The question we have been hearing: What JOURNAL to choose?
Do I get one that I will use as my daily calendar and/or planner? Do I get one that simply has lines? Are there any the 4WW have used in the past that you'd recommend? What are you using for 2023?
All valid questions and what you do with the answers may be different for each of you - as it was for each of us 4WW over the years. Key to remember is that your journal often becomes a companion. With this in mind, you may want to choose one that you like the look and feel of, that you will want to use - whether as a calendar or a journal to record your daily gratitudes and aha moments. You will want it to be a companion who brings you some level of structure and comfort, and leaves you wanting to be true to it.
So. we 4WW have been using our journals to basically record our daily lives. Small daily gratitudes, things that worked perfectly and things from which we learned - the best croissant, fun events, trips taken, car breakdowns, family matters - we include images from magazines, kind words in cards sent to us, ticket stubs, photographs - you get the idea. We record the little and big things, the good and not-so-good things which give us our lives and for which we are grateful for the lesson learned. Yes, bottom line is we capture the moments so we can look back at, and be able to remember, our days, weeks, quarters, our year and ultimately, our lives. This living in awareness, year after year, is almost entirely supported by our journal- keeping because so much can easily be forgotten in the fullness of one's life.
Without exception, the ones we have used in the past all provided space for journaling and each served the same purpose even if perhaps in different ways. All of the ones we have used would be considered planners as they had monthly calendar spreads and then weekly ones with space to write something each day - as well as blank pages to do with what we pleased.
One of our first journals was ‘The Sacred Journey - Journal for Your Soul’ which we loved but, sadly, is no longer being made. After that, we started to use different journals, all with the common goal of capturing our year. Some of us have used the Moonology Diary. Yasmin Boland also creates beautiful Moonology Oracle Cards. Some of us have used the Passion Planner for a number of years and really love it - everything about it except that it is made in the USA which has led to very expensive shipping and duty fees. After a LOT of searching, we have decided to use the Dream Life Planner for 2023 - back to the same journal for all of us, each with a different cover design. Once they arrive, we’ll do a post to share our initial thoughts.
At first we used one journal for this kind of thing and a different planner for our “real lives”. Some of us stayed there and others wanted to merge the 2. When working, a planner with monthly calendar spreads as well as weekly spreads allows space for monthly event and appointment planning as well as daily to-do lists, schedules, and daily gratitudes. In retirement, space for daily gratitudes is still appreciated. Planners with blank pages scattered throughout or a bunch at the end are useful for things like yearly goal planning, solstices/equinoxes, wild writing. A simple lined-page book will work just as well, giving you the complete freedom to orchestrate your pages. You can attach monthly calendars in this type of journal where they work for you.
It is important to make sure the paper quality is sturdy enough to support collaging with images. Perhaps we can think of our journals as a year-long vision board. Something else to consider is what type of paper you enjoy writing on - and what type of pen/pencil/marker you like to write on that paper with. We tend to prefer spiral binding as it allows us to open our books easier to write. An elastic attached to the journal to keep it closed when carrying it around is great once they start getting fatter from the things we attach inside.
Having said all of the above, getting whatever journal you will use is the first step only. Just choose a journal, see how it works for you in 2023 and move on from there. That has been our journey for 20+ years and continues to be. Then comes building the habit of keeping a journal, of using the book. Some folks may write full pages, some may jot notes, some will embellish pages and gather keepsakes. Everyone is different and that is beautiful. This is a practice and we each want to do that in our own way.
We will share what we do as 2023 unfolds - we promise.
Journaling has truly been a piece of the 4WW magic. We think you will find it so as well.
Comments