My Passion for Writing Notes and Keeping Notebooks: Sharing A Personal History
Plus: An exercise for organizing your own notebook date
I have been keeping notebooks for the last 25 years to share my dreams and passions with myself.
I have used diaries to put my goals and memories on paper.
I have finished writing more than 250 notebooks over the course of my life. Many of them have been unfortunately lost.
One of the earliest notebooks that I have been able to keep and secure was the notebook that I have used to prepare for the university entrance exams (you can see the cover below).
1996
This was from the year 1996.
I was staying in a dormitory in Balikesir, a small city on the Western coast of Turkey.
I was studying long hours while I was working to help my dad in the small grocery store in our hometown, Ivrindi (a lovely small town in Balikesir).
I had big ambitions and dreams.
I wanted to succeed in the university entrance exam to be admitted into the best universities in Turkey.
There were more than a million students entering this exam every year and the competition was intense.
Therefore, I needed to solve more than a thousand problems every week. This required great determination.
Hence, I started with a motivational letter to self.
I was coaching myself using this notebook.
I designed my own study monthly programmes and gave them inspiring titles (such as ‘The Ultimate Mathematics Marathon’ or ‘Social Studies Super-Hero Super-camp’ or ‘Hyper.Active Geometry Club’).
I incorporated ‘play’, ’design’, and ’story’ to my weekly study schedules.
I ‘branded’ each session to make it more playful and invigorating.
The notebook was, of course, ‘top secret’ — nobody was supposed to see it.
I was competing with no one else but myself.
I ended up ranking among the top 6 students among 1.5 million in that university entrance exam.
Journalists came to my father’s shop for an interview asking me the secrets of my success.
I responded:
‘It is all about keeping notebooks to work, play, learn, improve, and to keep track of yourself and your goals.’
Fast Forward: 2013
Fast forward to year 2013.
I was teaching in London to 500 students at UEA. I felt rather tired after my teachings were over each day.
I was just watching Turkish TV dramas in the evenings and I searched for an activity that would be refreshing, therapeutic, and playful. I thought — why not doodle? What better way to refresh and re-vitalise myself?
I ended up creating these 54 signs while watching two episodes (Turkish dramas are incredibly long with each episode lasting more than 2 hours).
I loved every minute of creating something new and pursuing an interest.
Although I did not take up regular doodling for at least a couple of years, I always remembered the joy of doodling fondly.
I knew that I would come back to it.
And I did.
I started doodling regularly starting 2017.
It was the beginning of a new era for me — a more creative era.
Exercise: Your project when you meet your creative self
Now, here is your exercise:
Please respond to the following questions and write down your reflections:
- What could you be working on during your next meeting with ‘your creative self’?
Create as many ideas as you can.
Brainstorm and make a list.
Include your interests, passions, curiosities, and things that you love doing.
2. What will be your project when you have your next meeting with your creative self?
Now, please choose one of your ideas.
Choose the one that you are most looking forward to.
You can also choose an easier, simple, small project that is easy to implement (to gain confidence and momentum).
Please make your choice and write it down.
3. Please schedule time in your diary to work on this creative project.
This time should be in one of the three days ahead of you.
Do not procrastinate — take an action and see what happens.
Sow your seeds to your creative garden.
See which seeds will grow better and faster.
Best luck!
Sincerely;
Fahri
Fahri Karakas is the author of Self-making Studio. You can explore more here.
