I wrote in a journal for many years and then stopped when I got to college because I was so busy. I started up again after graduate school and now I have a set of four journals for different uses. I enjoy my system so I thought I’d share! You might be thinking, “I barely have enough time to keep up one journal!” Just hear me out!
1. Primary Journal
2. 5-Year Question/Answer Journal
3. Snippets journal
4. Expression & Notes journal
5. Gratitude journal
6. Habit journal
1. Primary Journal
My day-to-day journaling style is basically rehashing my day. This serves multiple purposes.
Documentation
One, it documents what happened that day, so if I am trying to remember the last time I trimmed my hair or the name of a restaurant I went to, I can flip through the pages and find out.
How many times has it served this purpose for me? Honestly, not enough times to make it worth the amount of effort I put in each night. However, this isn’t the only reason I do it.
Brain Dump
Two, it’s a brain dump – and might help me sleep better. When I sit down in my bed each night and pull out my journal, I mentally go back to the beginning of the day and document the highlights and the routines. Reviewing my day helps me get it all out of my head and organized on paper, leaving my mind blank. (Maybe that’s why I rarely dream?) I liken it to Dumbledore placing memories in his pensieve.
Now that it’s on paper, I don’t have the memories of the day fluttering around my head anymore.
Plus, anything I may have forgotten to accomplish that day can be added to tomorrow’s to do list.
Motivation
Three, it can be a motivator to actually do things. I’m sure I’m not alone when I go through stages of not wanting to do anything all day. A nice lazy day off can be beneficial, but it can become an unfortunate habit. Sitting down at the end of the day and having nothing notable to write about can be a reminder to put yourself out there and get tasks accomplished and pursue activities that excite you. You may not even notice that your days have become “work, dinner, TV, bed” until you are writing that down in a journal. It might encourage you to practice your piano once in a while, read a few nights a week instead of watching shows, or treat yourself to a bath! This doesn’t need to be something that makes you feel like every day has to be an adventure and lead to insecurities, but rather a motivator to add a few things to your day that you will be excited to write about each night.
I have used two different types of journals for this purpose: a lined notebook and a planner. A lined notebook is my most common choice and is pretty self-explanatory in that each night I write the date and then jot down my notes. But I came to using a planner for this purpose when I finished graduate school in the spring of 2015. I had been using a planner all spring to keep my schoolwork straight, but when school was done I still had more than half of a planner empty. I wrote down a few bullets in the box for what had happened that day instead of full on paragraphs that I normally do in a notebook. So, if you have an unused planner for the year sitting around or you see a really cute one but don’t need it for its traditional prospective organization, consider using it for retrospective documentation!
2. 5-Year Question/Answer Journal
I discovered this journal at the end of 2016 in a pile of Christmas gift ideas in Marshall’s (and bought it for myself!). It is a structured journal that asks you a question each day for 365 days. They provide a few lines for you to write your answer and a spot to write the current year. Once you finish the last day (it doesn’t have to be December 31st, you can start any day you’d like), you go back to the beginning and answer the same set of 365 questions the next year and the year after that for five years! I thought it was such an interesting concept to track how your opinions and thoughts change – or don’t – over the years.
Now that I have a few years under my belt, I have a tip to try and cover up your previous answers before answering that days question so as to not be swayed by what you said in years past. Because it’s been a year since you’ve read the question, think of it with a fresh perspective and then reveal the past answers to see how similar or different they are!
This is a great journal style to help you (or someone who you think needs it, they make great gifts) get into a rhythm of journaling that isn’t so open-ended and “daunting”. The fact that it’s structured can take the pressure off if you or the person you’re gifting it to doesn’t feel very creative. It’s also really quick and can be done at any time of day. They also make different variations of this style, such as one for moms, one for kids, and one for couples.
3. Snippets Journal
I just started this style a few months ago. I didn’t get the idea from anywhere in particular, but I wanted a space to write down funny things that people say, weird things that happen, sudden memories from the past, and anything that came to my mind at any point in the day. I could do this in my primary journal, but mine is set up so each entry goes through my day chronologically. It’s not really a place for super detailed funny stories and I don’t want to wait until the end of the day to jot these funny moments down because I’ll usually forget. For some people, this journal might seem superfluous, but I’m really liking it so far! Think of it as Twitter that is just for you.
4. Expression & Notes Journal
I have this problem where I want to buy really awesome looking journals at the store but then I’m afraid to write in them for fear of tainting them with low-quality content or starting a story and never finishing it so it sits on the shelf with two pages tarnished. In order to combat writer’s block and free myself to accept any and all inspiration, I took to Staples to purchase a composition notebook. (Which was surprisingly difficult to locate in the store!) Now, you may remember these from science class in high school: they are bound with string and tape and usually have a black and white marbled pattern. My thinking was that by having a more relaxed style of notebook around, I wouldn’t be afraid to bring it out and get it dirty, start a description for a character and never finish, use it to write down a random phone number, draw a really ugly world map, practice my new signature, and all around use it for whatever.
The biggest use I get out of it is similar to a brain dump, but for times when I’m feeling really stressed or upset or stuck at a point where I need to make a decision and don’t know what to do. I have a hard time articulating myself aloud in general, but especially in times of distress. What I’ve learned to do over the years is to find quiet place with a good supply of paper and write down everything. In those moments it feels like a swarm of bees is buzzing around my brain.
A train of thought can never be followed because it is obscured by another one buzzing in front of its path. It makes it difficult to articulate my thoughts and come to decisions because I can’t see what I’m working with very well. Writing it all down is like placing each buzzing bee down on paper and having it rest there until all of the bees have finally stopped zigzagging around and instead are lined up quite nicely.
