Journaling practices

Discussion in 'Journaling and Storytelling' started by Lynnette, Jul 20, 2016.

  1. Lynnette

    Lynnette In my life, I've loved them all

    Messages:
    5,302
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2011
    Do you journal? I'm not necesarily talking about journaling on a scrapbook page, at least not in the way I approach it. I'm talking like the practice or habit of journaling/writing. Do you do it? Regularly? If so, what works or has worked for you?

    I'm curious because the past few years I have all but quit and I really wish I could get back into it. As a kid and into college I would just use a notebook or even a store bought journal and write off and on... then around 2007 I started blogging (along with the rest of the world) which I loved, but it slowly died out and I think my last post was in 2012 or thereabouts. I just wish I was better about recording the things that matter to me, big and small, my thoughts and feelings. When I was doing this, I found it so helpful in my scrapbooking! Writing ahead of time really helped me identify the things I wanted to record in my scrapbook layouts and sometimes I would even take the scrapbook page journaling straight from my blog post. As I scrap now, I feel like I'm always starting with the photos and the journaling is always the last thing I do and somewhat of an afterthought. Not that starting with photos is a bad thing, but I feel like if that's all I'm doing I'm missing out on telling some of my story, KWIM? I think I could do a better job of balancing the two.

    I know a lot of people like FB and other social media, but I'm not too big on posting a lot there - but perhaps there are other types of apps or programs you like and use? I did take one of Ali Edwards classes with journaling prompts - which was great - but I've only completed a few of the prompts and haven't really stuck with it.

    So what works for you?
     
  2. Lindzee

    Lindzee Aging gracefully

    Messages:
    5,217
    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2013
    I journal in fits and bursts. Sometimes I find if I am going through an especially difficult time it helps to pour out the thoughts. Sometimes in a journal, sometimes OneNote and sometimes I just load up Word and bang everything out.

    The last two years I have also kept a travel journal for when we go to Mexico. I make a short note on what we did that day, always have a page marked for "we forgot to bring, or we should have brought more of, or don't bother bringing this next year". I also write ideas for recipes of stuff we ate and really loved. This helps with scrapping the photos later, but I also review before the next trip while I'm packing and noting things we might want to explore again. I have the last three years all in one 5x7 spiral journal I picked up at the dollar store. It's fun to sit on the beach in the evening and reminisce on what we did that day the year before. I also load up a few pages with a line of paper clips so I can clip menus, receipts, ticket stubs, etc onto the pages. I know you guys don't know me as much of a journal keeper, and my entries are generally short, but effective for me. It's small and light enough to pack away in my day pack and bring to the beach. I really appreciate my Mexico journal.
     
    angiekey and mcurtt like this.
  3. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

    Messages:
    30,371
    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2008
    I used to use "Oh Life" for years. They'd email you every day and the time you preset and all you'd do is reply to that email about what you did that day. Then on their website you could access all those journal entries. But about a year ago, they closed. I haven't done anything since. I think you could use something like Boomerang (a gmail plugin that schedules emails) to send yourself an email everyday and do the same kind of thing.
     
    klee73010 likes this.
  4. jenn mccabe

    jenn mccabe She's OUR sunshine!

    Messages:
    21,540
    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2013
    This got me. I really agree with this statement and it is how I tend to approach my pages too. I do feel it leaves holes and gaps in the story of us and thus lots of things don't get recorded.

    I'm not a journaler ... and have no insight but will be watching this thread because I think it's a great idea and could use some help in this department too.

    Oh wow, Oh Life sounds like it was awesome Karen. Hope there was a way for you to download all that you recorded for those years before they closed.
     
  5. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

    Messages:
    30,371
    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2008
    Thankfully yes, I was able to download YEARS of entries to .txt file. I actually thought about printing it in a hardboard book but it was thousands of pages! :faint2
     
    Li Li Wee, jenn mccabe and klee73010 like this.
  6. klee73010

    klee73010 I might have a thing for drummers

    Messages:
    5,472
    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2015
    I want to look into this!

