2025

Posted on by Jenna

As we get ready to dive into 2025, there’s nothing quite like the excitement of cracking open a brand-new planner (or planners, if you’re like me!). Whether you are setting up one or many planners, this post will walk you through getting your planner or bullet journal set up for the new year!

Using multiple planners might sound overwhelming, but for me, it’s the secret sauce to staying organized, productive, and creative. Each planner serves a specific purpose, helping me embrace my ADHD tendencies while staying on top of my goals and daily life. Ready to dive in? Let’s set up those planners!

One way I help myself before setting up any planner is jot down ideas for what I need and want to track. Once you have an idea of what you want to put in your planner, grab some small post it notes and start flipping through your planner. Write out your idea for each page on a post it and stick it on that page!

Weekly Planner Setup 

Your weekly planner is your go-to for a bird’s-eye view of your schedule. It’s the first planner I set up because it lays the foundation for everything else. Many weekly planners have similar pages like a year at a glance, monthly dashboard, monthly and weekly views. They may be called or look slightly different but they all serve the same purpose. 

Yearly Overview:

  • Go through and mark paydays, holidays, events/appointments, birthdays, and non-monthly subscriptions (like annual memberships). You could even include rotating or quarterly home tasks. This is a great way to anticipate busy periods or budget fluctuations. 

January Dashboard:

  • Write down your top three goals for the month.
  • Include key events like birthdays, appointments, and anything else worth noting.
  • Track other things like books read, tasks, or workouts.

January Monthly View:

  • Set up a big-picture overview of deadlines, events, and priorities for January.

When you go to plan your weeks, you can easily refer back to each of these sections to make sure you don’t miss something important!  

Bullet Journal Setup

A bullet journal is where creativity meets organization. I use mine to dig deeper into my plans and create custom layouts that reflect what I need.

Annual Pages:
 Start with yearly trackers and collections, like:

  • Trackers and lists you want to cover for the year such as followers, or books to read
  • Future Logs to note events or appointments you want to remember 
  • Year in Pixels you can track something all year such as mood, weather, symptoms, or get creative! 

Quarter 1 and January Setups:
You can also set up your first quarter and January. You may not have anything that you want to track for the quarter and that’s ok. You can skip that and go right into January! That is the beauty of a bullet journal, you get to pick what goes in it and can adjust it every month if needed!

  • Start with a cover page. It’s always nice to have a cute cover page to divide one section from the next
  • Goals and tasks for the quarter that may not have a spot elsewhere
  • For the month you may want a monthly calendar but if you use a different planner for that you can skip it
  • You can include goals, things you want to watch or learn, workout info, content plans, and weekly spreads or task lists
  • Other ideas you may want could be a wishlist, brain dump space, and end of month reflections 

Embrace Imperfection:
 Your bullet journal doesn’t need to be perfect! One of the things I’ve learned from my ADHD is that flexibility and imperfection are your best friends. Allow your journal to evolve as you do.

Budget Planner Setup

The budget planner is my financial accountability partner. It keeps my spending in check and ensures I meet my savings goals. Even if you don’t use the same budget planner, you can still use these ideas for your planner or journal. 

First Steps:

  • Finding Your Why: Why do you want to budget? Is it for savings, paying off debt, or just to track spending better? Write it down! Then refer back to it as needed.
  • Goals: What are your short and long term goals? Are you saving for any large purchases?
  • Subscriptions: Keep track of any annual, quarterly, or monthly subscriptions. Review these every quarter to make sure they are still serving you. 
  • Categories: Create spending categories and map out your yearly spending plan.

Monthly Setup:

  • Use stickers (if you love a little extra flair) to decorate the January calendar.
  • Fill in key dates like bills, paydays, and expected expenses.
  • It’s also good to include any events that may have a cost associated with them like medical appointments or birthdays. 

This planner helps me feel in control and stress-free about finances, and trust me, it’s a lifesaver when you’re juggling a lot!

Bonus: Memory Planner

Your memory planner is a creative outlet to reflect on your days and document moments that matter. I use an undated planner but you could pick up a dated planner or a dot grid notebook and make your own!

