I keep a pocket-sized notebook a month (I love Field Notes but waited until I was in a regular habit for that treat). The small scale makes keeping a journal feel manageable and time-bound, so I actually do it. Sometimes I keep up at it as the month progresses, and sometimes I do a few big bursts, but it keeps me writing, by hand, regularly. I've been in the habit for 6.5 years now. I also keep a few lists (reading, meal plan, etc) and a habit tracker at the front of each month's book.
I love seeing what other people have written here. Journaling, in whatever form, is an amazing, calming, cathartic, and creative way to spend a little time: morning, afternoon, evening, whenever, in whatever kind of notebook suits you, in whatever surroundings work best.
I started journaling the day I left for Boot Camp in 1992, because a friend of ours said the one thing he wished he'd done when he served in WWII was to keep a journal to remember all the places he'd been and all the people he met. I wrote using the red light from the EXIT sign at one end of our barracks. I always wrote at the end of the day, because everything was fresh in my mind; it was usually about what happened that day, how I felt, and maybe a very short snippet of something that caught my attention enough that day to make it onto the page. I've never stopped writing in them, and looking back, I'm grateful for how therapeutic writing can be.
Some years, my journals were my only friends, and the words I inked onto empty pages lifted me out of darkness. There's something sacred about all the pens and journals, the different ways my handwriting has looked over the years, and how my words are unlike any of my writing on the computer.
Once you start, especially if you're doing something exciting when you do, like being on vacation, or doing something new or exciting, it should be easy to keep going.
My day doesn't feel complete unless and until I've written in my journal. It's part daily record, part meal tracker. Every morning, I read from a variety of poetry journals, newsletters, books and collections and note each one in my journal, with a special page number call-out for anything that I found particularly endearing. Occasionally, I write my own poetry. In my journal, I make plans for the day with To Do list bullets.
I've also tried the so-called 'morning pages' and for some reason, it's just never gelled for me. But I adore my journals and can't imagine not writing in one every day.
I'm impressed, amazed and inspired by the commitment and work so many apply to their journaling. The consistency described here is remarkable. My journaling process and organization is more chaotic and along the lines of what Jo described. I write down bits (often everyday moments but add-ons to works-in-progress too) routinely as texts that I send to myself. I often use voice record. Then every so often, like every few days or once a week, I go back and review my texts and add what's working, worth saving to the doc in progress. Not in any way efficient, but I've found that at least I'm capturing the thought and words in the moment and not losing them to my increasingly feeble memory :-)
Medi-journaling is a 3-part daily practice: purge, meditation, and creation. Finding the right tools helps with consistency and joy: a Shinola medium linen hardback journal (grid rather than lived), and a Pilot G2 07 black pen.
I'm a daily journalor, starting every morning with a cup of tea (recently gave up morning coffee), light a candle and open to a blank page (no lines) and just begin--day and date. Sometimes I write what I see out the window, sometimes I make to-do lists, I write what I remember, what I did the day before, any this or that, random...no rules. I carry a journal with me when I travel--and have used my travel journals as material for many stories and my memoir. Recently I got Suleika Jaouad's "The Book of Alchemy" which includes excellent journal prompts. Also I'm a member of the International Association for Journal Writing, which has many opportunities for journal keepers and offers a lively journaling community for members. (iajw.org)
I am no journalling expert, but I had a transformative experience journalling in 2019. I knew about Bronnie Ware's https://bronnieware.com/blog/regrets-of-the-dying/ "Regrets of the Dying" and had been reading a bit of stoic thinking about how Memento Mori is a hopeful practice, which steers you to live each day to the maximum value and not waste time.
I started a journal to answer the question, "What is truly important to me? What will I regret on my deathbed if I haven't done it?"
By writing I found I could work along to answer those questions when I didn't know I had answers. It turns out only two things matter to me. So since then I am putting effort into those two things. Rather than a diary about what is going on with me that day, I found this pursuit of a question a very helpful exercise.
