35 Empty Notebook Ideas To Give Them New Purpose
Stacks of blank notebooks have a way of sneaking up on us, don’t they? Maybe it’s the allure of crisp, untouched pages, or that impulse buy at the bookstore when the cover was just too pretty to resist.
Whatever the reason, those notebooks often pile up, waiting for their moment of glory. The good news? They don’t have to keep gathering dust.
There are endless ways to breathe life into those blank pages, and some of these empty notebook ideas might just surprise you. From sparking creativity to organizing your thoughts, it’s time to give those forgotten notebooks a new purpose—and maybe even turn them into something you’ll treasure.

There’s an undeniable magic in a fresh notebook just waiting to be unlocked. And you can absolutely turn that blank space into something meaningful and useful, even if this poor journal has been gathering dust on your bookshelf for a while.
In this post, I’ll share 35 different ideas to allow you to start seeing all the potential your notebooks have. But I wanted to mention something else first – why is doing things in a notebook special and worth investing your time in?
Writing things by hand isn’t just nostalgic—it improves memory, helps you organize your thoughts, and serves as a solid exercise in creativity and problem-solving. Plus, it’s a much-needed escape from the constant pull of screens, a mini digital detox you didn’t know you needed.
No matter who you are—an artist, writer, student, professional, or just someone looking to put a notebook to good use—you’ll find inspiration here. From journaling and planning to capturing memories or unleashing creativity, there are so many exciting ways to make those blank pages work for you.
So get your notebooks and pens ready, and let’s create something special together!
Oh, and be sure to check the end of the post for FREE printables!
This post may contain affiliate links. They will be of no extra expense for you, but I receive a small credit. Please see my Disclosure for more details. Thank you for supporting Masha Plans!
35 Empty Notebook Ideas
The amount of things you can do with an empty notebook is quite literally limited only by your imagination. So here I’ll share 35 different ideas with you, but know that these are just the beginning to help you get started.
See all the possibilities, think of something that you might enjoy and find helpful, and you’ll find the perfect idea that works for you the best.
Gratitude Journal
Let’s start with my favorite idea – turning your notebook into a gratitude journal. It’s a simple practice of writing every day something that you’re grateful for, and it’s surprisingly powerful.
It really helps you to reset your mind to be more positive and appreciative and really notice the little beautiful moments of your days.
Habit Tracker Journal
We always say that we are the habits we have. The little things we choose to do over and over again every day are what, in the end, define our lives and whether it’s changing for the better or not.
A habit tracker journal can help you build better and healthier habits for yourself, ultimately resulting in a better life.
Sketchbook
If you are an artistic kind of person, you might want to have a separate notebook just for your sketches.
It does not have to be anything professional; if this is something you want to start doing, a separate notebook can be a wonderful canvas for you to learn a new skill and see how you progress.
Bullet Journal
This blog talks a lot about Bullet Journaling, and I absolutely love this planning system, so I had to include it in this list.
And yes, this is a fun idea even for lined journals because you don’t need a special dot grid notebook to start Bullet Journaling.
Travel Journal
Are you into traveling or have big goals for exploring the world? This might be the idea for you!
Add the locations you want to visit, collect tips and recommendations for restaurants and activities, and monitor flight tickets and best deals for hotels. This notebook can help you plan your best vacation yet!
Goal Setting Notebook
Goal setting is a heavy thing to do. Well, setting the goal is easy, but making sure this is really the goal that you want is more tricky.
Then, there is the whole path of figuring out how exactly you will achieve it. So having a separate notebook to brainstorm and figure out all the details can be very helpful.
Meal Planner
Planning your meals has so many benefits for both your health and your wallet. But it can be a hard and confusing thing to do.
A separate journal dedicated just to that can help you tackle this task and make it more fun and exciting.
Book Notes
Are you into reading? Then you’ll definitely want a journal with book notes and all the other exciting information about your journey.
Add your favorite books, reading statistics, release dates – anything that helps you read more and makes the process fun and exciting.
Lettering Journal
When you’re starting on a new skill like lettering, the key is to practice. There is no shortcut – you have to practice those movements until you can easily turn them into beautiful letters.
Having a journal to do that can be very helpful and can allow you to easily see the progress you’re making with each practice session.
A Lists Notebook
I find that having lists is a very useful tool to offload your mind and organize your tasks. I know my journal is always full of different lists I create.
My feeling is that once something is on the list and on paper, I won’t forget it, and I can relax. Next time I need, I can just look back to the list. So it might be useful practice for you to try it in one of your notebooks as well.
Bucket List Journal
Bucket lists are such a fun idea! They help you enjoy your life more and push you out of the daily rut to do more of the things you love.
There are plenty of ideas for bucket lists; you can definitely fill out the entire notebook with them!
Language Learning
Learning a new language is fun and helps you also get close to a new culture and a whole new part of the world. It’s also a great way to keep your mind sharp.
There is no doubt that you will need an entire notebook to help you with that.
Favorite Quotes
Quotes are very powerful; the right quote can set the mood, motivate you, and push you beyond what you thought possible for you.
So, gathering quotes in a separate journal can be very beneficial. But it is also fun – because you don’t have to just write them down; you can definitely play around and make it creative if you want to.
Therapy Notes
If you are going to therapy, you know it’s a lot of work and a lot of reflection. Having a separate notebook for that can be very powerful.
It can help you untangle your thoughts and better understand yourself and your patterns.
Self Care Journal
Self-care is very important; after all, we can’t pour from an empty glass! But I often notice that this is the thing we push aside the most.
