Today I would like to introduce you to Shaina.
My name is Shaina Neal. I am a traveller and I’ve just moved to Georgia after living in Europe for 3 years. I am an 8th grade math teacher, a wife, and a mother to 2 fur babies. My hope is to one day retire to Spain and flamenco when I’m not working on a novel!
1. How long have you been using a travellers note book for?
I’ve been stalking travellers notebooks for for about 2 years now, but I bought my first one in May when I arrived back in the States.
2. What size(s) of travellers notebooks do you use?
I am also really in love with moleskine squared cahiers, so I use that size.
3. How many inserts/booklets does your travellers notebook hold?
My TN holds anywhere from 4-8 depending on what I have in there and how I position it. I am waiting on a new one from ZenKraft tomorrow and I am beyond excited! I think this one may hold 4-5.
4. What does each insert or notebook get used for?
I have my daily, which is a full size moleskine soft cover squared notebook, and I use this for my doodling, lesson planning, bullet journaling, brain dumping. ITs just a catch all. Then I have cahiers as well. One for my novel, another for my goals (life and day to day), the other is for my fitness life (food and exercise)
5. If you could have an insert designed just for you, what would it contain?
I think part of the fun is having a blank canvas to work with every day. I think my perfect page would say “Hey beautiful, what have you got for me today” at the top. Or some kind of magical page that can take a picture of me everyday and it just appears on the page. Hahahaha if only!
6. Have you ever considered making your own travellers notebook cover?
I have, but I don’t really have time. As I said, I am an 8th grade math teacher, blogger, and an aspiring writer. I prefer to buy them and be wowed by their beauty.
7. Apart from paper inserts, what else do you carry in your TN and how?
I also carry a clear zipper case, and a folder that I made. I keep my paper clips, sticky notes, and stickers in there. Sometimes I stick a pen in there too!
8. What attracts you to using a travellers notebook compared to other formats?
I love the idea of multiple notebooks. I have always kept journals, and the TN systems allows me to have a separate place for al my thoughts. I used to just put tabs in my journals, but this system is much better
9. What would you like to see in a travellers notebook design?
Built in pockets, pen loop, slightly harder leather. This is just nit picky stuff, I love them all the way around the board.
10. What advice would you give to a new travellers notebook user?
Take your time. Don’t get 27 inserts and then feel overwhelmed by thousands of blank pages. I started with 3 inserts and that was almost too much! hahahaha. So my advice is to just take your time and ease into it!
11. Finally, what would you like to see on Travellers Notebook Times?
I love pictures of people’s daily/weekly spread. I love those way more than pics of journal set ups. I like to see people’s creativity and their ideas. I also like to talk about the kind of things I like to include in my TN so seeing that from others would be perfect.
Thank you Shaina thank you for your support.
If you would like to feature in ‘My Travellers Notebook’ please contact us: travellersnotebooktimes at gmail dot com