how i finally managed to stick to a daily journaling routine
my one goal is really just to have a nice day
now that it’s march, my eyes peel open to a room that is dusted ever so slightly in daylight. sometimes, when i was covered in december and january’s dark blanket, i used to reach for my phone and escape into the bright light until a less artificial one would pull me out. but now i can’t wait to get up, pull back the curtains and see a self portrait through my window—clouds stretching across the sky as i too stretch my limbs this way and that, sunlight creeping up the horizon like i just did, peeling back my duvet and slowly rising to my feet. but whether it is winter or spring, i start my day the same way every morning, without fail.
after i brush my teeth, splash cold water on my face and make my first cup of tea, i step into the sun room (our second bedroom), flick the switch on my desk lamp and reach over to get my journal. i have many journals, but this is the only one i use every day. this is where i record my days in two or three sentences and track certain habits. it’s a simple practice, but one that gives me a sense of stability, repetition, peace. if i miss a day, something doesn’t feel right. my day feels slightly off kilter, and not just because this means i will have to work my memory extra hard to remember what i did for the past two days instead of one.
opening this little planner first thing every morning makes me feel like i’m slipping my feet into warm slippers. familiarity. safety. in the same way i know the sun will rise every morning and my kettle will make the same roaring noise in the kitchen below me, there’s something soothing about knowing exactly what’s going to happen next, that my planner will be waiting for me in its usual place, and i’ll open it at my desk when the sun has reached a familiar place in the sky.
the rest of the day may go in a completely different direction. my mornings are carefully structured until it’s time for my workout and shower around noon. after that, it’s anybody’s guess. but having these grounded mornings means i’ll be a little more ready for it. and if for some reason today is simply not the day, and nothing productive gets done, i’ll know in the back of my mind that at least the morning was good.
i’ve seen endless aesthetic images of people’s journals and yearned to have one just like them, effortless and minimal. they track seemingly every part of the human experience that fluctuates in some way, allowing yourself to look into a mirror of straight lines, numbers and data. but adhering to this one aesthetic quickly took the fun out of it. i thought journaling would be something i would enjoy as someone who loves to write, loves organisation and will use any excuse to buy new stationery, but journaling became a chore. i was dreading sitting before my planner, filling out various bits of information i quite frankly didn’t care enough about to record. and it was incredibly boring to look at. another year or so wouldn’t pass until i made this hobby, now one of my favourites, work for me. and i hate to think that i could have missed out on something that brings me so much joy just because of what i saw online.
i spoke a little more about this in my latest youtube video where you can actually come and journal alongside me. and don’t forget to subscribe! <3
i used to record what i ate, what i was watching, what i was reading, and it quickly became overwhelming. i’m sure there are journalers out there that love that sort of thing, but i’m not one of them. what lights me up the most is the decorating part (and i must admit i get a hit of dopamine every time i look at my line graphs). i used to miss days and get upset with myself, judge myself for not being self-disciplined enough. but ever since adjusting my approach, i haven’t missed a day since 1st january.
as i get older, i am realising, in all aspects of my life, that i am not a monochromatic sort of person. my wardrobe is currently filled with a lot of neutral colours, but i’m slowly starting to introduce some more pastels and actual colours in there too (maybe there really is something about turning 29…) and the same can be said for my little planner. i want it to be colourful and cute and something fun to return to.
now i have a simple routine that reinforces who i am every morning, almost like giving myself a little hug. instead of tracking every single thing under the sun, here are the few bits i want to remember and record on a daily basis:
my month at a glance
the first few pages of my planner are blank calendar pages where i write various events, birthdays and reminders in. as you may know, i’m not the most extroverted so these pages can be a little empty at times, but that doesn’t mean introverts can’t be planner people too. i make a note of when i need to return my library books, if i spent most of the day in the garden, i might mark that as garden day in there, and if had a spontaneous trip to town previously in the week, that gets put in there too. it’s less of an organisational tool and more of a reflection of my life, something i can flick back to and see where i was at in that point in time, what my life looked like, whether i seemed happy. so past events i forgot about also get entered.
this is also one of the sections i use to express my creativity. each month has a colour to me, so i try to decorate that page using washi tape, pens and stickers of that colour. for instance, march is a light green, the colour of baby leaves sprouting on trees, fresh grass, new beginnings. so this will be a very green page. this also corresponds to the graph pages in the back that i’ll talk about below. april is pink because of the cherry blossoms, july is pink because that’s my birthday so it’s favourite colour, but september is purple and november is navy because it just is.
a short reflection of the day