Having a separate notebook for the things that make you feel loved and special, with the ideas that can help you recharge, is definitely worth trying.
Dream Journal
Dreams are something so special; it’s like your mind trying to talk to you, but you don’t necessarily clearly see the message.
Having a dream journal can help you tap into it a bit more, come back to your dreams, and maybe decode what you are trying to tell yourself.
Recipe Book
Having a recipe book is a really cute idea. It will help you preserve all your favorite recipes, maybe some from your loved ones, in one dear place.
It’s also very helpful when you know what are some things you know how to cook and don’t have to do last-minute Google searches for a dinner recipe with no guarantee it will come out eatable. Or is it just me?
Health And Fitness Notebook
Your physical health is important, and there are a lot of factors that go into it, from your sleep and eating habits to water intake and workouts.
Having a separate journal to log all the information will allow you to prioritize your health and, most importantly, see the patterns and adjust things to fit you better.
Memory Keeping Journal
Memorykeeping is one of my favorite ways to use my empty notebooks. We don’t really do photo albums anymore, but actually, having physical pages filled with memories is something special.
Plus, even when just creating them, you already start to remember a lot of things that would otherwise be lost to time.
Morning Pages
There is no doubt that there are many different benefits of journaling and doing morning pages.
Since usually these are pretty private, you wouldn’t want to just include them in any notebook and might consider allocating an empty notebook just for that.
Swatches Journal
If you love stationery, you will love this idea. It will allow you to have a clear understanding of your entire collection and have a visual of all the colors and patterns available.
Movie And TV Notebook
This fun idea definitely helps ensure that you get the best entertainment!
Monitor the new releases, make lists of your favorites, or just finally create a tracker for all the shows and movies your friends recommend you so you can actually watch them.
Work Journal
Having things organized is important at work as well, so you might want to have a separate notebook just for work-related entries.
Take notes from your meetings, organize work events, or use the pages to monitor the progress of whatever projects your team is working on.
Manifesting Journal
There is something powerful about manifesting. It is about building that perfect vision of what you want and how you want your life to look.
Even if it won’t magically happen, it’s always a good idea to know what you want so your mind can start working on the background and seeing opportunities to make it happen.
Use a notebook to create your vision boards and write letters from the future self or journal on what you want your life to look like.
Doodling Practice
Doodling is a fun and useful skill that can help you with more than just decorating your Bullet Journal pages. And if you’re starting to learn, I always recommend that you try a separate notebook for it.
The big benefit here is that you will have a clear view of your progress and how you went from basic shapes and wonky doodles to beautiful and elaborate ones.
Financial Planner
Managing your finances is not easy; there are so many things to take into considerating!
Use a separate notebook to track expenses, income, subscriptions, dent payments, and so on.
Family Notebook
I love the idea of having a family notebook. You can add there all the important details about each family member, maybe some milestones and favorite moments you shared together.
You can really interpret this idea however you want, from a little memory book to a useful tool to ensure you are always the best at gift-giving and hosting family events.
School Notes
Whether you’re actually a student or just taking some online courses, it will be useful to have a notebook for all your notes and school assignments.
Plant Care Notebook
This is definitely a must-have if you are a plant parent! All plants are so different; they all require different care and atmosphere, so you don’t want to mess it up.
DIY Project Planner
If you like DIY projects or are thinking of starting doing some, having a notebook dedicated to it can be useful.
Gathered there are some ideas that you find inspiring or would like to try; collect all the tips and tricks you find along the way and make this journal your ultimate helper.
Music Journal
If music is a very big part of your life, you might want to use an empty notebook for that.
Write down your favorite songs and lyrics, create playlists for different occasions, and monitor releases of songs you’re excited to listen to.
Letters To Yourself
Journaling and self-reflecting are very important, and letters to yourself can be a very therapeutic practice.
Skincare Journal
There is so much to learn about skincare! A whole notebook might not even be enough.
Track your favorite products, tips, and ideas on how to improve your routine, new ingredients, and breakthroughs in the field. Staying looking your best is hard work!
Time Capsule
Create pages in your empty notebook that are like a time capsule. You can include your favorite photos, favorite shows, and songs.
It will definitely become a fun notebook to look back at and see the story of your life.
Wishlist Journal
Last but not least on this list is the idea of a wishlist journal. Use the whole notebook to write all the things you wish for. It will definitely be a time saver for the holiday season or the next time you want to treat yourself.
Free Printables
If you’re not sure which one of these ideas works for you, a great way to try it out is to use a printable and see if you like using these pages.
Thankfully, a lot of these ideas already have printable pages in the Resources Vault.
If you don’t have access yet, you can always sign up in the form below.
Once you confirm your subscription, you’ll get the password to get 50+ free Bullet Journal printables, stickers, and worksheets to use right away.
If you’ve never used printables before, be sure to check my post How To Use Printables In Your Bullet Journal.
It’s pretty basic, and you can find all the supplies you need in my post Supplies For Using Bullet Journal Printables.
More Resources
Haven’t found your perfect idea yet? No worries, there are plenty more to choose from!
Check out these blog posts now:
- 50 Ideas To Fill Your Empty Notebook
- Bullet Journal Page Ideas For Work
- 15 Travel Journal Layout Inspirations
>>> What are some of your favorite ways to use your empty notebooks? Share with us in the comments!
Hope this post was interesting. If you find it so, please share! If you enjoy my content and want to show your appreciation, please consider supporting me with a cup of coffee.
And remember: Keep Bullet Journaling, and Don’t Be A Blob!