Record anything pertinent to your writing life in your notebook—ideas for a story, bits of conversation you overhear that might make for good story dialogue, character traits for someone in a story of yours, new words you’re fond of, turns of phrase from the works of others that serve as inspiration and so on.
Write the date above each new notebook entry. Since your notebooks will be informal, this may be the extent of your organization and can be important when reflecting later.
Put a sticky note on the page where you left off, to indicates where your next reflection session should start.
Color code each entry based on your own classification system, using a highlighter. Classifications might include new words learned, clever phrases or interesting story ideas. The color-coded entries can then be transferred to your computer into appropriately named file folders, if you wish.
Sit down once a week to read back through your notebook for inspiration and ideas.