    I love the idea of journaling and I use Evernote most of the time when I do. My Evernote notebooks have bits and pieces from whenever I think to write something. I've tried starting the "listers gotta list" monthly group prompts countless times, but haven't made any progress.

    My most recent bout of journaling was actually because I was making a list of stories I still needed to tell for last year, prior years, this year, any of my albums... I've not really completed any of my lists, but I've journaled some of the stories I thought were missing from some of my layouts, but this would be the journaling I have put or will put on the scrapbooking layouts.

    If I journal closer to the time of the event, my journaling has a lot more emotion, a lot more conversational, and more... "fluff"... and I end up pairing it down quite a bit when I get around to actually making the layout.

    I never delete anything after I've used it. My Evernote notebooks are fun to look through. And I absolutely LOVE the search feature. So, I may remember that I've journaled about my pregnancy with my daughter, but don't remember what I said or where I put it, I can search key words and it finds it for me. Helpful because my "digital scrapbooking" notebook has a lot of notes, or my journaling note has many random times throughout the whole thing. Then I can copy/paste when I make my layouts.

    Plus... Evernote is available no matter where I am (app for phone or tablet, desktop website ), so I can use it to scrap on my app scrapping or computer scrapping, it auto syncs, and my husband could add anything if he chose to.

    Sorry, I keep going back to scrapbooking journaling. Lol

    I love the idea of journaling, and think it would be an ideal way to wind down, but I never seem to make the time or feel ready to disconnect 30 minutes before bed. I have a hard time deciding to use pen and paper when I think about how much faster it would be to type, or not being in Evernote. So then I say I'd rather do it in Evernote, but get sidetracked with other online things, and lose the "disconnect before bed" aspect.

    I can relate to your struggle. I wish I had better advice, besides rambling on and on... lol!
     
    angiekey, mcurtt and jenn mccabe like this.
  7. AnneofAlamo

    AnneofAlamo Slippers IN sunshine? Even better!

    Messages:
    19,728
    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2009
    bullet journal

    you can put as much as you want, when you want
    I love it!
    I am old school, and it goes with my life.
    my daily to do lists are there, brain dump pages, sermon notes, funnies the kids say, my list of photos to scrap...and they all go together for my journaling on my pages. My family love lots of photos, words and zero elements! lol
    the stories are
    SO important, I can not stress this.
    When my now 8 year old was starting to read, and his brothers would help him sound out the journaling in the books of my printed pages...it caused me to go wow wow wow
    so I try and use fonts easy to read, large enough for all, and tell the story! My family loves it!
     
  8. Lynnette

    Lynnette In my life, I've loved them all

    Messages:
    5,302
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2011
    Oh yes - I forgot about Oh Life! I totally used that, it was really helpful for my first year of project life. I wonder if I ever downloaded everything? I'm not sure I did. I'm a dummy when it comes to email (I still use an old hotmail account!) but I'm intrigued by that idea... maybe I could even send myself some kind of reminder through email to journal sort of like my own personal Oh Life service..
     
  9. Lynnette

    Lynnette In my life, I've loved them all

    Messages:
    5,302
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2011
    Thanks for your reply Krista! I have evernote, but never really got into using it... I think it would be great for making little notes while I'm on the go... things kids say, etc. I used to use the Cozi app and would sometimes use their notes section for stuff like that. Do you sit down at the computer to journal in evernote? I would definitely have to have my keyboard for longer entries. Typing on my phone or ipad just takes too long! And I agree, I'm faster at typing than handwriting. I also love that you are so thoughtful about what you need/want to scrapbook. I think I need to go through my albums and make notes about where the holes are and plan out some pages, rather than just fly by the seat of my pants when I sit down at the computer to scrap, lol.
     
