25 things to put in your life handbook

Samantha Holloway
Sep 5, 2018 · 4 min read

I’ve been seeing a lot of really nice things going on with both bullet journals in the planner community, and with esoteric things like Books of Shadows in the pagan community. People are really getting on board with the idea of wildly creative personal books meant specifically for helping them live their best lives.

Which is exactly the purpose of a Life Handbook, so why not apply the same creative urge to this?

Here's twenty five fun thing you can put in a personal book for guiding yourself and being your own guru.

  1. A map of all the places you’ve been -- and one of all the places you want to go. Maybe a way to move the markers from one to the other so there’s an interactive element to it.
  2. Playlists, one of each of the things you personally might need a playlist for. Say, For When I’m Sad, For When I Need To Work, For When I’m Sleepy, For Sexy Times, etc.
  3. A mirror page, surrounded by all your favorite affirmations. Use that shiny present-wrapping plastic or some foil or something. Maybe face it with a collection of self portraits and your favorite pictures of yourself throughout your life.
  4. Your own personal timeline from birth till now, with space to add more, and markers for every important event, good and not so good, that made you who you are today. Make it a fold out to make it extra cool.
  5. A page of quotes from your favorite books, movies, songs, poems, TV shows, people, whatever, that feel like good life lessons or otherwise resonate with you.
  6. This year’s goals, condensed into one page and prettied up with a nice vision board to help you along.
  7. A list of things you want to learn -- and some brainstorming about how you can learn them and where you can go to get that learning. Maybe next to a pocket where you can hold info on those where’s.
  8. A whole page dedicated to your favorite meals, to make deciding what to eat easier. Include take out menus if some of them are from restaurants. Also diet ideals.
  9. Make an altar or some sort. A physical manifestation of your spiritual goals. A focus for your higher self. A little piece of sacred space you can take with you, whatever "sacred space" means to you. Maybe include a pocket of nice flat accessories to use with the altar you build.
  10. Make a collection of images of the people and creatures that mean the most to you--friends, family, pets, etc. Include why they matter and what you’re doing for them for extra oomf.
  11. Cheat sheets for every process, work or personal, that you can never remember all the steps to. That morning workout, that good meditation, how to format that thing for work, the way you are supposed to submit this thing, etc.
  12. A page of measurements: your own, your kids' or spouse’s, your friends’s, your house’s, anything you make or measure on the regular, anything you might need to know the size of when away from home.
  13. All the lists, personal and practical and spiritual, that you live your life by.Your ideal daily routine--and the good enough routine for when you’re sick or busy or things otherwise go wrong.
  14. A collection of reminders--anything you personally need to be reminded of on the regular, all in one place.
  15. Pages for everyone and everything who inspires you, and why they’re so inspiring. What do you hope to learn from them to make your own life better?
  16. A master-calendar of every holiday, personal and public, religious and secular, community and national, that you’d like to celebrate in a year, regardless of whether you actually can. Pair with lists of birthdays (including fav actors and characters and such), special events, deadlines, movie release dates, etc etc.
  17. Stick in articles from magazines that speak to you; make them fold out or pull from pockets or something else to really up the personalization factor.
  18. Make a set of contingency plans for every possible bad event. Include any needed paperwork, links, addresses or contact info, etc. Start small and work your way up to the scary stuff.
  19. Keep all your collectors' lists in one spot so you know what you have and what you need.
  20. Dedicate a section to remedies and cures for things you personally have to deal with-- colds, allergies, hangnails, chronic issues, skin complaints, etc. Keep a list of where you get supplies and what they cost, too!
  21. Put in things that bring you back to center: images and symbols, mantras and reminders, anything that helps you calm down and get to a better headspace.
  22. Make a care and feeding of yourself checklist, as if you were telling a pet sitter how to properly take care of your favorite furbaby, but for you. Remember to check it regularly! Pair with self-care notes, recipes, actions, etc.
  23. Decide how an ideal world would function--then list ways to bring your own life, work, home, community, etc more in line with those ideals.
  24. Keep a list of personal check-in questions to make sure you’re on track with your goals and your ideals. Use them regularly!
  25. Keep a list of lessons you’ve learned and want to remember nearby; try post-it notes, so you can just keep adding to that page.

So that’s a start! Even just these twenty five things will build you a nice solid foundation to build a new life on. A better life that’s more in line with how you think your life should be.

What else can you think to add to it?

Samantha Holloway

Written by

I am the following: SF/F Writer, Nail Polish Mixatrix, Book Reviewer, Blogger, TV Reviewer, Awesome Chick, Geek, Tea Drinker, MFA Seeker.

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