Setup:

  • If you have an undated planner or plain notebook, date or draw out each week first
  • Use leftover stickers, washi, or other decorative pieces to decorate spreads—there’s no right or wrong way to do this!

Jotting down a couple notes of each day keeps me connected to the little joys and memorable moments. I like to use a variety of colorful pens and markers to make each day fun and unique. 

Conclusion

Each of these planners serves a unique purpose:

  • Weekly Planner: Gives me a big-picture overview and helps me manage my time.
  • Bullet Journal: Breaks things down into manageable tasks and fosters creativity.
  • Budget Planner: Keeps me financially mindful and on track.
  • Memory Planner: Captures daily highlights and reflects on life’s magic.

As someone with ADHD, I’d be lost without these “second brains.” They keep me focused, grounded, and empowered to tackle life’s chaos.

I’d love to hear from you—how are you setting up your planners this year?

Stay messy, stay magical, and keep shining,
 

2025 Planner Stack: Tools for Organizing My Messy Mind

Posted on by Jenna

Are you ready for 2025, or like me, trying to convince time to SLOW DOWN? I’m definitely not ready!

In my last post, I shared all the changes I made to my planner stack in 2024, and now I’m excited to reveal my plans for 2025. I’ve thought about this for what feels like way too long, but I really want to carry over what worked and leave behind what wasn’t serving me.

Your purchase through these affiliate links helps support the channel! I earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

What Planners Am I Using?

First, let’s dive into the planners I’ll be using in 2025. These are my go-to ADHD tools for staying organized, keeping track of tasks, and planning my year ahead.

  • Weekly Overview: I’m going with a Happy Planner vertical for 2025. Even though I didn’t use a weekly spread as much in the second half of 2024, I love decorating it and find that it gives me a creative outlet. Plus, I already have it, so why not continue using it?
  • Google Calendar: This is my go-to for repeating tasks, work events, and anything in the future. It’s always with me, and I make sure to consult it before setting up my monthly or weekly layouts to avoid missing anything.
  • Archer and Olive (A&O) A5 Bullet Journal: I’m using this for annual trackers, monthly and weekly tasks, fitness, and content. I’ve been adjusting this throughout 2024 to find what works best, and it’s been a game-changer, so I’m sticking with it in 2025.
  • Budget by Paycheck Workbook (The Budget Mom): The smaller size of this workbook is perfect for me. I never liked the larger version, so I’m excited to try the more compact format. It’s not perfect, but I can make it work for my needs.

What Journals Am I Using?

Now, let’s talk about journals. These are where I get more creative and flexible with my tasks and projects.

  • Erin Condren Focused Notebook: I’m planning to use this for cleaning tasks, home maintenance, and interior design ideas. You know, those ones you don’t do every week or even month. I’ve tried this type of thing in the past, but it never really stuck. This year, I’m hopeful that having a dedicated notebook instead of a planner will make it easier to keep track of and accomplish these tasks.
  • Happy Planner Notebook: I’m moving away from the Hobonichi Day Free for memory keeping spread planning. I didn’t like the Tomoe River paper, and I didn’t use the calendar as much as I thought I would. I’m going to try a Happy Planner notebook instead because then I can move or add pages as needed. One section will be for memory keeping notes and spreads, and the others will track art and craft projects. I’ve found that I often forget about projects for weeks or even months, so I’m hoping this will help me stay on top of them.
  • A&O Square Notebook for Media and Reading Journal: I’m simplifying this for 2025 by having everything in one notebook and organizing it by month and only writing a few lines for each book, movie, or TV show I engage with. I’m also going to try printing book covers and TV/movie posters on sticker paper, instead of photo paper, to keep it light and compact.
  • A&O Undated Planner (Amy Tangerine): I’m not entirely thrilled with the weekly layout. I would have preferred seven columns for each day across two pages instead of five columns with large boxes for Saturday and Sunday under the weekday columns. But it’s still a better option than drawing out the weeks myself, so I’m going to make it work. I hope to capture a little magic from each day in this planner and pair it with another A&O dot grid notebook for longer, nightly journaling. 

