How I've Managed to Consistently Journal for the Past Three Years
As a kid and then teenager and then college student I very much wanted to keep a journal. Iâm afraid of growing up and not having any record of my daily life or a way to access forgotten memories.
Itâs scary when you ask an adult about a time in their life and they canât recall any details.
Journaling is heralded as the life changing answer for mental health problems, productivity, and organization. Youâre supposed to journal every day, track every place you go, everything you do, purchases, your thoughts, feelings, aspirations, blah blah blah blah.
And much of the advice and inspiration on keeping a journal seems to be productivity or aesthetic driven.
Iâve tried setting reminders to journal, (not helpful), carving out weekday slots to fill in (waste of paper), buying so many art supplies (I donât regret this). Nothing worked and I always ended up not only feeling bad about myself, but terrified over the parts of my life that are already lost to time since I didnât document them.
What Iâve learned is having rules around something as personal as journaling is dumb!
Your journal isnât supposed to be weapon you wield against yourself. Itâs ok to live your life and not stress over capturing it in some tangible form. Sure, you could get dementia and forget everyone you ever loved and everything you ever built, but it would be better to have no record of this life than a record you traded your peace for.
Iâve managed to consistently journal over the past few years because I stopped putting pressure on myself over it. Journaling has became something fun. Itâs something I look forward to.
My best advice is to find what works for you and ignore everything else. But if youâre interested, hereâs whatâs currently working for me:
1. Using only notebooks I love.
I donated all the notebooks I received as gifts or bought for myself but later realized I didnât like. I donât use spiral bound, or ones with covers that are difficult to keep clean. The paper needs to be high quality and have lines or grids.
2. Using one journal for everything in my life.
I use the same notebook for my personal life, creative projects, and professional work. Itâs just one thing I have to keep track of and everything I could possibly need on any given day is with me.
3. Using pages in chronological order.
I donât section out anything. This wastes paper. Instead Iâll label the top of a page or use washi tape on the edge of a page to categorize it. And I always clearly date every entry.
4. Making a monthly spread.
This can include a calendar, goals, trackers, a daily one line memory or event (that I donât worry about entering every day). I make mine themed and adorable but itâs not necessary.
5. Allowing myself to write whatever the fuck I want.
No one should ever have access to this journal besides me. I let myself write as raw and real as I am.
I used to try sounding intelligent. Now I just put down all those idiotic thoughts and feelings. I donât write with my future self reading it back in mindâwho am I in this moment?
I doodle constantly in my journal. I sketch out project ideas. Having lines helps with accuracy and symmetry and it doesnât feel like Iâm wasting nice drawing paper therefore Iâm more likely to sketch.
Gluing in tickets, receipts, brochures, etc. is a wonderful way to document my life. They have preprinted dates, times, places, and events eliminating the need to write that all down.
I cut out images from museum guides and advertisements.
I donât buy all that fake vintage crap or print things offâthereâs plenty already out there that will otherwise go to waste.
Elmerâs glue sticks work great for this.
I never leave the house without my journal and a pen.
10. Never forcing anything.
I donât write every day. I donât keep track of my mood or hormone cycle to compare with my productivity. I donât do anything I donât feel like doing. If itâs not sticking itâs probably not working.
Sometimes thereâs too much swirling around in my brain to write or create with clarity. Iâll take a page and write down everything that comes to mindârandom ideas, messages I need to send, errands I need to run, stuff I want to do, stuff Iâm worried about, literally everything that pops into my brain.
I free my brain from the burden of having to keep track of or process all of lifeâs shit. Brain dumps often include the same things as a previous brain dump. Patterns emerge and I gain insight on some of the behaviors or mind states I can increase awareness around.
Journaling consistently has not completely transformed my lifeâbut it has improved it. Time feels a little slower. My days feel more meaningful even if all I did was sketch the moon making a weird face.
I donât think Iâll be stopping any time soon.
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