I Don't Make a Wish List: A Fun Use for Little Memo Pads

This post was automatically translated by AI from the Japanese original. Some screenshots are in Japanese.

When I find a cute memo pad while I’m out, I can’t help buying it.

It’s cute, but what do I use it for?

I never get a chance to hand out message cards.
And it’s too small for a shopping list or a to-do list.

So they just sat piled up in a corner of my desk, unused.

Then I started recording my wishes and things I want to do on these memo pads, and it’s working out pretty well.

When a wish comes to mind, I write it on a small memo sheet and stick it in my notebook.

In the planner community, it’s common to write out a list of 100 things you want to do at the start of the year and collect it in a notebook.

I used to write such lists myself, but I don’t anymore.
When I try to come up with 100, some of them end up being things I don’t really mean, just written to make up the number.
And once it’s a bulleted list, it starts to feel like something I “have to” do, and my motivation drops.

A list also runs into a space problem.

When a dream comes true, I want to write down “when” and “what happened”, along with how it looked and how I felt at the time.
With a list, I can only fit a date and a few words.

So I stopped putting my wishes into a list. Instead, I write “I want to do ___” on a memo sheet and stick it all over my all-in-one notebook.
One memo per page.
I leave the rest of the space open for recording memories of when it comes true.

I write everything in one notebook:

• Brain dump (morning pages)
• To-do lists
• My timetable for the day
• Diary
• Things that cross my mind
• Things that made me happy, things I’m grateful for
• Things that left me feeling off, sorting out my feelings

and so on.

Wishes often come to me while I’m doing this kind of journaling.

Today I saw a really stylish ring-binder planner on social media
→ I want to try a ring-binder planner (but would it suit my style?)

Today I saw someone in town wearing a white loose-knit sweater so well
→ I want to try an outfit with a white knit and a long skirt, too

Today the scone I ate was delicious
→ I want to discover more good tea shops and scones

That’s how the next thing I want to do, or a new wish, comes up as an extension of everyday life.

When that happens, I jot it down on a memo sheet and stick it on the next page.

And it’s not like “I absolutely have to make this happen!” I leave it there with a feeling of “either way is fine ♡”
or “it’d be kind of happy if it happened.”

I just write it, stick it in, and leave it alone.
I’m even allowed to forget I wrote it.

Then, after a while, when I look back through old notebooks and notice “oh, this came true,” I press a “It came true!” stamp and record it.

Because I can write “when and how it happened!” in the margin, it feels like I’m properly celebrating that it came true.

I can also use the margin to write progress along the way, even if it hasn’t come true yet.

On the other hand, if I’ve lost interest and think “I’m over it,” I write “letting go” and finish it there. (For some reason I don’t like crossing it out with an ×.)

Thanks to this relaxed way of recording, I’ve started noting down lots of small joys.

I don’t have to arrange the pages neatly, and I can easily jot down small bits of curiosity and passing ideas.

I get to use lots of cute memo pads, and my notebook looks brighter too. Two birds with one stone.

If you’re ever stuck on what to do with a memo pad, give it a try!