These old scrapbooks are inspiring. Now that I’ve finally found a way to keep a daily personal journal, I would love to stretch myself further with something similar.
@gregmoore those are amazing! Thanks for posting the link! Also, do you have a routine you recommend for making daily journaling work? It’s something I’ve often aspired to and thus far cannot make happen.
@jensands Honestly, I’m not great at journaling. 😅 In the past I journaled in “spits and spurts,” frequently more interested in the idea of journaling than anything I actually had to say. (I also find past-me pretty stupid so I don’t look to him for wisdom or advice.)
What finally cracked journaling for me was advice from other, wiser people:
Hire your journal a bouncer - Internet and tv constantly fight and scream for our attention but journaling does the opposite. It requires a moment of solitude but refuses to speak up. That’s why your journal needs a defender or a hype-man to demand that attention. The most obvious candidate is weaving journaling into something you already do every day. This could be a ritual like the morning’s coffee or staying up after the family goes to bed. For me, the breakthrough was turning a distraction-making device against the distractions. I downloaded a journaling app with built-in alerts so, at the same time every day, my phone screams at me to journal. The alert doesn’t go away either so, even if I miss it that day, I’m sure to see it the next morning and bang out my entry.
Keep it simple - Start with a “captain’s log;” what happened, who was involved, and where were you? Many days, that’s all the information you need. You won’t always have feelings about what happened but, when you do, add those too.
Journal to understand later - Life isn’t lived in a coherent narrative, and we can’t see the patterns in our lives without adequate distance, so don’t journal like it’s a novel.
@ronkjeffries I use DayOne. Sorry, I should have included that link previously.
The reasons I chose it are:
1. I’ve used and enjoyed it many years ago.
2. It has a reasonable yearly price.
3. Automattic owns them and I like their company.
4. It automatically grabs info like weather that I want to include with my entries.
5. You can turn your journals into books with their printing service.
@gregmoore thank you for taking the time to write this response! A lot of what you said mirrors my situation and “issues”. And the idea of it not needing to be good writing- it’s not a novel— yup. Definitely gets in my way. You’ve inspired me think more about it- what is my actual goal, and how to line up priorities if it IS truly a goal, and not just an idea that I like the thought of. Thanks!!
@ronkjeffries I would start with the free version on Android and learn if it's a good fit before committing yourself, or money, to it. Figuring out your why is, in my opinion, the very best thing to explore because you can't be wrong!
@jensands I'm happy to pass on the wisdom of others wiser than myself. I've received the most value from my journals when I was writing through major life events, like moving house or the pandemic. My writing wasn't all that special but being able to have a more accurate record of my thoughts and how things actually happened then is invaluable for my reflections now. Good luck with it!