In the spirit of reflection and change, I created my “Action Notebook.” It’s a letter size blend between a Passion Planner and a Bullet Journal. If you don’t already have a paper note-capturing system, see if this may be for you or could inspire you to create your own.
The Notebook. I used a disc-bound notebook because I felt that would be the most flexible in case I wanted small changes along the way. I already one notebook with lined paper and hole puncher that we’re not in used. OfficeDepot a great disc-bound system with hard cover options. At the time of this writing, they even have a limited-edition white hard-cover notebook on sale. However, you don’t have to buy a whole new binder system. You can also do this with any empty planner binder or a general mini-three ring binder.
The Planner. After testing out a few paper planners this year, I came to really enjoy my Passion Planner. However, between my paper planner and my electronic calendar on my phone, I ended up with many blank pages in my dated planner. Thus, I only printed out the current month’s planner pages (provided online) and hole punched them. I figured if I liked my notebook after a month, I would continue with one printed month at a time or add more later.
The Journal. I love notebooks and I didn’t want to buy “another notebook system.” However, I needed a very forgiving, flexible, and fast way to write down planned tasks and random notes. After watching the Bullet Journal video on bulletjournal.com, I took a few sheets of the lined paper in my original notebook and titled four pages “Index” and four pages “Future Log.” I didn’t continue with the Month Log or Weekly since my planner would replace them.








Both creators of the Passion Planner and Bullet Journal are amazing designers and crowd-funded their products into reality.
To Angelica Trinidad and Ryder Carroll: you have both created some of the most beautiful and efficient notebooks. Thank you for being restless with what the world provided and being passionate about “the details.”
Questions for you: Do you have a current paper note-taking system or planner? If so, what do you like best about it? If not, what do you use, if anything?