I did the Artist's Way and found it transformative. I was a big diary-keeper as a young person and I love doing daily pages. I'm also a stationery nerd and love indulging in nice notebooks and fountain pens. They make the whole process feel more special and I feel more motivated because they are just a pleasure to use. I think it helps to set a timer or an amount of writing, otherwise it can eat up more time than I might really have. I use it mostly as a brain dump. I've tried doing storytelling in the daily diary and it doesn't get very far. But it helps me a lot to have that private space to rant, think, whatever. i keep a little pocket notebook nearby in case i think of an idea i want to take out of the diary and into something else. It really does help me come up with ideas and clarify ones I already have.
I'm a writer and copyeditor for my day job, and I am also pursuing an MFA in creative writing, so I am writing in some capacity for many hours every day. I've journaled off and on since I was a little girl writing in the steoreotypical diary with a lock on it. I have gone through prolific phases and dry seasons, but I always come back to journaling. I have also tried Morning Pages. Now, I don't have it in me to be a 100 percent consistent morning pages writer, but I do like the way it tends to shape the rest of my writing day.
Right now I'm using a large, soft cover Leighturm for my journal. I write everyday stuff about what I'm doing, how I'm feeling, lists, and quotes from things I am reading or watching. Sometimes I don't really have much to say, so I'll collage, create erasure poetry from newspapers or magazines, or print out photos with a little bluetooth sticker printer. Sometimes I pull tarot cards and write about them. I've learned not to be too specific about what I would consider a "successful" day of journaling, I just try to at least open it and mark the page in some way.
In addition to my regular journal, I have a bullet journal I use for scheduling and tracking, and I also have a reading journal.
I do 'my' version of morning pages. I only do 2 pages (not 3), and I only do 6 days a week (not 7.) I realized when I did the Artist's Way last year with a group on Substack that the only way I'd be able to commit to it is if I made it low stress. I already have anxiety problems, and if I was panicking about doing them every day and hitting a certain page number, I knew I'd stop. So whatever practice you try to adapt, I'd say make it work for you. The world won't end if I end up do 5 days of morning pages and not 6, but I at least try to keep the practice consistent. So that would be my advice: lower the stakes.
I've been a constant and chronic journal keeper since high school. I have a drawer full of blank notebooks (No lines! Don't box in my emotions!), and when I travel, I love to pick up blank books made locally (globalization makes this harder - everyone has been taken over my Moleskine and Leichturm. Don't get me wrong - I love both and all their colors! But I miss Italian marbled covers and the like. My local favorite is About Blanks, where they take old books and fill them with blank pages.
I think it helps me to have book and pens I love using. I rotate through my fountain pen of the moment (EF nibs, thank you). I do maintain a morning page habit from the Artist's Way I did a gazillion years ago - i've never finished it though! I redid it last November after the election and I still got to week 9, which is the farthest I've gotten.
As far as tips go - I got in the habit in high school because my parents were horrific and I needed a place to vent and put all the things I couldn't say at home. I started with a 99 cent spiral notebook so it would blend in with my school notebooks, and once I started writing, things started spilling out. The next year I tried a variety of notebooks to see what I liked. This is a terrible tip: Have a bad childhood! Maybe a bad relationship! But journaling really is my favorite coping tool. Ethan Kross in his book Shift also talks about it as a way to gain some psychic distance from feelings and rise above a mood.
While I do write in the morning (unless we're traveling or super busy) I also write throughout the day, when I need to focus and feel scattered, when I need to do an ADHD brain dump to do list so I can see straight. I write when I'm frustrated and feel like I don't know the best way to support my kids and spouse or when I love them fiercely but want to strangle them for being the ages they are having the struggles those ages have. I sketch out stories when they feel too new and fragile to go into one of the notebooks I use for writing (lines are acceptable there and I keep these too in my purse - I prefer the thinner ones for this ). I use my journal to rant, to give myself a pep talk, to gush about the adorable and hilarious things my husband and kids say, to list the books I read and listen to, to copy paragraphs I find really beautiful. I have another blank book I use to catch collages, but I am always behind in this one - Still, journaling is far cheaper than therapy and more enjoyable to be honest.
