How to journal when you don't know when to start

I've written diaries since I was a teenager. Writing a page before I went to sleep helped a lot with my teenage angst, even if now I can't bear to look back through those old entries! When I stopped regular diary writing I always made holiday scrapbooks to document my travels, and I made baby journals to record milestones. Recently I started writing again, and this time I call it journalling. Instead of a regular diary I write dated entries in a blank book, and I don't feel the pressure to write every day. 

Sometimes I write about what I've done that day, but most of the time I just write about what's on my mind. Maybe it's something that I've seen in news, a thought sparked by a book I'm reading, or just a stream of consciousness.

Many people want to start a journal but have no idea where to start, and so I thought I'd share a few tips in case you think that journalling might be for you!

What do you need

Social media would lead you to believe that you need a huge amount of journalling supplies. But all you need to get started is something to write with and something to write on. I like a pen which is comfortable to hold and writes smoothly, and paper which has a pleasant writing surface. It's best to start with cheap supplies, because then you don't have the pressure to do something worthwhile. A beautiful journal filled with handmade paper and bound in fine leather feels far too precious and so will probably end up never being filled!

I personally write in a journal with blank pages. I can write in straight lines, and I enjoy sticking things in alongside the occasional sketch. But you might prefer lined or gridded journals. 

How to start

The first page of a new journal can be terrifying! I always start a new journal by writing my name, phone number and e-mail address inside, in case we become separated. I turn over a few pages before I start writing properly and use the blank pages at the front to add stickers and ephemera as I work through the journal. 

Photo credit Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash

Then just take the pen and start to write! If you are really stuck, then a good place to start might be an introduction to yourself - your name and other factual information, where you live, who you live with, what you do for work, what you do in your spare time, why you want to start a journal. You will probably find that once you make a start you'll find that you have plenty to write!

Some other ideas for daily entries - Write about what you've done that day. Make a list of things and people that you are grateful for. Write about goals that you are working on and how well you are doing with them. There is plenty of inspiration online for journal prompts, or else just write whatever comes into your head.

How to keep going

Some people want to stick to a routine and write every day. If this is you, then find a regular time during your day that you can dedicate to the task. Maybe after you drop the children at school, in your lunchbreak, after work or just before bed. Try to write something, even if it's just a few lines, just to keep the habit going. But don't worry if you miss a day or two, just pick up where you left off. If you are worried that missing a day might throw you off completely then try an undated journal or a diary with a blank space for the date that you can fill in when you have chance to write.

If you want to use the journal to record your travels then make sure to work with supplies that are easy to pack up and take along, and keep things simple. If you want to keep a journal of a special event like your wedding or the birth of a child then you might want to start a collection of ephemera like business cards, photographs, menus and so on that you can stick inside. If you want a keepsake, you might prefer to make notes in a rough book first, then write it up when you have the time to create an attractive entry.

Give yourself a small reward every time you write, and turn it into a ritual. For example sit down in a quiet place with a cup of tea and a biscuit, cuddle up with a soft blanket, play some favourite songs. Put the phone down and have a break from the screen. As you continue the habit you can treat yourself to new pens in different colours, a journal with better quality paper, or some fun supplies like stickers or washi tape. 

Avoid hunting out too much inspiration online. It can be a source of inspiration, but it can also be overwhelming and lead to unrealistic expectations which can put you off making a start in the first place. Likewise think about whether you want to share your journal pages online. It's fine if you do but be aware that you will write differently for an audience than for yourself. Most journal pages shared online have been created specifically to share.

How to take it further

As you begin to see yourself as a journaller you'll feel more confident taking the journal out and about with you, and perhaps making the act of writing in the journal the purpose of a trip to a café or a beautiful outdoor spot. Writing in a different location might help you to see things differently and gain a new perspective. 

Journalling can be a powerful tool. As you work on the habit you'll learn to turn to your journal to help you work through difficult emotions or to help make a tricky decision. You can also use the journal to plan your goals and to work on your personal development. 

Photo credit Ashlyn Ciara via Unsplash

I hope that this has inspired you to think about starting a journal! I love writing in my journal and I find it really helpful for dealing with a cluttered mind as well as taking some time for myself for quiet reflection.

