For a condensed video format here’s a tiktok (RIP) I recently uploaded going through my journals. Or keep reading below 😊

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All my life I’ve always reached for a journal or a word/google doc to log the persistent thoughts in my head. There’s rarely a moment where I’m not living in nostalgia, always logging the beauty of the moment and at the same time mourning it. Knowing it’s fleeting and one day I’ll miss this person or place. Something in me craves to document and then hoard all the artifacts of my life. I want to archive all those moments, feelings, cards, tickets, pictures, songs, etc. It is why I’ve always loved physical media. Before everyone decided they wanted a record player I had one, I started my DVD collection when I was 14, and why in high school I wanted my grandpa’s vintage projector and piles of photo slides of family in the 70s. I find fulfillment in documenting the mundane, proving that we were here and alive for the future generations… or aliens. I’ve made it my mission in 2025 to convert any digital media I have into some sort of physical format, even down to just hard drives (*goes on rant about how the internet is a facade and we don’t own anything we put on the cloud and it could go away at any moment, etc, etc.*)

[Edit Note: 1.18.25, coincidentally I’m finishing this post the day before TikTok is meant to be banned from use in the United States. I’m not joking when I say for the past year I’ve been wanting to get all my digital media in a physical format or on hard drives. Not just my personal information, but screenshots or recordings of what the internet looks like. What our instagram bios look like, how the TikTok interface worked, what it meant to google something. Preserving the internet as a whole and your own content is something to be concerned with. The government can turn off the internet at any moment, and no matter what happens with TikTok it just shows how easy it is for the government to censor and isolate us. In 1,000 years we will be gone like every other civilization and what will they have to remember us by? Okay, rant really over.]

Presently, it’s really helpful for me to document my emotions and thought patterns because I can gaslight myself into thinking I’m remembering something wrong. Anxiety can convince me I’m being dramatic or contorting the past to fit the current narrative I want. Did I really feel that way about that person, place, or moment? Or am I rewriting the past to make how I feel today make sense. Like when I’m sick sometimes I convince myself I’m making the symptoms up or exaggerating. But usually I am just sick. So it’s grounding when I can look back at journal entries from the previous years and see my first hand account to fight the plague of over intellectualized emotions.

Journaling I have always found hard to stick to. Or I would fixate on it for a week or two, only to get distracted by several more ideas. Or get overwhelmed and do nothing. Luckily, being almost 27 means I’ve been through enough trial and error that I think I’ve finally found what works for me.

I need lots of journals for all the different “macros” and “micros” of life. I like to have separate journals for creative projects versus writing and reflecting. And most of all, I need TIME. We’ve lost the art of taking our time and doing things with intention. In today’s internet culture it’s easy to fall into the trap of consumerism. Thinking we need to buy all the journals and supplies at our local Michaels, then use them up quickly and buy again. Or if you don’t use something for a certain amount of time throw it out and get another. No, no, no. I’ve had some journals for years! It’s okay to lose interest or be busy and not journal for a couple months. Once you’re ready pick it back up and begin again where you left off. What you’ll end up getting is journals with years of meaningful entries to look through and to track your life’s progression.

I’ve separated my journaling practice for you into two sections: Marco & Micro

Micro

Nothing feels better than a fresh planner on January 1st. The rush of endorphins when you crease the binding for the first time and seeing the blank pages waiting to be filled with all the possibility in the world. It’s a high thinking that for the rest of the year, you are a person that uses this planner. Every December I look forward to my annual outing where I scavenge through Target, Walmart, and Homegoods to find the best planner for the upcoming year. Rarely though have I been able to be consistent and actually use those planners. The one time I truly, truly used a daily planner consistently was when I designed my own. When I was a REALTOR there were a lot of different “real estate agent planners” on the market. But I had very specific to dos daily like calls, gratitudes, social media posts, etc. So I used my canva account and created my own unique template, then used the binding machine I had access to at my brokerages office to make my custom planner.

That was when I discovered that I could be consistent. The set up just had to make sense for me. I like a little structure, but also like to have freeform space to scribble different things or doodle. If this sounds like you I would recommend a Common Planner or a Hobonichi. Having the structure of each month and week laid out but still having blank page for everyday is the perfect combo for me. I won’t use everything all the time, but it will still get used. That planner combined with a Midori A5 blank notebook are my “micro” journals. Having a blank notebook always on hand makes jotting down notes, quotes, ideas, doodles, even quick thoughts so much easier and they don’t clutter up my “macro” journals. Kind of like a commonplace notebook but it’s unorganized and just a running set of journals for brain dumps.

Macro

My “macro” journals cover both journals meant for writing and reflecting, and those designated for more creative entries. The “marco” writing journals are probably the most important of them all. This is a journal that I start and take however long is needed to finish. Then it’s archived and labeled with the dates, there to return to if needed. Every entry has a specific heading format to encompass where I am and what I’m feeling.

Example:
Friday, January 17th 2025 My Location
9:46pm Capricorn Full Moon

And then I write. How I’m feeling, what important event happened that day, what tarot card spread I did, or how much I miss someone. I dump all the thoughts and feelings that are plaguing me and have been ruminating over in my head. Putting to paper my deepest desires or biggest fears. The heartbreak of a breakup or the excitement of a new chapter. The large scale and overarching themes of my life.

And then of course there are the creative journals. I have a couple that are just for dumping in. I love the concept of junk journaling, especially when done with intention. While I see some people just glueing trash into a notebook, I find it more effective to be selective with your “junk”. Programs from a school play or tickets from the movies. Maybe the brochure from an art museum. Oh and cards! I love to junk journal cards instead of just keeping them in a box (because I can’t let anything go). Or I have my creative journal specifically designated for recording recipes. My recipes, or family recipes all in one place and of course I make it look cute.

*Bonus 3rd Category: Witchy*

Well congratulations because if you made it this far you unlocked the bonus third “macro” subcategory: The Witchy! I am still young in my spiritual practices and rituals, so as I’m growing I’ve decided to create a grimoire to hold the knowledge of the universe, nature, symbols, spells, invocations, and more. I call it a practice or learning grimoire because I am making it cute but it’s meant to accompany me while I learn and develop, then eventually I want to create a larger more established and thought out grimoire to pass down.

I also have a specific journal designated for manifestations. All my “witchy” journals probably encompass the most “macro” themes spanning all sections of my life combining writing, art, and spirituality.

So you’ve taken your time filling journals with all your beautiful thoughts and creativity, now what? Well to me that’s the fun part. Once you’ve filled up your journal make sure to label it on the outside with the dates it encompasses and what it is if the type of journal doesn’t make it clear. I like to use markers and masking tape, but you can use a label maker or just a permanent marker. Then stick it on the shelf and boom you’ve started your personal archive. That’s what journaling, collaging, keeping a common place notebook, junk journaling, scrapbooking, recipe and photo books are. The archive of your life. Now I may be overly sentimental and keep too much or note unimportant details, so you don’t have to do it exactly like this. However, keeping a first hand account of your life is a primary historical source that can help future generations navigate life just as we do today or for the aliens to teach their children about the indomitable human spirit.

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Holla at me in the comments!

-What kind of journals do you keep?

-Are you like me where you have found it hard sticking to consistent journaling?

-Favorite stationary brands?

*Also, if you’re thinking about getting a hobonichi definitely check out the common planner, it’s so similar but more stream lined and a little cheaper. So may what to see if that works for you before investing in the hobonichi.

xoxoxoxoxoxo – Ali Ann