I think the best tip I could offer is give yourself some grace - I went to the Wes Anderson exhibit in Paris, and I admired how neat his journal collection is. Naturally he's been using the name notebook and pens for the last 30 years. Mine is a hodge podge collection of Moleskines, journals my daughter bought for me from a Walgreens, one my sister made me, and so on. I had to remind myself not to compare myself to Wes Bloody Anderson who might honestly have OCD in some form! Muji has a great affordable colored set of pens! They're fun! Dick Blick has cheaper sketchbooks. You could write a line in your paper calendar and call it a day. Or use the journal app on the phone while you're in line at Trader Joe's. When I hear people say they "can't" journal I often hear them saying they can't journal in the way they think they're supposed to journal - like everyone has to be Anne Frank or write something that will end up in a presidential library. I recommend Lynda Barry's books on creativity or 100 demons (I once drew a demon a day! Talk about therapeutic! ). It might just be about giving ourselves permission to be messy - on the page and emotionally.
"When I hear people say they "can't" journal I often hear them saying they can't journal in the way they think they're supposed to journal."
I think this is the absolute crux of the matter, thank you for this, and all the great advice above. I also do the ADHD brain dump which I think has gradually taken over my attempt at journalling, but I think I need to separate the two.
I haven't read all of it yet! I listened to a Mel Robbins podcast where she had him on as a guest. I have the book from the library, but I'm still skimming. But yes, in general, while I can't say any of it is earth shattering brand new, it's still helpful.
I'm 56 and have been writing since I was 8--I've run the gambit on ways to journal. What currently works for me is -one- catch-all composition or single ruled notebook; usually whatever is leftover from my kids' days in school. I decorate the front with stickers or my art and whatever I want to put in, I put in. The stakes are low--no more hand-bound journals or leather covers for me. I use highlighters and sticky notes when I'm organizing: workshop information, poetry I love, ideas for writing, to-do lists, sketches, preliminary lists of submissions I think will work for literary journals, emotional check-ins, song lyrics to look up, EVERYTHING goes in it. And in around two months' time (depending on how prolific I am) I start a new one. I carry it with me everywhere (now I'm committed to taking myself seriously as a writer) and when I have too many "cluttering" my in-box, I go through them and rediscover projects and ideas I can pursue.
Yes to low stakes! I love sifting through all the collected snippets of ideas too. Especially when you'd forgotten all about a particular one that sparks something anew!
I journaled through the 78 tarot cards in order, starting on my birthday in October, thinking I'd do one a day. It took four months, oops. Fabulous journaling exercise, though. I used the Cozy Witch deck and looked up Rider Waite meanings on Biddy Tarot (.com) to compare/contrast.
My Mum gave me a page a day journal for Christmas 1989. I've been journaling on and off ever since. I'm currently writing in journal #30.
I don't write every day (I'd be on journal 300 if I did), or give myself a requirement to fill a certain number of pages when I do.
I write whatever is up with me that day. I used to write before bed when I was younger. Now I wrote in the morning.
I've also kept gratitude journals over the years and should probably get back to that practice - just a line or two in the even about what went well that day.
I'm attempting to start regular free writing on the computer and keep those in Google docs.
I write a lot of autiofiction, so my journals are wonderful source material. I love reading about past me and find I wish I'd written more during the really difficult times.
I love to journal and have done so for the past twenty years or so! My day starts with me getting all cozy & such in our sunroom, often while it's still dark. I note the day of the week and the current date. Each journal page is devoted to three sections, never done so in any particular order. I include a place to track what I've eaten that day: Breakfast, Lunch, Supper, Other. (I strive to keep Other blank but that rarely happens!). I also include a Poetry section where I note the poetry journals, collections and newsletters I've read; this is part of the morning ritual. Then there's the free-write section where I journal about anything and everything: joys, sorrows, plans and frustrations. And sometimes, poems are born of these ramblings. What's not to love?!?
I keep a pocket-sized notebook a month (I love Field Notes but waited until I was in a regular habit for that treat). The small scale makes keeping a journal feel manageable and time-bound, so I actually do it. Sometimes I keep up at it as the month progresses, and sometimes I do a few big bursts, but it keeps me writing, by hand, regularly. I've been in the habit for 6.5 years now. I also keep a few lists (reading, meal plan, etc) and a habit tracker at the front of each month's book.
I have a standard morning routine and writing a bit is a part of it. I write a newsletter (blog) here on substack.
