Earlier when I had published a blog on journalling, I insisted on using a blank paged journal. To my mind, there are two aspects as to why use a blank paged journal. One of it is a psychological aspect and the other is its usability aspect. Down below, I’m gonna blend these two to give you my detailed answer version to this question.

Since childhood, we all have been using lined notebooks. Similarly, we all have been introduced to the rules and constraints the society and the system has already defined for us. And gradually that became our limit. Most of us have always operated between the two lines. The margin was fixed, you were told the way of doing things. I’m talking about conformity which is prevalent in almost every society and institution whether educational or otherwise. The biggest hindrance of the educational system world over is sticking to conformity but that would be a different blog.

Now, when I talk about the actual topic of the blog, also consider it as a metaphor to the system of conformity. When we use a lined notebook, there is a little room for imagination and creativity. On the contrary, in a blank paged notebook, every page is a canvas. It gives you the freedom to use every inch of the page the way it pleases you. Every page is a new opportunity to create something. Every word you write, you write it your way. There is no constraint. Think about this, when you write on a lined notebook you are on autopilot but when you use a blank page you have to think how and where to write. You plan and align. This little exercise of conscious attention, makes a huge impact on the creative capacity of the brain.

On the plus side, the page looks good and you can doodle all you want. Blank paged notebooks can be cheaper as well. All you have to do is buy a rim of white pages that suits your requirement and spiral bind them into a notebook of your required size. Spiral bind makes it easy to unstack, re-stack and remove pages with ease.

The lines become a psychological block that you can associate and uncover. The lines force you to write between them stripping you of your creative potential and ability to think out of the box. For me, the blank pages represent a symbol of breaking free from the stereotypical constraints the world confines us in. When I write on blank pages, it is me breaking free.