  10. Lynnette

    Lynnette In my life, I've loved them all

    Messages:
    5,302
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2011
    This is great Anne! So, I sort of have something similar... I do have a notebook always at my desk but it is far less organized than this! I map out two weeks at a time and jot down a few notes for each day (each day only has one line) mostly for project life purposes. I also have a running "to do" list at the bottom of the page. I'm not great about including everything that really is on my list, though... My current notebook is almost full, so I think I will give this more organized method a try soon! I love how much you can customize and everything is in one place. Also, I SO wish I had her beautiful handwriting!
     
    klee73010 likes this.
  11. Lynnette

    Lynnette In my life, I've loved them all

    Messages:
    5,302
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2011
    I haven't heard of OneNote - is it an app? Similar to evernote?
    I love having a travel journal because I LOVE to travel and just want to soak up everything. We are going on a trip to Philadelphia the first weekend in August, this is a great reminder to bring a journal for that! Thanks!
     
  12. klee73010

    klee73010 I might have a thing for drummers

    Messages:
    5,472
    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2015
    One note is the windows equivalent to Evernote I believe.

    I have sat down at the computer to journal, but usually no. I typically am on my phone or tablet, and it tends to be while the kids are occupied with something and I can sit down and text/type away for awhile... I am actually about as fast on my devices as I would be on the computer. If I wanted to (I always feel self conscious around others, and forget when I'm alone) I could use "speech to text" or do short video journaling or voice recording journaling. Evernote has that capability, but I'm certain they are not the only company/app.
     
  13. mcurtt

    mcurtt give me all the paleo brownies

    Messages:
    8,810
    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2015
    I journal daily, have been doing it digitally on Photoshop since January 2013. I prep a 2-page monthly layout beforehand. (Yesterday I created my 2-page spread for August.) It has 2" squares on it, each representing a day in the month. I created a template for a generic page, and my monthly prep removes some of those squares, adds a background, titles the month, year, days of the week and dates. Oh, and I always add an art doll to the month. It is amazing how much text you can fit into a small block, especially if the font is at 6. Believe it or not, when they are printed (and I do print all of mine), they are quite readable, even with the small font. So many of my entries are pretty boring, but then when I read them back, I found that they really weren't as boring as I thought. :-)

    Like Lindzee, whenever we travel out of the country, I bring along a journal & pen to record EVERYTHING. Things we've done, $ we spent and on what, food we've eaten, recipes, the weather, thoughts, etc., etc. I save brochures, boarding passes, entrance passes, menus, coasters, business cards. They all find a place in that journal. I've referred to them more often than I would have imagined.

    So I don't use any fancy apps, just me and my Photoshop for the daily journaling...
     
    michelepixels and klee73010 like this.
  14. Lindzee

    Lindzee Aging gracefully

    Messages:
    5,217
    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2013
    OneNote is almost exactly like EverNote. Since I have used Office for quite a few years, I am just used to it and have my own license so not tied to work or anything. EverNote is similar and free. OneNote needs an Office license, although the iOS version looks like it might be free.
     
    klee73010 likes this.
  15. michelepixels

    michelepixels A pun is not fully matured until it is full groan.

    Messages:
    8,197
    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2015
    Apparently being a teenager or free of adult responsibilities or something like that is what worked best for me for journaling. I was the most prolific writer in high school, filling big, fat spiral notebooks every few months. I still have them, and all the other diaries, journals, and scrapbooks I made since the early 80's when I was a kid.

    So yes, I definitely journal. It's almost a compulsion. Unfortunately, I've yet to become regular about it again since high school. The closest I came to regularly journaling in adulthood was a few years ago when, quite determined to do it, I created a template in a text file and set myself an alarm to remind me to write.

    The template was something like

    "Today I walked . . . (I was also trying to establish a daily walking habit and I'd write about where I walked and how it went.)
    About today I want to remember . . .
    Today I am grateful . . .
    Tomorrow I hope . . . "

    and I'd just complete the sentences, sometimes adding a lot more, sometimes just making it quick.