I love seeing what other people have written here. Journaling, in whatever form, is an amazing, calming, cathartic, and creative way to spend a little time: morning, afternoon, evening, whenever, in whatever kind of notebook suits you, in whatever surroundings work best.
I started journaling the day I left for Boot Camp in 1992, because a friend of ours said the one thing he wished he'd done when he served in WWII was to keep a journal to remember all the places he'd been and all the people he met. I wrote using the red light from the EXIT sign at one end of our barracks. I always wrote at the end of the day, because everything was fresh in my mind; it was usually about what happened that day, how I felt, and maybe a very short snippet of something that caught my attention enough that day to make it onto the page. I've never stopped writing in them, and looking back, I'm grateful for how therapeutic writing can be.
Some years, my journals were my only friends, and the words I inked onto empty pages lifted me out of darkness. There's something sacred about all the pens and journals, the different ways my handwriting has looked over the years, and how my words are unlike any of my writing on the computer.
Once you start, especially if you're doing something exciting when you do, like being on vacation, or doing something new or exciting, it should be easy to keep going.
My day doesn't feel complete unless and until I've written in my journal. It's part daily record, part meal tracker. Every morning, I read from a variety of poetry journals, newsletters, books and collections and note each one in my journal, with a special page number call-out for anything that I found particularly endearing. Occasionally, I write my own poetry. In my journal, I make plans for the day with To Do list bullets.
I've also tried the so-called 'morning pages' and for some reason, it's just never gelled for me. But I adore my journals and can't imagine not writing in one every day.
I'm impressed, amazed and inspired by the commitment and work so many apply to their journaling. The consistency described here is remarkable. My journaling process and organization is more chaotic and along the lines of what Jo described. I write down bits (often everyday moments but add-ons to works-in-progress too) routinely as texts that I send to myself. I often use voice record. Then every so often, like every few days or once a week, I go back and review my texts and add what's working, worth saving to the doc in progress. Not in any way efficient, but I've found that at least I'm capturing the thought and words in the moment and not losing them to my increasingly feeble memory :-)
There's a load of inspiring advice in these here comments eh? I've become a habitual voice-noter, too.
Medi-journaling is a 3-part daily practice: purge, meditation, and creation. Finding the right tools helps with consistency and joy: a Shinola medium linen hardback journal (grid rather than lived), and a Pilot G2 07 black pen.
I like that three-part process. Sometimes I get stuck on the purge part!
I'm a daily journalor, starting every morning with a cup of tea (recently gave up morning coffee), light a candle and open to a blank page (no lines) and just begin--day and date. Sometimes I write what I see out the window, sometimes I make to-do lists, I write what I remember, what I did the day before, any this or that, random...no rules. I carry a journal with me when I travel--and have used my travel journals as material for many stories and my memoir. Recently I got Suleika Jaouad's "The Book of Alchemy" which includes excellent journal prompts. Also I'm a member of the International Association for Journal Writing, which has many opportunities for journal keepers and offers a lively journaling community for members. (iajw.org)
Oh wow, thanks for those resource pointers. That sounds like a beautiful practice.
I am no journalling expert, but I had a transformative experience journalling in 2019. I knew about Bronnie Ware's https://bronnieware.com/blog/regrets-of-the-dying/ "Regrets of the Dying" and had been reading a bit of stoic thinking about how Memento Mori is a hopeful practice, which steers you to live each day to the maximum value and not waste time.
I started a journal to answer the question, "What is truly important to me? What will I regret on my deathbed if I haven't done it?"
By writing I found I could work along to answer those questions when I didn't know I had answers. It turns out only two things matter to me. So since then I am putting effort into those two things. Rather than a diary about what is going on with me that day, I found this pursuit of a question a very helpful exercise.
I really like this approach — and what an OOF of a question. Thank you for sharing.
I did the Artist's Way and found it transformative. I was a big diary-keeper as a young person and I love doing daily pages. I'm also a stationery nerd and love indulging in nice notebooks and fountain pens. They make the whole process feel more special and I feel more motivated because they are just a pleasure to use. I think it helps to set a timer or an amount of writing, otherwise it can eat up more time than I might really have. I use it mostly as a brain dump. I've tried doing storytelling in the daily diary and it doesn't get very far. But it helps me a lot to have that private space to rant, think, whatever. i keep a little pocket notebook nearby in case i think of an idea i want to take out of the diary and into something else. It really does help me come up with ideas and clarify ones I already have.
It is an excellent vehicle for ye olde stationary habit, isn't it? I like your suggestion of the timer, too!
I'm a writer and copyeditor for my day job, and I am also pursuing an MFA in creative writing, so I am writing in some capacity for many hours every day. I've journaled off and on since I was a little girl writing in the steoreotypical diary with a lock on it. I have gone through prolific phases and dry seasons, but I always come back to journaling. I have also tried Morning Pages. Now, I don't have it in me to be a 100 percent consistent morning pages writer, but I do like the way it tends to shape the rest of my writing day.
Right now I'm using a large, soft cover Leighturm for my journal. I write everyday stuff about what I'm doing, how I'm feeling, lists, and quotes from things I am reading or watching. Sometimes I don't really have much to say, so I'll collage, create erasure poetry from newspapers or magazines, or print out photos with a little bluetooth sticker printer. Sometimes I pull tarot cards and write about them. I've learned not to be too specific about what I would consider a "successful" day of journaling, I just try to at least open it and mark the page in some way.
In addition to my regular journal, I have a bullet journal I use for scheduling and tracking, and I also have a reading journal.
The little diary with a lock! I think I still have some of mine... :)
I'm loving all the suggestions of incorporating art/collage/scrapbooking. The tarot addition is great too.
I do 'my' version of morning pages. I only do 2 pages (not 3), and I only do 6 days a week (not 7.) I realized when I did the Artist's Way last year with a group on Substack that the only way I'd be able to commit to it is if I made it low stress. I already have anxiety problems, and if I was panicking about doing them every day and hitting a certain page number, I knew I'd stop. So whatever practice you try to adapt, I'd say make it work for you. The world won't end if I end up do 5 days of morning pages and not 6, but I at least try to keep the practice consistent. So that would be my advice: lower the stakes.
Yes, yes, yes, thank you for saying this!
Yes, it’s great in theory, but you’ve got to make something like morning pages work for you!
I've been a constant and chronic journal keeper since high school. I have a drawer full of blank notebooks (No lines! Don't box in my emotions!), and when I travel, I love to pick up blank books made locally (globalization makes this harder - everyone has been taken over my Moleskine and Leichturm. Don't get me wrong - I love both and all their colors! But I miss Italian marbled covers and the like. My local favorite is About Blanks, where they take old books and fill them with blank pages.
I think it helps me to have book and pens I love using. I rotate through my fountain pen of the moment (EF nibs, thank you). I do maintain a morning page habit from the Artist's Way I did a gazillion years ago - i've never finished it though! I redid it last November after the election and I still got to week 9, which is the farthest I've gotten.
As far as tips go - I got in the habit in high school because my parents were horrific and I needed a place to vent and put all the things I couldn't say at home. I started with a 99 cent spiral notebook so it would blend in with my school notebooks, and once I started writing, things started spilling out. The next year I tried a variety of notebooks to see what I liked. This is a terrible tip: Have a bad childhood! Maybe a bad relationship! But journaling really is my favorite coping tool. Ethan Kross in his book Shift also talks about it as a way to gain some psychic distance from feelings and rise above a mood.
While I do write in the morning (unless we're traveling or super busy) I also write throughout the day, when I need to focus and feel scattered, when I need to do an ADHD brain dump to do list so I can see straight. I write when I'm frustrated and feel like I don't know the best way to support my kids and spouse or when I love them fiercely but want to strangle them for being the ages they are having the struggles those ages have. I sketch out stories when they feel too new and fragile to go into one of the notebooks I use for writing (lines are acceptable there and I keep these too in my purse - I prefer the thinner ones for this ). I use my journal to rant, to give myself a pep talk, to gush about the adorable and hilarious things my husband and kids say, to list the books I read and listen to, to copy paragraphs I find really beautiful. I have another blank book I use to catch collages, but I am always behind in this one - Still, journaling is far cheaper than therapy and more enjoyable to be honest.