Are you sticking with what worked for you in 2024, or are you making some exciting changes for the new year? Share your planner stack in the comments—let’s inspire each other!

2024 Planners in Review

Posted on by Jenna

2024 was a year of planner… upheaval!

Well, at least for me. Let’s look at which planners made it through and which were sacrificed for planner peace. My planner stack changed a bit over the year and that’s ok, we are always evolving and it’s ok to switch it up if it’s not working for you!

Links are affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you purchase through them.

Let me know, did you stick with the same planner all year or change it up? What planner(s) did you use?

How it started… 

I had my trusty Erin Condren Vertical and Daily Duo and I grabbed a companion planner to use for brain declutters and other lists. I picked up the Happy Planner wellness for fitness, a cute mini dashboard for goals, and a big vertical for content. Then I had Archer and Olive (use code Runsonespresso to save 10%) for my monthly trackers, memories, media, and reading. 

Before 2024 I shared my planner stack, I’ll link to the post here. 

How it’s going…

The Erin Condren vertical is still here but I swapped the Daily Duo out for only the Archer & Olive bullet journal. I found the daily was too much space and I wanted to see my weekly tasks all together instead of flipping back and forth.

I tried the fitness planner a few different times but it never stuck. Maybe because I didn’t have a good grasp on my fitness this year. But I started tracking a few things in my bullet journal and that’s been going well these past few months. My goals and content have been trashed. I couldn’t find the right thing for planning and tracking these. 

I still have my memory planner and journal. I’m also still doing media and reading but I’ve struggled to keep up with the media journal. 

Thoughts/Reflection

I will say, I tried to use each planner I had for different things this year. If it wasn’t working for my original intention, I tried using it for something different. But nothing was really working. I started the year having everything very compartmentalized, which has been my go to for years. I’ve always liked planning out content, goals, chores etc in different planners then using my catch all to bring it all back together. 

This year, it wasn’t working for me. 

A little over a year ago, I got a promotion and the type of things I need to track for work changed. I struggled to find a system for work, which also messed with my personal system. I finally figured out work and then I was able to settle into a new system at home.

I also have taken a step back from content so I don’t need a dedicated planner for that. I took a few months off completely and am slowly adding some ideas back into my bullet journal.

Currently, I use my vertical for my weekly overview and have fun with stickers. I thought the daily duo would work well because it had the hourly and the to do list. But I really need to see my full week at once to see which days I’m at the office and which days have meetings. I tried the new weekly overview in the duo but the problem was a lot of flipping back and forth so the vertical is the holder of all meetings, appointments, and events. Then I do a simple weekly spread in my bullet journal for tasks and other reminders. 

It’s kind of similar to the compact vertical but I get to do the arrangement how I want with the weekly task box first, Mon to Wed across the top and Thurs to Sun on the bottom. It makes my brain so happy! Plus, I can still do all the monthly stuff I like to track in my bullet journal. I wouldn’t be able to fit all that in the compact vertical, or even the monthly. 

I like my memory keeping and journal system. I used it all year! I will make some minor tweaks but I’ll share that in my next video where I share the 2025 stack.

It wasn’t in my original blog post but I’ve been using a Hobonichi Day Free for my scrapbook planner. I saw Linda Loves Creating using one and thought I’d try it. I like the idea of it and have been using it all year but going to adjust this a bit next year as well. Because I can’t with this paper. I KNOW I KNOW. I’m a terrible human being because I cannot embrace the tomoe river paper!

Finally, my reading and media journal. I really liked how I kept the reading journal simple and set each month up using Sweet Bean Plan stickers. In 2023, I tried to do different books for each monthly theme and it became a lot to draw it all out and setup. By the end of the year I had given up and started using random stickers. This year, using SBP monthly reading stickers worked really well. Lesson learned, keep it simple silly.

As for my media journal, I started out doing a page for each piece of media and wrote a synopsis and review. That got to be a lot and I fell behind, way, way, way behind. I decided to write a few sentence reviews for each about halfway through the year. That has been a lot easier but I have a lot of empty space on some pages. I also put books in here too so it was somewhat redundant even though I don’t write reviews in my reading journal, just track the book and stars given. I also printed photos of the cover/poster on photo paper and it really bulked up the journal. I started putting them on the bottom to try and balance it out. 

I’m planning to do something a little different next year, again more info will be in the next blog so be sure to check back if you want to see what I’m doing for 2025!

Erin Condren Reading Log and Journal

Posted on by Jenna

Are buying books and reading them two different hobbies?

I believe they are and we have a third hobby, tracking our reading! We are going to take a closer look at the Erin Condren A5 Book Lovers Reading Log and Journal (affiliate link – I will earn a commission if you purchase) to see if it will work for you!

The cover is a pastel ombre mid-century circle with gold accents. You can personalize it with your name. It’s a really pretty journal! When you open it, you get a quote page in the same pretty pastels as the cover. Of course you get a how to use this journal, like all Erin Condren guided journals.

What’s included?

You start with two pages with eight goals, which feels like a lot. I usually only set two or three goals per year. Next, you have two pages of monthly trackers. I really love the colors but I know I would not keep up with these trackers. 

Next up is the book review sections. You get enough for 58 books, which for me is about a year’s worth. Each book gets a two page spread with star rating, title, author, dates read, type of ook, why read, length (in page or hours), genre, and if you’d recommend. It also has sections for what you thought about the book, your favorite part, and takeaways. You also get a large space for thoughts, quotes, and memorable moments. 

I really like the top section but for me, I’d need to re-work the other sections for how I review fiction books. 

After the book reviews, you have 12 book club meeting pages each with a two page spread. You have space for the book info, spread (I assume food), what to discuss, what was discussed, memorable moments, your rating, club rating, and next meeting info. I really like how they have space for you to write down what you want to discuss and what was actually discussed. I think we all know how those best laid plans go! I also liked the space for the next meeting. 

Finally, you get six pages or favorite books and six pages for to be read. Each page has 26 lines so you get 156 lines for your favorite books, which for me feels like too much while only 156 lines for to be read, which feels like not enough. Maybe it’s just me but I get picky about what books become favorites. It would take me years to fill up the favorites sections. Yet I want to read everything so I’d quickly fill up the to be read pages. My library wish list alone has 825 ebooks. 

Yes, I have a problem. 

This book feels like it’s meant for multiple years with some sections and one year for others. You get enough pages for multiple years of goals, trackers, and favorite books but only a year’s worth of book reviews and book club meetings. 

I do think the journal is really pretty and I enjoy the aesthetic. I had planned to use it as my reading journal but I’m not sure if it will work for me. Or at least I would only use some of it. OK, I would mostly use the book reviews. I would love to have a book club but as of right now I don’t have one. 

Are you a reader? What do you think about the Erin Condren Book Lovers Reading Log and Journal? Would you use it? Are you in a book club? If not, would you join one? Should I start a book club? Would you join?

*NEW* Budget By Paycheck Workbook

Posted on by Jenna

Imagine a world where you have a clear financial plan, your savings account is growing, and you’re stress-free about money. Sounds too good to be true?

Let’s find out.

Let’s take a closer look at the new Budget Mom Budget by Paycheck Workbook! This year, she has launched it in a new, smaller szie. The smaller version measures 7×9.5 and retails for $44 on sale. You can also get the large size, listed as 10×11 listed on sale for $48. Both are listed at $50 regular price.

The covers are removable but I stuck with only the beautiful wildflowers design. I wasn’t really a fan of the other couple that are available. And no, you can’t use your Erin Concren covers on it because it’s 9.5” tall, not 9. I was slightly disappointed because for some reason I had it in my head it was 7×9. But that’s on me!

In the back, you get three sticker sheets. Two are on matte paper and the other is shiny. There are stickers for each monthly tab and enough date dots to cover all 12 monthly calendars (but not monthly and meal plan calendars). There are plenty of other stickers like payday, bills due and some decorative ones. 

There is also a folder in the back. It is not a heavy cardstock or coated like the cover. It is a slightly heavier paper but I’m not sure it would hold up for all 12 months. It feels a bit flimsy. The pocket is 6.75” across and 5” tall at the highest point. It would be a good spot to stash your receipts until you were able to enter them in your workbook.

