Unless you use it every single day, keeping a journal can feel like a chore.
There are many reasons and excuses to lose touch with keeping a journal. Mine was sharing a flat for the first time with my boyfriend, and finding that all the personal time I had when I was single, spent alone and reflecting about life and myself, wasn't there anymore.
But when you normally keep a journal, and suddenly you find that you aren't making the time for it anymore because your life has changed in some way, it's a little bit like not making time to be "you".
It's important to keep doing the things that help you to define who you are, otherwise you might risk losing yourself somewhere along the way.
So I decided to stop filling in short journal entries with sparse detail what was going on in my life, that did nothing to express how I felt about things or help to work out any of my inner turmoil, and I began to write proper reflections again.
So I decided to stop filling in short journal entries with sparse detail what was going on in my life, that did nothing to express how I felt about things or help to work out any of my inner turmoil, and I began to write proper reflections again.
Changes to my TN setup
I currently have my personal thoughts journal in the front, with a tea cup and saucer taped to the cover, because I love to sit down with a cup of tea and reflect on everything.
Behind that insert is my diary which I use as a weekly/monthly schedule, planner and record for freelance work.
I use the Midori Traveler's Notebook insert with the lightweight paper for both of these, and draw up my own diary design, similar to what you find in the Moleskine week on one page and lined on the other.
I tab each month at the side with a craft sticker from Paperchase, cut and folded over. And for each month I draw up a calendar on one page so that I can see the month at a glance for planning.
Then go on to record my freelance work in the week-on-one-pages, and I use the opposite blank page in each double spread to write down my work-related thoughts for the week.
In the back of my Midori Traveler's Notebook I have two notebook refills, which are red school text books trimmed down to size.
I covered them with lined paper and lots of celotape, because I like the way it looks and feels.
One of them is specifically for dog training notes, and the other is a free notebook for when I need to jot something down.
That's all for now.
See you in the next post!