I think the best tip I could offer is give yourself some grace - I went to the Wes Anderson exhibit in Paris, and I admired how neat his journal collection is. Naturally he's been using the name notebook and pens for the last 30 years. Mine is a hodge podge collection of Moleskines, journals my daughter bought for me from a Walgreens, one my sister made me, and so on. I had to remind myself not to compare myself to Wes Bloody Anderson who might honestly have OCD in some form! Muji has a great affordable colored set of pens! They're fun! Dick Blick has cheaper sketchbooks. You could write a line in your paper calendar and call it a day. Or use the journal app on the phone while you're in line at Trader Joe's. When I hear people say they "can't" journal I often hear them saying they can't journal in the way they think they're supposed to journal - like everyone has to be Anne Frank or write something that will end up in a presidential library. I recommend Lynda Barry's books on creativity or 100 demons (I once drew a demon a day! Talk about therapeutic! ). It might just be about giving ourselves permission to be messy - on the page and emotionally.
"When I hear people say they "can't" journal I often hear them saying they can't journal in the way they think they're supposed to journal."
I think this is the absolute crux of the matter, thank you for this, and all the great advice above. I also do the ADHD brain dump which I think has gradually taken over my attempt at journalling, but I think I need to separate the two.
First of all, I agree wholeheartedly. NO LINES! I love the idea of journaling to gain distance and "rise above a mood." Do you recommend that book?
I haven't read all of it yet! I listened to a Mel Robbins podcast where she had him on as a guest. I have the book from the library, but I'm still skimming. But yes, in general, while I can't say any of it is earth shattering brand new, it's still helpful.
I'm 56 and have been writing since I was 8--I've run the gambit on ways to journal. What currently works for me is -one- catch-all composition or single ruled notebook; usually whatever is leftover from my kids' days in school. I decorate the front with stickers or my art and whatever I want to put in, I put in. The stakes are low--no more hand-bound journals or leather covers for me. I use highlighters and sticky notes when I'm organizing: workshop information, poetry I love, ideas for writing, to-do lists, sketches, preliminary lists of submissions I think will work for literary journals, emotional check-ins, song lyrics to look up, EVERYTHING goes in it. And in around two months' time (depending on how prolific I am) I start a new one. I carry it with me everywhere (now I'm committed to taking myself seriously as a writer) and when I have too many "cluttering" my in-box, I go through them and rediscover projects and ideas I can pursue.
Yes to low stakes! I love sifting through all the collected snippets of ideas too. Especially when you'd forgotten all about a particular one that sparks something anew!
I love this. I too have stopped buying fancy journals to lower the stakes. It has made it easier to let thoughts flow.
I journaled through the 78 tarot cards in order, starting on my birthday in October, thinking I'd do one a day. It took four months, oops. Fabulous journaling exercise, though. I used the Cozy Witch deck and looked up Rider Waite meanings on Biddy Tarot (.com) to compare/contrast.
Oh that's a fantastic approach. I like the closed-ended nature of it (regardless of how long it takes!).
My Mum gave me a page a day journal for Christmas 1989. I've been journaling on and off ever since. I'm currently writing in journal #30.
I don't write every day (I'd be on journal 300 if I did), or give myself a requirement to fill a certain number of pages when I do.
I write whatever is up with me that day. I used to write before bed when I was younger. Now I wrote in the morning.
I've also kept gratitude journals over the years and should probably get back to that practice - just a line or two in the even about what went well that day.
I'm attempting to start regular free writing on the computer and keep those in Google docs.
I write a lot of autiofiction, so my journals are wonderful source material. I love reading about past me and find I wish I'd written more during the really difficult times.
Isn't it amazing to look back on old journal entries? I think that's the magic of it for me.
I love to journal and have done so for the past twenty years or so! My day starts with me getting all cozy & such in our sunroom, often while it's still dark. I note the day of the week and the current date. Each journal page is devoted to three sections, never done so in any particular order. I include a place to track what I've eaten that day: Breakfast, Lunch, Supper, Other. (I strive to keep Other blank but that rarely happens!). I also include a Poetry section where I note the poetry journals, collections and newsletters I've read; this is part of the morning ritual. Then there's the free-write section where I journal about anything and everything: joys, sorrows, plans and frustrations. And sometimes, poems are born of these ramblings. What's not to love?!?
Love all of it. Especially tracking what you've read. What a treasure trove.