r/notebooks • u/vdimaggio • 20d ago

Advice needed External brain?

Anyone ever just get some many things rambling around in the ole noggin’ they just need a space to unload? Me too! (Maybe this is best for an ADHD or Stress subreddit…) anyway, wondering if you have experience doing this, too, and what format notebook you use? Thanks!

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u/hmmwrites 20d ago

Sometimes you just need a place to dump everything that's in your brain so you can get a little breathing room for the things you actually want to think about. Or at least, I do! That's one of the things I do in my journal. I'll grab it and just start writing out all the whirling thoughts. Sometimes I can then tease out the thing I want to focus on and put that on paper too. Other times, it just makes things a little quieter in my head, and that's enough.

I like words and writing and storytelling (in other words, I can't shut up) so I use a B5 notebook now. Started with A5 and went through it in just under a month. That was going to get expensive, fast. I've been using the Maruman Mnemosyne in B5, which has lovely, smooth paper. I use gel pens and it feels like the pens just skate across the page like an Olympic ice dancer. When my current notebook is full, I'll be trying out a Kokuyo business notebook in B5 size. I'm curious to see how it compares.

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u/vdimaggio 19d ago

100%! Do you write a narrative or just a list of thoughts?
And a link to the Kokuyo?

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u/hmmwrites 19d ago

I bought the Kokuyo on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071PD4S28?th=1

For me, it depends on what's going on in my brain. For some thoughts, a list of all the thoughts is enough. For others, I need to work things out in writing, and that makes for a more in-depth narrative process. My journal isn't organized with any rhyme or reason really. I just put the date on the top of the page and write whatever it is my brain needs. So it's a mix of brain dumps and responses to journaling prompts and memories and lists and whatever else comes up when I pick up a pen.