To start a new journal or not start a new journal
This is a question that I had, here's the answer
One of my writing preferences1 is for each notebook be a time-bound whole. For the past few years I've tried to squeeze a year's worth of daily personal journal entries into a single A5 size notebook2, mainly because I didn't want to spread the year across multiple books or leave things sprawling uncomfortably, like putting cliffhangers at the end of each journal and leaving the end of a year mid notebook.3
To do that I often had to squeeze two, sometimes three days worth of entries onto a single page. Usually this was not a problem because sometimes individual days are not noteworthy. But sometimes I feel constricted by my self-imposed constraint. What if I have a topic that I can write pages and pages about?4 Should I restrict myself in order to stay within the confines of that year's notebook? Sometimes the constraint seems ridiculous.
A couple of months ago I was browsing through a stationary sale at a Chapters/Indigo store and I found this:
This set of 5 notebooks was discounted at 80% off retail price and I couldn't resist buying it. Each notebook is A5 sized, contains good lined writing paper and I estimate that this will give me about 3 years of journaling pages, maybe a bit less, maybe more. So my new quest is the following: instead of trying to condense an entire year into one notebook, I’m going to see how many years I can get out of this collection of notebooks.
This is as close to a New Year’s Resolution as I’ll set in 2024! 😉
I’m curious to see if this will change my journaling habits this year. I’ll check in later on and give an update on how things are going.
Over to you: do you keep a personal journal? Are any of your journaling habits unique to you (or so you think)? Do you follow any rules at all or do you just let the words fly to your heart's content? Please share your thoughts in the comment section!
It doesn't have to be a New Year's Resolution, you can subscribe any time you like!
OK, it's a quirk.
Yes, of course it's a Leuchtuurm1917 notebook…. By the way, I understand that the correct pronunciation of the brand name is loy-strum. CORRECTION!!!!!
This year I ended my 2023 journal at the end of November and wrote December's entries in a separate, thinner notebook, a gift that came from Greece - seemed like a good idea and it worked out well!
I do have a newsletter for longer pieces, of course…. But giving myself more room in journal entries might be a good way to record some thoughts that I could turn into newsletter essays later on…
Mark, I’ve been journaling digitally on a daily basis for almost four years now. For me there are thoughts and observations in my journal that I wouldn’t want others to be privy to. They are, at times, extremely personal reflections, which is a primary reason for me not using a physical journal.
I’m interested to hear your thoughts on physical vs digital journaling. Have you written about this before? If so, I’d appreciate if you could link to it. If not, would love to see you touch on it in the future. Just an idea.
I've never tried to constrain myself to fit a time period into one journal, and have even occasionally been known to (gasp!) abandon a journal before it's filled up if I'm "not feeling it", ie, not enjoying the journal I'm using for some reason (though I swear I don't normally like to waste paper). I like to keep my eye out for new and different journals to use, though they have to fit certain parameters that aren't always easy to find. I like them to be at least 8 x 10 inches---anything smaller I find constraining and annoying to write (and occasionally draw) in. The paper has to be unlined, and can't be so thin that I can see my writing through the other side, plus it has to be smooth enough and sized enough to accept fountain pen ink without incident. I also like the cover to be fairly plain as I'll often adorn the front cover with some collage or painting. Whether I do or don't, I'm not into journals that look too fancy or are "trying too hard" 😅.
Sometimes I'll write furiously for days or weeks, but I can also go a long time without writing. I tend to go to my journal when I need it.
I bet you'll definitely have different results if you're not preventing yourself from writing about something because you don't want to take up too much space. Personally, applying any rules to journal writing would defeat the purpose for me. Where else can you do exactly what you please, in the manner that you like, expressing yourself without holding back? I treasure the freedom my journals represent. I also treasure the relationship I've developed with them, as they got me through many a tough time when I was younger.