Art Journal/Sketchbook and Missed Opportunities

I'm still having trouble figuring out what exactly to call the new medium-sized Moleskine sketchbook I bought two weeks ago. Is it an art journal or a sketchbook? So far I think that it's more of a sketchbook than an art journal, but both terms are, I believe, pretty flexible. I'll probably call it what I want, when I want.

To the right is the one page I managed to eek out while at a fly-in lodge in northern Manitoba last week. It's of the flora brought into the house by my two-year-old niece and six-year-old nephew. My intention had been to do a couple more pages, especially since the landscape was so very Group of Seven (more examples here and here and here) but there were fish to catch, beers to drink, nieces and nephews to entertain, people to hang with, and, well, 101 things other than drawing to do.

So, to all you dedicated art journalers and book sketchers, how do you work? In a single go? Using the swiss cheese method (fifteen minutes here, ten minutes there)? How long did it take before sketching/journaling were second nature?