The most approachable bird notebook may be the one used close to home. Repeated glimpses from a familiar walk or window can be easier to compare than a single ambitious outing. Begin with the encounters your usual routine already provides.
Give each entry a date, a place description and a few lines of observation. Note whether you saw a bird directly or heard an unidentified sound. Keeping those experiences distinct makes the notebook easier to read later.
Use quick marks to remember a pose or the position of a branch. The drawing need not be attractive to be useful. A small arrow showing movement may communicate more than a paragraph written from memory.
At the end of a week, reread the pages without trying to rank the sightings. Look for recurring places and moments that held your attention. Those patterns can suggest where to spend a little more patient time.