10 Ways to Use a Notepad to Boost Productivity and Self-Care
It’s no surprise that as a stationery designer, I love keeping beautiful notebooks throughout my house. The act of putting pen to paper not only brings me great joy—it also helps me be more mindful, more productive, and more organized!
Writing things down, particularly in the classic pen-on-paper way, can help your brain in two important ways. The first is by offering you an external, visual reminder of a goal you’ve set, a task to complete, or an affirmation to hold close. The other way writing helps your brain retain information is through something called “encoding.” Encoding refers to a neurological process that occurs in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is where our brain determines what gets stored in long-term memory, what gets stored in short-term memory, and what we don’t need to remember at all. The act of writing something down gives our brain a clue that whatever we’ve written matters, so it’s more likely to get prioritized and remembered.
In this post, I hope to inspire you with some of my favorite ways to use a tear-off notepad to be more intentional in daily life.
While journals are wonderful, too, tear-off notepads make the perfect choice for note-taking, list-making, and day-brightening. With a convenient, simple design, tear-off notepads can easily become a part of many of your daily routines, helping you stay on track and live a better life.
1. Temporary To-Do Lists
If your plans change often or you need flexibility in your daily plan, tear-off notepads are ideal for creating in-the-moment task lists. Simply jot down tasks for the day to give yourself a clear game plan. As you complete each item, you get the treat of crossing it off, seeing your progress as you go. Once your entire list is done, you can tear off the sheet and discard it, giving yourself a fresh start each day.
Pro Tip: Leave a little extra space on the bottom for notes or ideas that may pop up during the day. And remember, there’s no shame in writing any unfinished to-dos on tomorrow’s list!
2. Notes for Others
For moments when you need to communicate instructions, offer appreciation, or add joy to someone’s day with kind words, a small notepad is your best friend! Simply jot down a quick message—whether it’s” Thanks for helping out!,” “Don’t forget to preheat the oven for the casserole!,” or “Hope you have a great meeting”—and tuck it under the wiper on their car windshield, leave it on your kitchen counter, or outside their cubicle. Pretty paper makes even the most mundane reminders feel extra special.
Pro Tip: Keep a notepad in your kitchen so you can include messages of encouragement in the lunch boxes of your loved ones. It’s the perfect reminder that you are thinking of them while they are at school or work.
3. Meal Planning
Tear-off notepads are great for keeping you on top of things in the kitchen. Try using one page to plan meals for the week and another for your grocery shopping list. After completing your lists, tear off the meal plan and put it on the fridge or a kitchen whiteboard. Then, tear off your shopping list and head to the store. By shopping with a plan, you’ll be more likely to get all the necessary items and avoid running back mid-week for a missed ingredient.
Pro Tip: A dedicated kitchen notepad is also a great place to keep a running list of groceries you need throughout the week. As you notice items that need to be restocked in your pantry or fridge, jot them down and tear off the list when you’re ready to shop. This practice will keep your kitchen organized and avoid the frustration of underbuying or food waste from overbuying!
4. Gratitude Lists for Mindfulness
Researchers have found that people who write about gratitude reduce overall stress and have a more positive outlook on life. An easy way to achieve these benefits in your own life is by writing down three to five things you’re grateful for at the end of each day. Once you’ve written down your daily reflection, you can tear it off and keep it in a gratitude journal, tape it to a mirror or wall for a visual reminder the next morning, or simply recycle it as a daily ritual to celebrate the wins and clear your mind.
Pro Tip: A bedside notepad can help you incorporate gratitude lists into your typical evening routine. As a bonus, you can also use the notepad for a brain dump at night to let go of anxious thoughts in preparation for a restful night.
5. Daily Affirmations and Motivational Quotes
Writing down an affirmation or motivational quote in the morning will help you establish a positive mindset for the day. Hang it on your bulletin board, tape it to your refrigerator, or keep it next to your desk to remind yourself of that positive energy.
Pro Tip: Save your favorite affirmations in a box or jar to revisit when you need an extra boost of motivation. You can also share these positive notes with others to send positivity out into the world!
6. Self-Care Reminders
Life is busy, and you likely spend a lot of your energy caring for others. It’s important to remember to take care of yourself as well. Use your notepad to write down self-care goals for the day or week, such as “take a walk,” “meditate for ten minutes,” or “drink eight glasses of water”—whatever you love to do that helps you recharge. Keep the notepad in a visible spot, like your bedside table or desk, to make self-care part of your daily routine.
Pro Tip: You can even give yourself a star next to every self-care goal you reach to help keep yourself accountable for taking time out for yourself.
7. Appointment and Scheduling Reminders
If you’re like me, sometimes you book appointments or schedule events while you’re on the go. Use your notepad to write down the appointment times or other notes while you’re out and about. You can transfer the note to your larger planner or a physical or app-based calendar at home.
Pro Tip: Keep a tear-off notepad in your purse or car for quick lists or notes. No matter where you are, you can capture the thought before you forget it. This solution helps eliminate the stress of mentally juggling all the small things you need to do while ensuring you remember important details.
8. Organize Your Desk or Work Area
A desk notepad may seem like the most obvious suggestion, but that doesn’t make it any less helpful! Use it to jot down things you need to stay organized or remember throughout the day. A tear-off notepad is a fantastic solution for short-term notes like phone numbers and quick reminders you don’t need to keep long-term. Follow the “clean sweep” method: When you finish a task, tear off the sheet and recycle or file it to keep your workspace free of paper clutter and add to a sense of completion as you finish your day.
Pro Tip: Creating a beautiful workspace can make you more excited to get down to business, so treat yourself to a fun design that matches your aesthetic.
9. Meeting Notes and Follow-Up Tasks
You can use that same beautiful desk notepad to keep track of your next steps during meetings or ideas during brainstorming sessions. Depending on what you’ve captured, you can tear off the sheet and either file it with related project materials or use it to remember your tasks and recycle it. This method eliminates the pressure of keeping everything in a formal notebook. Not to mention, it offers the satisfaction of tearing off a completed page of action items and adds a little extra motivation to stay productive.
Pro Tip: Attach completed notes to a project binder or tape them to a wall in your workspace as a reference as you work through the outstanding to-do items for your project.
10. Exercise and Workout Logs
Who doesn’t need a little extra motivation when it comes to exercising? Keeping a log of your workouts will help you track your fitness routine over time and see your progress. Write down a workout plan or track how many reps, sets, or miles you completed daily. Tear off the sheet and start fresh with a new plan as you progress. I recommend keeping a notepad in your gym bag or next to your workout equipment.
Pro Tip: Track your progress by photographing each completed page before tearing it off!
Even if you don’t implement every one of the suggestions on this list, finding ways to use notepads throughout your day can help you stay organized, productive, and motivated to reach your personal and business goals.
These notepad life hacks are aimed at unburdening your mind, bringing more intention to your daily activities, and leveraging notepads as beautiful, ever-present tools that you can keep anywhere.
If you’re ready to level up your life with one or more of these strategies and just need some gorgeous notepads to get started, I have the solution!
Explore my new notepad bundles, each containing a range of designs and sizes perfect for any of the strategies shared in this post.
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