Diary of a Very Busy Cat
Since I had to go to neuro-rehabilitation for the first time in 2015, I have been actively interested in ways to develop my cognitive skills and train my brain. (And I also do a lot of bodywork.)
In 2023 I became seriously ill again (tumor in the spinal cord), and throughout 2024 I learned everything again: walking, dressing, eating, washing. Drawing, writing. And basically everything you do in everyday life. I spent most of my time in neuro-rehabilitation or at appointments with neurologists and rehabilitation specialists. Among other things, I learned how useful my hobby of keeping a journal is. (I have been keeping journals regularly for over 20 years, have written a book about my experiences with it, and have published my own weekly planner and republished it several times.)
This year I learned a lot about how to improve my weekly planner. And released a new version of it.
Why is it helpful to keep a paper journal?
I’ve always thought that by writing things down on paper we “make space in our heads”. The brain can only process so much information and when it gets too much, it gets confused, forgets unnecessary things, pushes them to the background and makes them difficult to access. (This is often written in bestsellers: “Write things down, make room in your head!”
Neuroscientists, however, reject this theory. They claim that there is enough space in the brain for everything! And the more information we internalize, the easier it is to add more and more. Each new language is easier to learn than the previous one.
With each new piece of information, we find more and more tricks and techniques to remember and sort everything better. This also applies to plans, life events and important information about ourselves.
And in order for information to be processed particularly well, many different neural connections are needed that have something to do with it. The more different impressions and images we associate with something, the better we can remember it, the easier it is to recall and the more effectively we use it.
Information that is written down on paper does not disappear from the head. It just helps to use it even better!
And writing things down can be more or less effective.
Can you just write plans on a piece of paper?
Why a paper journal?
Even after I learned to write again, I tried to practice every day. A journal is a good opportunity to train your motor skills at least a little. In a beautiful diary, you try to write evenly and beautifully. It is also useful to write as legibly as possible. Even if we only write a few lines during the day, it makes a difference. I have talked a lot in my podcasts about the fantastic results I achieved when I practiced difficult things for three minutes 4-6 times a day. Even for healthy people, it is very useful to write by hand every day.
I also learned that writing in print and cursive are two completely different skills. Different parts of the brain are responsible for them. When a person loses the ability to write, the first thing they have to do is learn cursive again. Then comes print. If you write headings or important facts in your diary in print letters and the rest in cursive, you are training different parts of the brain and different skills.
Why is everything in the journal so colourful?
Because color coding is another way of sorting information. And that is done by another part of the brain. The more associations are linked to information, the better the brain can process it.
Why is it recommended to use pictures in your diary?
Pictograms, stickers and drawings don’t just decorate the pages. They also appeal to another part of our brain – the part that deals with visual images and abstract symbols. This adds another dimension to our work with information and significantly increases the effectiveness of the diary.
Why is it so important for many people that the diary looks nice?
Of course, it should be practical and clear first and foremost. But aesthetic pleasure is also very important for us humans. And the motivation to use a diary is greater if it is nice to look at.
Unfortunately, most of the very beautiful diaries that we see on social networks are designed by professional designers and illustrators. And people without such special skills are frustrated when they cannot make their diary so “lush”. That’s why I did some work ahead and added a few decorative elements to my planner.
Why do some widgets extend beyond the columns?
Because this is the secret of lush and interesting looking journal pages: when designing, experienced artists sometimes go beyond the limits, and it looks unusual and beautiful. Beginners don’t know this or are afraid to try. That’s why I moved some widgets and made them of different sizes. So that users get used to bold graphic solutions and are more likely to try it themselves.
Why are the kittens, which represent different moods, so illogically colored?
Some of my readers immediately asked why the kittens are not colored in a gradient: good mood or well-being – white, bad – black, neutral – gray, and so on. I deliberately colored the kittens like this because I don’t believe that we need to evaluate our mood and state of mind with words like “good” and “bad.” We already harm ourselves enough with our many value judgments. Sometimes any emotion – anger, sadness, or indifference – can be the most appropriate for a situation. Or the most right for us at that moment. I try to simply describe my state of mind without evaluating it.
Why A4 format?
I have tried all sizes of journals, from A6 to A3. Too big has simply proved to be uncomfortable. Opened up, it takes up too much space on the table. Too small is difficult to handle. A lot more people than you think (regardless of age) can’t see well and can’t write in lines that are too small. Also, lines that are too small can be too much of a motor challenge.
I always thought I needed a lot of space because some weeks you have to fit in a lot of information. But I’ve noticed that a journal that is too big, with pages that are almost always half empty, causes frustration. It feels like I haven’t done anything and like nothing is happening in my life.
Instead, I have found many ways to fit a lot more text on those pages than you might think. (If you ever need to.) In reality, you can fit a lot into the A4 pages, believe me!