Things that I've written about in my journal recently

I took a bit of a break from my journal over the summer, I'm not sure why but I just got out of the habit a little bit. But when the work started on our extension I wanted to pick it up and write some entries about what work had been done and how things were going. So that has been the main focus of my journal over the last few weeks, just to have something to look back on in the future. Not just a factual account but also how I've been feeling about it, and things that I'm looking forward to about the new space.

But I've also found time to write about plenty of other things! I made this very simple collage after feeling a little bit sad at the state of my poor garden, which is now a big muddy wasteland. I used some botanical collage elements and pretty floral washi stickers to remind me that soon I will have a beautiful garden!

For the first few weeks of term the road outside the school was closed and so I had to drop the children off in an adjacent street. I've walked this way plenty of times before, but sitting with them in the car when we arrived early gave me the time to properly notice the abandoned church which has been decaying slowly over the last few years. It is up for sale but it's really big, which is probably why it hasn't sold as a conversion project. I quickly drew a very small part of it to remind me, I'll be interested to see what happens to it over the next few years.

A couple of weeks ago I was delighted to receive a Lakeland Christmas catalogue through the post. I  like looking through the catalogue more than visiting the shop, which is good as there isn't one that I can easily visit. But a Lakeland concession is opening soon at the garden centre down the road, and I'm very much looking forward to having a look round. In the meantime I spent a lovely quiet evening cutting out my favourite aesthetic Christmas photos and gluing them down to create an inspirational collage.

And finally I was helping my parents sort through some things at their house and I came across this amazing photo! It was in the 'throw out' pile so she's not a relative of mine, and no-one knows who she was or why they had the photo. I must admit that I've partly shared it here just in case someone might find it as part of an image search and be able to give me some more information! I just love it, that expression on her face. I wrote a little bit about why I liked it so much and who I imagine she might be.

Journalling and bullet journal supplies for Halloween

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I love writing in my notebooks, and I have two journals consistently on the go. I use my bullet journal to plan my weekly schedule and keep track of my tasks for the day, then I use my illustrated journal to write down my thoughts and also as a creative outlet for small sketches and collages. I enjoy theming them both to the time of year, and with Halloween coming up I thought I'd share some Halloween themed supplies which would work really well for all types of journalling. 

Photo credit Michelle Gordon via Unsplash

Almost all of my bullet journal pages are edged with a strip of washi tape, I just love it! I have a pack of Halloween themed washi tape that I bought a few years ago and it's the perfect way to give a page an instant Halloween look. If you want something similar then you might like this big pack of cheerful Halloween washi tape, or you might prefer something darker like this huge set of magic and witch themed washi tape. 

When I'm working on a themed journal page, I often use some patterned paper as a background or as matting for a piece of ephemera. Something like this Halloween paper ephemera would work perfectly, or for a less bulky look some Halloween tissue paper would also work really well. 

I use stickers in both my bullet journal and my illustrated journal. For my bullet journal I like to use something small and fun, like these simple Halloween stickers. I especially like the small icons which you could use as bullet point markers. The stickers below are part of my Aesthetic Planner Stickers set which covers holidays and occasions throughout the year. But for my journal I want something a bit more dramatic, so I often go for some printed collage images which you can have fun cutting out and arranging on the page. I love this Vintage Halloween Ephemera Collection which is packed with spooky illustrations for all sorts of paper Halloween projects.

Until recently I always used the same fountain pen for writing in my journal, but after buying some new pens in gorgeous colours I've started to mix it up a bit. I use a new pen colour each day to make my entries stand out, and at this time of year I'm really drawn to autumnal colours. I have a set of these lovely pens - Zebra Sarasa gel pens - which come in a range of muted, vintage colours and are really comfortable to write with. It's difficult to choose a favourite colour but at the moment I'm really enjoying the golden yellow and the dark red.

Halloween usually calls for more muted, darker colours, so you can reflect this in the other accents that you use in your journal. For example coloured sticky tabs as bookmarks or to help find a certain journal page. I also love these fun Autumn leaf sticky notes which really stand out, both to use in a bullet journal or as a quick reminder around the house. 

