4 Fun and Easy Ways to Journal

There are all sorts of reasons people journal. Maybe it's for future posterity, your mental health, or just because you enjoy it. Whatever the reason, as our lives get busy, time for journaling may go out the window! So, here are a few ideas of alternative ways to journal!

The Bullet Journal

This has been my go-to journal technique for the last few years. Essentially, it's a bullet list of the days events or thoughts. It might look something like this the image below.

A bullet journal doesn't require as much time as it does to write traditional paragraphs. Though not filled with great detail, this type of journal works well to jog your memory later. Though you may not have time to record all the details of some event or day, by writing down a few key words or a sentence, you will be able to recall it in the future.



The Picture Journal

I love this idea for little children, but it works for adults, as well. A picture journal is a collection of drawings that reflect the day's activities or a special event.

There are a few different types of picture journals I have seen. One friend of mine kept a picture journal of church services. While she was listening to the talks or sermons, she would doodle little drawings and keywords that spoke to her. Later, she could look up the scripture references she jotted down and use those words to brighten and enlighten her days.

I gave it a try, but didn't stick with it. However, I can see value in this unique way to journal, especially if you like to doodle!

The Calendar Journal

I think Brent Kavanaugh made this one headline news! The calendar journal is just that...a calendar with events of the day listed on it. It is sometimes kept on a paper calendar, but with today's technology, you could keep it on a digital calendar and then print it off or save it to a thumb drive. For a calendar journal, you might record so-in-so's birthday, a lunch with a friend at Cracker Barrel, a church meeting, or the kids soccer games. This type of journal may look something like this:

Another take on the calendar journal is what I have named the "to-do" list journal. I started keeping a small notebook where I write down all the daily things I need to do, want to do, and hope to do on one side of the page. On the other side of the page, I write down all the things that I actually did! It started out as a way to gauge whether I was being productive and where I spent the majority of my time, but I realized it was also a good way to record my life and what I was doing!

The Family Journal

I started my first Family Journal at the beginning of 2018. A family journal can be done several ways, but the method I used was this. Each Sunday, my parents, sisters, and their families would get together for dinner. Here we would share all the goings-on of our individual families. Then, when I got home, I would write it all down in the family journal.

Though I never considered it at first, it would have been a great idea to pass the family journal around and have others participate in the writing.

At the end of the year, it was my intention to have the family journal typed up and printed. I haven't done that yet (whoops!), but it's a great idea, isn't it?!

Making Time to Journal

There are literally dozens of ideas for how to record your personal history with journaling. You just need to do what works for you. Please feel free to share your ideas for keeping a journal and making the time to do so in the comments below. We love to hear from you!

-Amie

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