I don’t have strong beliefs in the zodiac, but as a Libra, I do identify with the proclivity to flip-flop back and forth between decisions and even how I’m supposed to feel about certain circumstances. I like to weigh all the options before moving forward. And when I’m really upset, I struggle between letting myself feel bad and reminding myself to be grateful for everything else that is going right for me at that moment. For me, working through that mental process works best when it flows through my hand and onto the paper.
I really recommend trying it next time you face a decision (no matter if it’s perceived as big or small) or find yourself upset and wondering “why am I feeling this way?” Having a really raggedy journal to scribble in during these moments helps free my mind and not worry about how many pages of high quality paper I’m using.
5. Gratitude Journal
When I wrote in a journal before college, I used to write down three things that brought me joy and three things I was thankful for. This is another example of semi-structured low-commitment journaling that can be extremely beneficial for your mental health.
It can be easy to breeze through the day and take things for granted. I believe that practicing this type of journaling has rewired my brain to focus on gratitude and the good things in life. And don’t feel as if you need to be thankful for something completely new each day. The highlight of the day can be big or small, extraordinary or routine.
When I was dating Greg in high school, every day I would write that I was thankful for the chance to get to see him. Then when we dated long distance in college, I could look back on those days when I saw him every day and know that I cherished them. It definitely didn’t make long distance easy, but it continues to redirect you into the positive. Instead of thinking, “well those days were way better and this is awful”, focus on the positive: “I’m so lucky to have those sweet memories and so grateful to be able to look forward to the next time we’ll be together and make more memories.” And now that we live together, I’m still grateful every day!
6. Habit Journal
Exercise
When I was in college, I was on the varsity rowing team.
If you are unfamiliar with collegiate rowing, which I was as a freshman, there is a fall season of racing 5ks and a spring season of racing 2ks. Similar to cross country and track, we trained basically all year. During the winter and summer breaks we broke into small teams to have a little competition and keep everyone motivated. We tracked our workouts personally and compiled those meters to see which team had the most. I bought a little Moleskine notebook for that purpose, and now that I’m long out of college, I still use it to track my workouts. I go through phases of consistency, but when I do use it I find it helpful! It reminds me what weight I was using for curl press a few days ago or which muscle group I did yesterday to help me determine which to do today. It also is a visual accountability tool so if you skip a few days, which is totally fine, you can see a gap in your entries that shows you what felt like skipping one day was actually four!
Food
Before college, I used to track everything I ate in my journal. I didn’t have the resources to count calories or anything like that (this was before smart phones and apps and Alexa), but I liked the accountability of writing down what I ate so I couldn’t deny any excess junk or splurges. I don’t do it anymore because mentally it’s not right for me. However, I do think it can serve to help people uncover hidden patterns or snacks they are consuming without thinking. Give it a try if you’re looking to improve your diet, but stop if it’s causing harm.
Water
Something a little simpler to track than food is how much water you are drinking in a day. This is made easy if you use a water bottle and know how many ounces are in a full bottle. There are varying recommendations regarding how much water you should drink daily, but just recording it to begin with can help you get a baseline. I’m sure if I started tracking my water intake I would truly see how little I drink! I just don’t crave water that often, unless I’m working outside or exercising! I don’t drink alcohol, but that might be another habit that would be helpful to track.
Movies/TV Shows/Books
I keep a running list of movies I’d like to see, which can serve as a guide on those nights when we want to watch something new but don’t feel like browsing Netflix for hours. I put new movies on my list as well as old classics I discover I haven’t seen, like Braveheart, so if I see it pop up on Netflix or Amazon Prime then I can finally watch it!
I also keep track of TV shows that we are watching. We are living in a golden age of television right now with so many movie quality shows out that it’s hard to keep track of them all! We really don’t watch a ton of TV, but even the shows we do watch can be hard to track because seasons start and end at different times throughout the year. So I make a note when a show is renewed for another season and then as we finish a season I check it off the list.
I’ve always loved reading but as I get older the books I choose get longer and I have a hard time finishing one without skipping around to different books. I want to read more so I keep a list of books I’ve read so I can have a visual on what I’ve accomplished. You can also keep a list of books you’d like to read, but I keep that list in my phone in case I’m out and about and discover a book sale.
Sleep/Dreams
Another habit that people like to track is sleep. I don’t have a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep, going back to sleep, or sleeping in, so I don’t keep track of my sleep. Nowadays, smart watches can track that in such detail that a sleep journal tracking your hours is inconsequential.
Something the Fitbit cannot track, however, is your dreams! I used to keep a dream journal and it is mind-blowing how reading them MANY years later I can still picture some of those images. Now granted, there are some I wrote down that I don’t remember dreaming, but a lot of them I actually do! I don’t keep a journal anymore because I seldom dream. When I sleep it’s as if my brain literally shuts off. Apparently the trick to remembering your dreams is to purposefully think about what you dreamed as soon as you wake up. This is the best time to write it in your journal, otherwise you will regret it and have that nagging feeling like the description of your dream is on the tip of your tongue. But unlike words or names of actors, no one can help you remember your dream. I wish I remembered them more often because I think they would be really great writing prompts. But alas, I don’t think it will work for me.
If you discovered some styles you like but prefer the idea of keeping everything in one place, consider giving bullet journaling a try. They are really popular now, and to my understanding it is a style of journaling that encourages you to customize each page with your own design and art and create different sections for what you’d like to document. I’ve incorporated a little bit of this in my primary journal, but I think this works best when using it more as a planner/to do list.
Are there any other styles of journals that you use that aren’t mentioned here? I didn’t mention blogging, but I enjoy this style because I can add pictures and links!
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca
Flourish & Blogs 