Artist confession: I have always been terrible at keeping a sketchbook. I have a very hard time not making a finished product - letting it be messy or ugly or awkward looking. So I skip it. I mean, I buy tons of blank sketchbooks and even carry them around with me. But I'm not in the habit of sketching regularly! Every art teacher I've ever had has urged me to use a sketchbook. So last year I started a new one, and instead of calling them sketches, I chose to call them light studies. Here's a little peak into how that looks.
I've really enjoyed studying light and working on little compositions with just a light, mid-tone, and dark color. Some turned out pretty tight and some are more loose and relaxed but I'm happy to finally be using a sketchbook! I just had to trick myself into doing it.
By limiting the color palette I can trick myself into not thinking of these as sketches. And by using markers, instead of pencils, I can't undo anything so I have to let it be messy or unfinished or heaven-forbid awkward!
It's also important to remember that every artist is going to do things differently and there's no one correct way to do this. That's actually kind of the whole point. Find a way to enjoy what you're doing and if it works for you, go for it!