The first page has a QR code and link to the instructions, which includes both video and PDF. I really like this because as you are filling in your workbook, you can pull up the instructions on your computer instead of having to flip back and forth between instructions and pages. The opposite page has space to work on finding your why.

Next up is the goal worksheet with room for short, middle, and long term goals and a page for memberships & subscription. I really like the membership page as I will review mine every quarter and see if there are any I’m not really using or can maybe change levels. These two pages are followed by savings trackers. You get a total of eight savings trackers. 

Next up is the yearly spending and balance. I really like how she combined these two pages. The previous yearly balance pages seemed a little redundant. It was spread over two pages but the graph was for the full year on each page, so for two graphs to track your net worth. It never really made sense to me and one graph was never used. You don’t get a graph this year, but that’s ok for me. I can look at the numbers and compare month to month on the tracker.

There is a page for your budget categories and two notes pages.

Then we go into the monthly spreads, starting with a monthly calendar. It is blank and you can choose either a Sunday or Monday start. My favorite part is you get six rows so each day of the month can have its own space or you don’t have to put the end of the month either at the top of the current month or move it to the next month. Some planners only give you five rows and that means sometimes the 30th or 31st will be SOL. The side columns include room for important dates, notes, and financial goals. 

Then we have five sets of the Budget by Paycheck and Cash envelope pages followed by six expense trackers, debt repayment, and net worth tracker. At the end we have the Budget Breakdown, which is a little different than previous versions. There used to be a page to compare the previous month’s budget spending. It always felt a little redundant to put my monthly budget/actual in so many different places. Now we can look at the monthly breakdown then compare the month to month on the yearly balance page, which makes sense. I can see how it is from month to month across the year, not just the current and previous month.

After the Budget Breakdown is the monthly meal plan calendar. Again with six rows so plenty of space. Lastly, there is a notes page with a spot for “how can I improve next month”. 

Overall, the Budget by Paycheck workbook works well for me. I appreciate the changes she made to make some of it more streamlined and less redundant. There are pages I won’t use. We are cashless so I have no need for the cash envelope break down sheet. I am trying to think if I could repurpose it to track my category spending, especially the variable items (food, personal, other). I also don’t need the debt payment page as we don’t have any credit card debt or loans aside from house and cars. I’ve always counted the house and car payments as bills, not debt. That’s my personal choice, you may do it otherwise. 

What do you use for your budget? I’m always looking for ideas in case there’s something out there that will be budget planner peace for me (yah, I don’t think that will ever happen!)

How to Write a Non-Fiction Book Review

Posted on by Jenna

Have you ever wondered how to write a fair non-fiction book review?

I struggled with fairly assigning a rating and one day I thought, why don’t I use the system I use for my fiction books? Then I realized that probably wouldn’t work great but it was a good starting point.

I used the same structure as my fiction reviews but changed up the categories. I did a lot of googling to decide what categories I wanted and what questions each would contain. But alas, there is not a fun acronym for this one.

These are the categories I use and the questions I ask myself:

Writing
Does the text flow/make sense? How easy is it to read? What is the tone? Is it dry? Accessible?

Logic
Does it make sense? Go together? Is it reasonable? Is it presented in an informative way?

Enjoyment
Did you like it? Would you re-read or reference? Did you keep reaching for it? Hold your attention? Was it useful, insightful?

Credibility
What is the source – experience or research? Does the writer speak from an area of expertise? Do they bring something new to the topic? Are they unbiased or do they have an agenda?

Understandable
How easy is it to understand? Can you easily implement the ideas presented? How well does the author get their ideas across?

Once I have answered the questions, I rate each category on a scale of 1 to 5. Below is how I determine what rating each section deserves.

1 – nothing hit well
2 – one or two things were great, but the rest were not
3 – average across the board
4 – most was done well, but something wasn’t quite there
5 – everything hits just right

Once I have all my ratings, I add them up, divide them by five, and have my overall rating! You will still get a fraction most of the time, so I use two rounding scales: Goodreads and Storygraph. 

Goodreads
0 – 1.4 1
1.5 – 2.4 2
2.5 – 3.4 3
3.5 – 4.4 4
4.5 – 5 5

Storygraph (using 2 as the starting number for simplicity)
.85 – .14 2.0
.15 – .44 2.25
.45 – .64 2.5
.65 – .84 2.75
.85 – .14 3.0

I find using a system and the questions for each category makes it easier for me to be objective and write reviews. I put together my rating scale and star ratings to keep myself consistent.

Now I need to figure out a system for memoirs. I realized recently this system doesn’t work well for those. Do you have a system for biographies? Please let me know what you use!

How do you write your non-fiction book reviews? Do you have a system? Be sure to let me know! I’m always looking for ways to improve my system. 

How to Start a Nature Journal

Posted on by Jenna

Do you want to feel more connected to nature? Why not start a nature journal?

If you want to take a break from screens, be creative, and reset your soul, grab a notebook and some art supplies and head to your backyard or neighborhood park. We are headed into fall and the change of season is the perfect time to start a nature journal. You can start simply by noting the changes you’re seeing in nature. 

What supplies do you need?

  • Some kind of notebook – it doesn’t matter if it’s blank or lined.
  • A pen or pencil 
  • Art supplies – colored pencils, markers, crayons, paint, whatever you have lying around.

How do you start?

First, head out to nature and plan to spend at least five minutes doing your journaling. Once you start getting the hang of it, increase your time to 10 minutes and 15 minutes. Eventually you may stay out there as long as you need but for now, start small. 

Open your notebook to a blank page. If you have a brand new notebook and you’re worried of messing it up (you won’t but I get it), don’t start on the first page, skip ahead a couple and start there. Put the date and time at the top then note what the weather is like. 

Next, start writing about what you see, hear, smell, and touch. You could also write about what you taste but I don’t suggest that. You can also note any observations or who you are with. If you see a flower, go ahead and sketch it. Maybe there’s an interesting cloud shape, sketch it out.

Take your time. Sit and observe for a minute or two before you start writing (or sketching). What is calling your attention? Maybe focus on that and start to write about it. 

Struggling to find something that is drawing your attention? Use a prompt! Here is a list to give you some ideas https://craftingagreenworld.com/writing/nature-journal-prompts/ 

Did you come across a new to you tree? Make a note, write down all the details, and dig into the research when you get home!

Don’t be afraid to try different things. No one else will see your journal and you aren’t being graded on it. Have fun with it!

Will you start your own nature journal? Let me know where you went and what you observed

Cafe Noir | July 2024

Posted on by Jenna

July was a slower month for me and I only read three books. I focused on non-fiction this month and improving my skills. What did you read in July?

How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck by Steve Stockman
☕☕☕☕☕ / 5

Although this was more directed at people making movies or capturing their family events, I took a lot away from it for my own videos. It was very easy to read and flowed really well. You could also skip around and find the sections you need at the moment. It felt like a friend was teaching you how to do video. 

The ideas were well stated and easy to implement. I found it to be useful and would recommend to someont that wants to improve their videos. 

How to Make Money While You Are Sleeping by Rick Sammon
☕☕☕☕☕ / 5

I may be a bit biased, but I do really love all of Rick Sammon’s books. This one is no different! It was easy to read and I learned a lot about different passive income and most of the ideas would be easy to implement. He also used other photographers to help fill in his knowledge gaps.

I took a lot away from this book and thought it was very useful. I would recommend to photographers looking to get into more passive income. 

Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna
Audiobook read by Kathleen Hanna
☕☕☕☕☕ / 5

I realized my non-fiction book review system doesn’t work as well with memoirs but I tried! I listened to the audiobook and it was so easy to listen to and flowed very well. Since it’s an autobiography, it’s easy for her to be an expert of her own story. I thought she did a great job putting together her stories and getting her thoughts/reflections on the stories across well.

I LOVED this audiobook and having the author read it was perfection. I almost finished it in one day! I did not want to put it down. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a fan of Kathleen Hanna or the Riot Grrl movement.