I mentioned in my Monday Motivation yesterday my journal. I started doing the Morning Pages journaling where you write 3 pages of stream-of-thought first thing in the morning. I have a ton of notebooks and planners that I use. But, my primary journal is a sort of hybrid bullet journal and diary. I have some pictures to show you my process. I blacked out some things I’d rather keep private.
So, I like to start off with a review of my favorite memories for the previous month. For April, we had Easter, my friend had her baby girl, and we had my sister’s baby shower. Sometimes I’ll write a little caption about it. Maybe when I have a larger notebook I’ll even include pictures and make it a sort of scrapbook page.
Recording your memories really make your journal a sort of written time capsule you can look back on years from now and say “Oh, yeah, I remember when Emmy was born and now she’s 16 and has grown so much.”
Next, I like to set up a list calendar for the next month. I have planners but they are big and bulky and I can’t always take them with me. If I’m going somewhere that I can’t have a huge purse, I drop my journal and a small notepad in my bag in case I have to jot something down. The list method is great because it doesn’t have to be neat. It’s just a quick overview of what’s going on in the coming month. For example, I started a soda pop ban today. (I’m already dying) I have birthdays and doctor appointments or when I’m going to visit friends. And, then, when I record the memory, I have an idea where to look when I’m rereading my entries.
Since my journal is pretty small, this list had to go front and back with a space for when I run out of room on the line for that date. I probably could have expanded it. Maybe I will for June, depending on what I have going on. It’s early yet and I’m sure this is going to fill up even further. I don’t have tentative things. Like, if someone is having a baby. It’s not guaranteed it will happen on the due date. I don’t want to scratch it out or fuss with white-out. I have a list of dates to fill in in my planner. Some are set in stone, some are more tentative. But, my planner is a little more customizable that this journal. (But, that’s another entry.)
On the next page, I have my morning and evening routines. This page is not complete but here’s a general rundown. I wake up at 5 a.m. (Monday through Friday, anyway. Weekends are a little more flexible) I shower, get dressed, prep for the day. I get my fruit smoothie for breakfast. And then I have a plan for when I’m staying home to work and for when I have to go somewhere at some point in the day. Especially when I know I’m going to be gone most of the day.
For my evening routine, I’m really trying to work on disconnecting. Joe gets irritated when I spend most of the evening on my phone zoning out to my games. So, one of my new year resolutions was to make a conscious effort to disconnect and have quality couple time. I plan out my dinners every week based on what’s going on and I plan out my day to have dinner ready when Joe comes home from work. After dinner is no phone time. We’ll watch a sports event (like a baseball game or the NBA playoffs are going on right now) or a movie cuddled up on the couch. Then, I’ll go in the bedroom with my task book, review what I accomplished for the day, and set up my tasks for the next day. Then, I’ll spend an hour or two in bed reading a book for fun or studying something. I will break my no-phone rule and watch a SkillShare class if it’s not too long. I justify that by saying it’s part of my self-education. I’m not playing Angry Birds or Plants v. Zombies so it’s okay.
Last thing I have for this month is a water tracker. I’m starting a soda pop ban for the month of May. At the same time I’m trying to drink more water because I’m really bad at that. I think that’s why I’ve felt so sluggish lately. I’ve probably been dehydrated. This is not neat at all. I also track this in my planners with stickers but this works for right now.
The rest of the month is my actual “diary.” I start each day with my 3 morning pages. If I have something to write about in the middle of the day or at night, I’ll write then as well. I take this book everywhere because I don’t want to miss a moment.
I’m still developing and tweaking my process. And, if I come up with something new, I’ll write about it if there is an interest. This is my personal journal, not specifically “book related,” although I will jot down ideas. I try to keep “work” and “personal” stuff separate. That’s why I carry a messenger bag as my purse so I can lug around both planners.
I’d love to see how you keep a journal. Do you full on bullet journal? Or do you have a combination? Do you use prompts or stream of consciousness? Let me know and we can share ideas.