I hope you enjoyed these ideas for bringing some Halloween fun to your journal pages this month!

Things that I have stuck into my journal

 Things that I have already glued in my journal:

Stickers, seaweed, photographs that I've printed of things that interest me, packaging from food and snacks, notes from the children, wristbands, printed quotes from books, washi tape, business cards, scraps of fabric, notes found in second hand books, printed information from things I've researched, photographs from leaflets, confetti, gift tags, sand, drink mats, teabag tags, seed packets, leaves, maps, wrappers from watercolour paint blocks, dried flowers, set lists from concerts...

Things that I have yet to stick in my journal:

Postcards, wrapping paper, greetings cards, photographs, dried earth, seeds, stamps, tissue paper, patterned paper, ribbon, jokes from Christmas crackers, tickets, recipes, envelopes...

Tips for keeping a journal flat when it is filled with ephemera:

If you are planning to stick lots of things into a journal then you might want to consider a spiral bound sketchbook. The pages will be thicker so they can hold heavier items, and as well as giving you a bit more room because of the spiral binding it will also be easier to remove pages.

Removing pages will mean that the journal will lie flatter and be easier to write in as it fills up. You can also try to stick bulkier objects to different areas of the pages to spread them out at bit and use photographs or scans instead of originals.

Or you can just embrace the look of a splayed out journal, overflowing with all sorts of interesting things!

Ways to attach items inside a journal:

PVA glue (be careful as this can make the page wrinkly and takes longer to dry), a glue stick (keeps the page flat, dries quickly, not so good for heavier objects like dried flowers or leaves), paperclips, staples, sellotape, washi tape (not as sticky as sellotape and can peel off easily), BluTack (will lose it's stickiness over time and is quite bulky), glue dots, double sided tape, sewing, storing items inside envelopes (good for more delicate items that you don't want to cover in glue).

Remember that many of these adhesive methods (and for that matter most of the things that you are sticking inside) are not archival and will not last forever. It all depends how long you want the journal to survive - just for your lifetime or for many generations to come! If you are very concerned about the longevity of your journal then it's worth doing some research on what supplies to use and ways to preserve it. There are some good tips here - Best supplies for archival journal making.

Personally I'm making my journals for myself so I'm not too worried, and as long as I can look back through them in a few years time then I'm happy!

If you want to read more about my journal then you might like this post - How starting an illustrated journal helped me to notice things

How starting an illustrated journal helped me to notice things

I started a new journal in February this year, and I always knew that I wanted to make it an illustrated journal. I've written in more detail about how I use my journal here, but essentially it's a record of what I've been doing, places that I've visited, and what's on my mind at the time. I'm currently using a very simple Amazon Basics plain notebook (affiliate link), it's not a perfect watercolour paper but I like the way that my writing and drawing pens flow on the page, and as long as I don't add too much paint or water it's fine for simple sketches.

I like breaking the writing up with little pictures, I don't claim to be a great artist but my simple sketches are a way of recording something which was important to me at the time. Most of them only took 5-10 minutes which is exactly what I want as it needs to be a quick process.

I'm hoping that as I practice I'll get better and find it easier, and ultimately be able to take my journal out and about with me and illustrate it while I'm on the go! Especially for a travel journal, as I never get to sit still for very long when we are visiting somewhere. 

Since I started the journal, when I'm out and about I'm always on the lookout for something interesting to draw. I have a few regular walking and running routes near our house, and I've found myself noticing things that I never previously paid any attention to. For example the George V postbox in a brick and flint pillar which I've been obsessed with recently, I've drawn it loads of times but it always comes out a bit wonky!

I also noticed a little footpath down the side of a row of houses with a 'Private' sign on the gate and it has fascinated me, although I'm sure it only goes to the garden at the back of the house. I spotted an interesting gate in a wall that I pass on my walk over to the school, and the other day I was waiting in the shop for a pizza and I noticed a beautiful old church window framed by some modern houses. I've found myself snapping quick photos of all sorts of things and then hurrying home to attempt a vague reproduction in my journal! It's definitely helped me to notice more of what is going on around me.