    Then, the following year, I decided that wasn't good enough and while trying to figure out another way I ignored the alarm reminder and lost the habit.

    This year I'm experimenting mostly with using the Day One app, which is pretty neat. But at the beginning of the year I was thinking I should just open my Blurb book-making software, pull in a few photos from the day and journal there. See, one of my primary requirements for my journal is to be able to have a printed copy of it. I actually did make a Blurb book of my 2013-2014 journal (from my text file journaling, printed into a softcover book of about 150 pages) and it turned out pretty nicely. I haven't figured out yet if Day One is going to be able to satisfy my need for a printed copy.

    I've also considered journaling in Evernote, which I started using more often this year for other note-taking. I hadn't even thought of how useful the search function would be and that has me thinking about that again. I often refer to old journaling and my old desk calendar and to be able to search journaling in Evernote would be awesome!

    But what about my desire to print my journaling? Maybe that's not really what I want and why I'm waffling so much? Maybe I just need to get through a transition period and get more comfortable with digital. Just like with my calendar.

    See, I do like to write. Sorry to be so wordy and not even that helpful!

    Wouldn't it be awesome to have an app that could find everything we ever typed anywhere (forums, Facebook, etc) and gather it together for us in chronological order? THAT would be an awesome journal!
     
    klee73010 and mcurtt like this.
  16. Lynnette

    Lynnette In my life, I've loved them all

    Messages:
    5,302
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2011
    This is a cool idea! I'm guessing that the sum of all the days entries is greater than their parts - what a fun thing to look back at.
     
    mcurtt likes this.
  17. klee73010

    klee73010 I might have a thing for drummers

    Messages:
    5,472
    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2015
    I am pretty sure you can print from Evernote, @michelepixels ... but also, if you wanted to do the handwriting and then search, Evernote will read handwritten notes (I haven't tried it), and has partnered with the Bullet Journaling guy... specific BuJo notebooks work really really really well with Evernote, so I've heard.

    I have wanted to (for quite some time) start a "5 year journal", where you put all the prompts on index cards and keep them in a box. I have the box, I have the month dividers, even bought some of Nancie's smart art starts I was planning to modpodge onto the dividers to make them pretty. Here it is 7 months later and I haven't completed that project, or labeled my index cards or anything. :giggle
     
    michelepixels likes this.
  18. Lynnette

    Lynnette In my life, I've loved them all

    Messages:
    5,302
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2011
    I like the prompts you came up with, I think that would be a great thing to help jump start... it's just sticking with it, right?! Whoever invents that app you speak of can take all my money - that would be genius!
     
    michelepixels likes this.
  19. klee73010

    klee73010 I might have a thing for drummers

    Messages:
    5,472
    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2015
    Can IFTTT (or whatever it is called) do that? "If This Then That" supposedly can be set up to do tons and tons of activities for you. Someone in another group I'm in posted that she uses it to automatically transfer photos from her iPhone to use on her tablet... something like "if new photos appear in this folder, then copy to this folder"... or "if I receive an email from this person, then put it in this folder"
    I haven't explored this yet, but I'd like to... maybe you could put the work into it to say, "if a new Facebook status is posted, copy to this notebook in Evernote"
     
    Lynnette likes this.
  20. klee73010

    klee73010 I might have a thing for drummers

    Messages:
    5,472
    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2015
    There are apps... let's see... collect? I think that's an iOS app. I need to look into it, but I think "Journey" is an android equivalent. They are similar to what Karen shared before, though not exact.
    I used to have a 365 photo a day app that would keep thumbnails of a pic you chose for each day, and would allow a short caption. I got discouraged when I couldn't get a pic each day... but in any case, that doesn't help the journaling aspect. Apps wouldn't be the answer for what it sounds like you want Lynnette. Sorry I keep hijacking your thread. Lol
     

Share This Page