What to Put in Your Traveler's Notebook: 10 Ideas Beyond Journaling

A Traveler's Notebook can hold almost anything that fits under an elastic band: a planner, a sketchbook, a wallet, a folder of tickets, a book of quotes. The trick is giving each refill one clear job. Below are ten ideas that go past the daily diary, each paired with the refill that makes it work, so you can build a setup around how you actually spend your days.

New to the system? Start with our guide on how to set up your Traveler's Notebook, then come back here to decide what goes inside.

1. A Commonplace Book

A commonplace book is a running collection of things worth keeping: quotes, passages from books, overheard lines, ideas you don't want to lose. Writers have kept them for centuries, and a Traveler's Notebook suits the habit because it's always with you. Use a blank or dot grid refill, date each entry, and add a short index on the last page once it fills up. When it's done, the refill slides out and goes on a shelf, and a fresh one takes its place.

2. A Travel Journal and Ticket Keeper

It's in the name for a reason. Pair a lined or blank refill with a kraft paper folder, and you have somewhere to write each day's notes plus a pocket for boarding passes, museum tickets, and receipts. You don't need to go abroad to use it, either. A day trip to the Toronto Islands or a weekend in Prince Edward County fills a few pages just as well. Glue or tape the flat pieces in when you get home, and keep the bulkier ones in the folder.

3. A Watercolour Sketchbook

Traveler's Company makes a dedicated watercolour paper refill with heavier sheets that handle light washes without buckling. The Passport size is small enough to paint on a park bench with a travel palette and a water brush. Keep it as the last refill in your stack so wet pages don't press against your writing.

4. A Planner for the Year Ahead

The free diary refills come in monthly and weekly layouts, and because they're undated, you can start them any month. Many people run a monthly refill at the front for appointments and a plain notebook behind it for daily lists. Dated diaries for the coming year usually arrive in the fall, so this is the time to plan your setup if you want it ready for January. If you're weighing a Traveler's Notebook against other planners, our guide to choosing a planner compares the main formats.

5. A Slim Wallet

A card file refill has slots for cards and a clear pocket for a transit pass or ID. Put it at the back of your stack and the Traveler's Notebook becomes the one thing you grab on the way out. It works especially well in the Passport size, which fits comfortably in a jacket pocket.

6. A Work Notebook

Meeting notes, project to-dos, and quick sketches for a client all fit in a grid or dot grid refill. The advantage over a regular work notebook is that you can pull the refill out when a project ends and archive it, so your current notes never get buried under last quarter's. Some people keep a separate refill per project and swap them in as needed. If you write a lot at work, pair it with a smooth, quick-drying pen; our picks for the best ballpoint pens for note-taking hold up well to long meetings.

7. A Reading Log

Track what you've read, what you thought of it, and what you want to read next. A simple layout works: title, author, date finished, a rating, and a few lines of notes. Over a year, it becomes a surprisingly personal record. If you already keep a commonplace book (idea #1), the two pair well in the same cover.

8. A Habit or Fitness Tracker

A grid refill turns into a tracker with a ruler and ten minutes. Draw a month across the top and your habits down the side, then fill in a square each day. Because it lives in your Traveler's Notebook instead of an app, you'll actually see it every time you open the cover. Runners and cyclists often use the Passport size for route notes and times.

9. A Letter Writing Kit

Keep a few sheets of writing paper, some envelopes, and a book of stamps in a kraft folder, and you're ready to write a letter anywhere. A pen holder on the cover means you're never without something to write with. It's a small setup that makes staying in touch by mail feel easy rather than like a project.

10. A Fold-Out Timeline

The accordion fold paper refill opens into one long, continuous strip. Use it for a trip itinerary, a year-at-a-glance, a family tree, or a row of small photos from an event. It's the refill people ask about most when they see it in person, because nothing else in the system opens up quite like it.

How to Choose Your Mix

Start with two refills, not five. Pick the one you'll open every day and one that supports it, like a planner plus a folder, or a sketchbook plus a commonplace book. Use that pair for a few weeks, then add a third if something is missing. Whichever size you carry changes what works best, since a Passport cover favours one or two focused refills and a Regular cover gives you room for more. Our guide to Regular vs. Passport size breaks that decision down.

Refills, folders, card files, and bands are all in our Traveler's collection, and Traveler's Company's own refill guide lists the full numbered lineup if you want to see every option.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some good things to keep in a Traveler's Notebook?

Popular choices include a planner, a blank notebook for notes or quotes, a folder for receipts and tickets, a card file for a slim wallet, and a sketchbook. Pick refills based on what you'll use daily.

What's the point of a Traveler's Notebook?

It's a modular system. One leather cover holds several refills, so you can combine a planner, notebook, and sketchbook in one place, then swap refills out as your needs change.

What notebooks fit in a Traveler's Notebook?

Refills made for the Regular or Passport size fit best. Other notebooks work if their dimensions match your cover size and they are thin enough to sit under the elastic band.

How do you fill a Traveler's Notebook?

Give each refill one job and add them gradually. Most people start with one or two refills and build up to three once they know how they use the notebook.

Can you use a Traveler's Notebook as a commonplace book?

Yes, and it's one of the most popular uses. A blank or dot grid refill works well, and when it fills up you can archive it and start a new one without changing covers.

Build Your Setup at Take Note

We stock Traveler's Notebook refills, folders, and accessories at our shop in Toronto's Junction, and we ship across Canada. Browse the Traveler's collection online, or visit us at 2950 Dundas St W to flip through the refills in person before you decide.