Size Does Matter

Today I'm here to talk to you about handbags.  Or specifically, the size thereof.

I had to buy a new handbag earlier this year when my last one was finally about to fall apart.  It took much googling of bag shops, saving of pictures, and an absolute list of non-negotiable features.

For me that means:

1. COLOUR
I've had hot pink, red, my last bag was black and white striped.  So long as the colour suits my current mood to a T.  (Every bag I screen-saved was cream!)

2.  BEAUTY
I use this thing every day, so every time I look at it, it must give me blissful little happy chills.  (Look at that pom pom!  And the shape?  Gorgeous.  My husband told me it looked like something Jackie O would have used. I nearly fainted with pure glee.)

3. COMPARTMENTS, COMPARTMENTS, COMPARTMENTS
-  phone pocket
- small zip pocket for keys
- at least two big compartments.  One for wallet, bullet journal, sunglasses, ereader etc.  The other for kids stuff aka water bottles, snacks.
- a middle zipper compartment for emergency supplies - toiletries, tissues, a shopping bag etc
- room for extra pens and paper so my arty kids can draw whenever they get the urge

Just call me Mary Poppins.  For my handbag is a modern day magical carpet bag.

For if you suddenly need a pen, look to me.  Require a band aid?  I'm your girl. My son asked for a pencil with which to draw a "veiled chameleon costume" the other day  and I provided.  "Mmm," said he, "this is a 2B.  I'd really like a 9B."  Did I have it? Did I ever.

 

So, are you a big handbag gal like me? Prepared for anything?  Or are you that magical unicorn - a woman who can leave the house with her key, credit card and phone?

Occupational Hazards of the Jobbing Writer

Writing for a living is a great job.  A dream job some might say.  But like any long-term occupation it comes with its tics, its frontline injuries, its occupational hazards.

Here are a few:

CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

All that typing, mousing and running frustrated fingers through ones hair rents havoc on the wrists!

Rehab: Rest, wrapping the affected area, ice packs.

WALKING INTO WALLS COMPLEX

Literally. As a writer one’s imagination is never entirely switched off.  When I was a child my parents thought I might have a hearing problem. The specialist diagnosed me a condition known as being “Off with the Fairies”.  Oh the number of times I’ve looked up and had no idea how I got there! 

Rehab: Mindfulness by way of yoga can help.

 

Yet, on the flipside…

CHRONIC LISTENING-IN-ITIS

Imagine yourself out at a café, having a deep and meaningful with a friend.  If there is a writer nearby, chances are they’ll hang on your every word.

Rehab: None necessary.  (We have to get ideas from somewhere!

CHOCOHOLICNESS

I realise this one isn't limited to writers.  We might not even be the most tragic.  But boy do we give it a red hot go!

Rehab: Bwahahahahaa!  That's funny.

SEEING-THE-PLOT-TWIST-COMING SYNDROME

I’ve always been the perfect movie watcher, happily going exactly where the filmmakers lead me. Laughing where they want me to laugh, crying where they want me to cry, not picking the twist until it happens.  Only now, with a working knowledge of writerish crafty things called “story beats” and “three act structure”, so often I know which character will die near the end of the movie as soon as they walk on screen.  It’s an honest to goodness tragedy!

Rehab: Watch really great movies that sweep you up so thoroughly you have no chance to unpick the threads as they are woven around you.

COMPULSION TO PHOTOGRAPH HANDSOME MALE STRANGERS DISEASE

If a gorgeous specimen of manhood - hero material if you will - walks into my vision, I’ve been known to stare unashamedly and quickly jot down details such as the way his hairs sits, eye slant, grin shape

Rehab: I’ve never gone so far as to snap a quick pic, but I’d be surprised if others haven’t!  Therefore no rehab necessary.

STATIONERY ADDICTION

It’s serous.  And it’s real.  (Thankfully it’s also tax deductible J)

Rehab: Pfft.  Indulge, baby.

What occupational hazards come with your line of work?  I’ll bet there are some doozies those of us out of the loop have no clue about!

Bullet Journal Bliss

My name is Ally Blake and I'm a stationery addict.

No surprises there. I've been self-confessed for a long time.  I only mention it here as it was the jumping off point for my topic of the day - the glory of the Bullet Journal.

Heard of it?  Then you surely understand my excitement.  If not...welcome to the jungle.

I have a calendar in my phone, sure. And I use it. Religiously.  But I also buy a calendar every year (see confession above). And a planner/diary.  Or two.  (They're just so pretty - how can I not?!?!)  The calendar gets a good work out, sitting as it does on my kitchen bench.  In it I scribble birthdays, colour in school days, note any appointments or events, though its mostly for my husband's benefit as this is the kind of stuff a woman has floating in her head all the time - am I right? Though it often gets hidden beneath school notes, grocery lists, and to do lists. Oh the to do lists!!  So many scraps of paper begun in earnest and ending up covered in coffee rings, with torn corners and half-hearted ticks and crosses.  As for the planners - I'm lucky to get past February.  Why?  Because they are never quite set out just right. They simply don't suit my needs.

Still with me?

Because this is where the Bullet Journal comes in.

The Bullet Journal was a paper notebook journaling system created by a digital product designer (ironic, right) named  Ryder Carroll as a way of creating a planner that works for you. That's right.  You create the planner yourself!  From scratch!  No static, built-in days/dates/layouts but an adaptable, evolving planner that is shaped as you go.

Making it a calendar, a planner and to do list compilation all in one.   Oh my...

Basically, you begin with a notebook.  Any notebook. (I use the Leuchtturm1917 A5 dot point - in case you were wondering :) ).  Then you google - Pinterest and Instagram are your serious go to spots - to get ideas on where to go from there!

Ryder suggests creating a key at the start of your journal so as to encourage consistency - circles for tasks, squares for events, or whatever kind of bullet points you please - also drawing a calendar each month, breaking it down into weekly layouts, and including to-do-lists as you go.  But as you'll see down the page, its truly up to you.

 

I've added layouts in which to write every book I read over the course of the year.  Every movie I see.  Funny lines the kids say that I don't want to forget. This year I've made a detailed list of every section of the house as I plan to declutter the lot and watching those little circles turn into black dots as I cross things off the list is bliss!

Ryder's original Bullet journal design is very simple.  Spare.  Black and white and uber tidy.  I have friends who claim theirs look like chicken scratches.  Half the reason I adore the system is the chance to stretch my creative muscles whenever I get the chance so mine is full of doodles, pretty banners and colour.

The main point being it can look however YOU want it to look!  It can function however YOU want it to function.

But the real beauty of the thing is that if this week's layout doesn't work for you, next week you turn the page and try something different!  Use the bits that work for you, ditch the bits that don't, and add the bits that you feel are missing. Miss a week and it doesn't matter. The Bullet Journal is forgiving. It is always fresh.  And it can be whatever you want it to be!!!

As for stationery, I may only get one planner a year now but oh the pretty Post Its, and colouring pencils, and writing pens, and washi tape, and...

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Find out all about the evolution of the Bullet journal here: http://bulletjournal.com/.  and trawl through Ally's Instagram follows for lots more wonderful #bujoaddicts and inspiration on how you might set up one of your own.