Plus, you can “stretch” the space! It takes a little creativity and tinkering. (But it is very, very rewarding, and also very stress-reducing.) Here are some ideas for how to add lots of lines to each page.
For some of these “extensions” there are PDF files for printing. You can download them with every order.
Why aren’t there dates in the diary?
Because not everyone has the habit of always keeping a journal. If you are just starting to do it, you may end up skipping a week or even a month. Also, sometimes we cannot keep a journal for health reasons. Then you don’t have to leave the pages blank. You can write any week or month of tany year, regardless of what was on the previous pages. You can also start at any time of the year.
There are many diary stickers on the Internet that have the names of the months on them. You can buy them and stick the name of the month on each page.
The journal also comes with calendar stickers that you can use to mark the week described on each page.
And also with divider stickers that you can use to mark the beginning of each month.
And with cat ears. They can be stuck on any page so that they stick out from the book. Because work is more productive when it is accompanied by a good mood and a smile. Meow!
What’s inside?
The cover page:
If you take the journal out of the house, this is a good place to write your name and emergency contacts. Maybe also information on how to contact you if the journal gets lost and someone finds it and wants to return it. If you have any significant illnesses or take regular medication, you can also write that here.
If this journal doesn’t leave the house (or you just don’t feel like writing all of the above down here), you can write anything you like in it. For example, your favorite quote for inspiration. Or a resolution for next year? (At the end of the year, you can see what you think about it.) Or plans? Things you’ve been meaning to stop doing? Or write down the best things you’ve done in the past year? Go wild – it’s your journal!
Page for the month:
Here you can also choose which month you are working on. Below there is a list where you can mark which days you worked on which projects. This shows how much time was spent on a particular project and how many large projects you worked on at once.
The weekly double pages:
Month:
Simply circle the month you want. Or stick the calendar that comes with this notebook in this place. (Or at the bottom?) And mark the active week there.
Weekly to-do list:
For the important things that need to be done this week.
Day of the week, date, weather:
Make a note of what the weather was like. Then you can understand how it affects you. (Berliners can circle all the symbols at once most of the year.)
A place to describe your moods and feelings:
Write there how you feel physically and mentally.
Food notes:
Most people who watch their diet write everything down in special apps. Some interesting and important facts cannot be entered there, but they could be very helpful. For example, if you were invited to a banquet where there was a lot of different food, ate out, on a trip, in a foreign country, at an unusual time. If you don’t want to record your meals, use the space for other things. For example, to write more about how you feel. Or, for example, to write down the pills you take.
The most important three things of the day:
We always have a lot to do, but it really helps to identify three favorites. Prioritize! These three things absolutely have to be done, the rest will fall into place. This is very helpful when dealing with large to-do lists. (Only for the week, I would like less stress on the weekend.)
Last page:
At the end of the diary there is a page for notes. Of course it can be used for all sorts of things. I write down the most important results of the year there.
Back cover page:
There are QR codes on the back cover that lead to this entry. (It’s here in three languages, like everything on my website.) For those who bought this diary somewhere or were given it as a gift without seeing my website.
Go ahead!
Of course, I recommend boldly decorating this diary with all kinds of stickers and decorative elements! Anything that comes to mind! Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and experiment!
Tip:
Sticky notes also look great here, you just need to put some glue on them and you can stick them anywhere on the page. I use them, for example, to highlight the best event of the week or a very important appointment.
The more fun a diary is and the more you like it, the more effective your work will be.
I wish you all inspiration!
Attention!: This notebook is bound with a thread binding. This means it can be unfolded 100% (and more), anywhere! Fresh bindings sometimes struggle a bit, but don’t be afraid to fully unfold the weekly. It won’t fall apart!
P.S. What kind of widget is this?
This little table has become a favorite of my readers. It helps you determine what you want to do for at least a certain number of hours a week. For example, I decided to draw at least two hours a day, work on my online shop for an hour at least three times a week, and so on. Some people want to “fix” 4 of the 6 hours a day, while others are happy with two lines. (And in the rest of the time you just do whatever comes up.) Then you can cut off the unnecessary lines. I fold the widget so that it takes up less space. This creates something like a cover, which you can then decorate nicely. With a sticker or just a nice piece of paper. (For mine here, I used a piece of a torn envelope that had my illustrations on it.)
And it’s okay if something doesn’t look perfect! This journal is designed in scrapbook style. And that includes collage elements that can sometimes be a bit crooked and wonky.
Of course, you can invest more in a certain activity despite having a plan. The table is there to see whether the minimum number of hours has been reached.
For some people, this table looks different every week. For example, I have to take stock now, and now it’s in there for 3 hours a week. Once I’ve done that, I can forget about this unloved task until summer.
Others make a firm resolution. For example, “Work out 5 days a week all year round and spend at least two hours a day writing a book.”
This widget is not needed by everyone. That’s why it is not part of the design in the planner. It is included in the free downloads as a PDF.
All files for Download: