As someone who loves both stationery and writing, I tend to have a lot of notebooks on the go at once (and a hoard of empty ones waiting in the wings!). Often I feel like it’s too many to really keep up with or keep track of, so I thought the New Year would be a good time to take stock of all my ongoing notebooks, and refine my systems. 

I did a similar thing last year, and it’s interesting now to look back and see which notebooks I’ve now finished, which fell off completely, and which are still ongoing. It definitely helps show me how my priorities have shifted and changed as a writer and where my stationery interests have taken me over time. 

So let’s start by looking at the ongoing notebooks I’ll be continuing to use in 2025:

Continuing Notebooks:

My Journal

I’ve been journaling fairly consistently since October 2023, and am now on my third notebook. I finished the Moleskine Expanded I was using as a journal at the end of September, and am now using a Stalogy 365 A5 notebook housed in my Hobonichi Spy x Family cover. I’m about halfway through this notebook now, so I think I have another few months left in it. 

Novel Draft Notebook

I’m drafting my current novel project by hand, but I kind of fell off with it a bit throughout 2024, so I still haven’t completed either the notebook, or the project. I want to get back into it in 2025 though, so hopefully this A5 Rettacy notebook will be full soon enough!

Freewriting Notebook

Whilst I have my main journal for recording memories and documenting my feelings, I also have a freewriting notebook that I use for more ‘Morning Pages’ style journaling where I set a time and just write about whatever’s in my head without stopping. I don’t do it that often, only when I’m trying to think over or work through something, so I’ll be continuing to slowly fill this blue Moleskine notebook throughout 2025. 

Commonplace Notebook

This is also a Moleskine notebook (the Expanded edition), and is one I’ve been using for a while as a commonplace book. As a writer I find a lot of inspiration in history and folklore, so this notebook is where I keep all my research on whatever topics interest me, to use for future stories.

Writer’s Journal

I’ll also be continuing to use my black TN as a form of writer’s journal throughout 2025. I’ve had this set up for a while with two inserts: an undated monthly calendar insert where I keep track of my word/page count and progress on my projects, and a lined insert that I use for journaling about my ideas and progress. It’s been working well for me so far, so I don’t feel the need to change this set-up.

Creativity Journal

My olive TN set-up will also be sticking around for 2025, as I’ve had this set-up as a creative journal/junk-journal for a while, but haven’t used it nearly as much as I’d have liked so far. 

It has three inserts in it: a brown Kraft insert, a pink Kraft insert and a blank insert. The pink insert is for random junk journaling and collaging, whilst the brown Kraft insert is a media junk journal, where I plan to journal about the books and manga I’ve been reading, and the shows I’ve been watching. And the plain insert at the back is for my monthly currently inked.

Desk Pad

And the final ongoing notebook I’ll be continuing to use is what I call my ‘desk pad’. This is a spiral bound Paperchase notebook I keep open on my desk just to jot down random notes, plans and ideas. I started this notebook at the beginning of 2024, and still have a little less than half the notebook left, so I plan to keep using it. It’s been so helpful to have such a handy catch-all notebook to hand! 

New Notebooks:

As far as new notebooks I’ll be starting in 2025, none of them are actually new concepts. I just happen to have finished a lot of my existing notebooks recently, and will now be moving into new notebooks for each of these purposes.

Drafting Notebooks

I tend to keep three different drafting notebooks on the go at all times: short fiction, non-fiction and blog posts. 

For my short fiction I intend to start a fresh Leuchtturm 1917 A5 notebook (complete with cute Stardew Valley cat sticker!), whilst I’ll be using another Stalogy A5 notebook for non-fiction, and a Rhodia notebook for blog posts.

My ‘Good Things’ Notebook

Since I went on my Field Notes buying rampage in August I’ve been using one of them as a ‘good things’ notebook. I’d noticed I could get a bit negative in my journal, so I decided to dedicate an entire notebook to good things. Each day I’d write the date and three good things that happened, or positive feelings I’d had, and as of the 10th January I’ve now finished that first notebook. It’s so satisfying now to have a little notebook of good things to flip through, and I really enjoyed doing it every day, so I’ll be starting a new notebook for that purpose. 

So what notebooks will you be using in 2025? How many ongoing notebooks do you tend to have at once?