Nabaa is a freelance digital marketer and illustrator, and a passionate bullet journal creator. She told The Washi Tape Shop about her creative journey and how her journal has improved her life. 

Hello there! My name is Nabaa and I’m an illustration and marketing freelancer. When I’m not working, I’m either playing with my 3 cats or journaling! So if you’d like to learn a little more about me, stick around!

Let’s start at the beginning! I like to think I’ve always been a little creative - right since I was a child. Art in school was one of my favorite subjects and I loved being a part of the art club! I also enjoy baking and decorating cakes and actually ran a little cake business for a couple of years!

So while I’ve always had a passion for creativity, my journey with journaling started back in 2017. It was one of the hardest years of my life and I was feeling completely lost having just completed my undergraduate degree but not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I deal with terrible anxiety in general that worsened right about this time. The only time I felt good about myself was when I would manage to slow down and create something!

This is when I discovered art journaling! I absolutely loved all the different spreads I would see. No rules required - you just created what you felt like and I loved the concept. So my first ever “creative” journal was an art journal where I simply drew what and when I felt like. I experimented with a bunch of different art supplies to see what I most enjoyed using.

Towards the end of 2017, I came across a bullet journaling video on YouTube and I’ve been hooked ever since! The bullet journal system was such a game-changer -- it combined my need to be creative with the practical side of staying organized! I have a hard time staying committed to things so I decided to start an Instagram account that would give me the motivation I needed to stay consistent!

And that’s when @whimscial.doodles was created. While I still struggle with staying consistent, I am far better at managing to be creative on a regular basis AND I now have the most wonderful community! I’ve managed to create a little space that is all mine, filled with some of the most creative, talented, and kind people!

Apart from having such a fun community, bullet journaling has changed the way I do things. I find that I am now far more productive than I have ever been. It makes it so much easier to plan ahead and keep track of what I need to do and what has been done already.

The art part of my journal helps me on days where I’m feeling anxious and unsure about life. A lot of people think that “art and decoration” on a bullet journal are pretty useless and/or “a waste of time”, but if I’m being honest it is one of the biggest reasons I enjoy working on my journal. I’ve learned so much about different art supplies, tools, techniques and it has helped me considerably in growing my own set of skills and abilities.

When I was asked to write about my journey with journaling, it felt a little strange, because even though I’ve been journaling since 2018, I feel like I’m only now starting to find my own personal style! But this is something I would totally recommend everyone to try out at least once! The best part is that there is no right or wrong way to journal - you can try out a bunch of different things and discover what works best for you.

So what’s next? I really, really want to spend some more time growing my audience, creating content that they would enjoy and can benefit from. I’m working on creating digital products for bullet journals!

Until then, you can check me out on Instagram @whimsical.doodles and I’ll see you there :)

Much love,
Nabaa

Thanks to Nabaa for sharing her story with us. Be sure to follow her at @whimsical.doodles on Instagram.