DIY

DIY Line a Day Journal

So I’ve been wanting to write a journal forever. But it’s something that I haven’t really been able to get into, no matter how amazing my intentions. I think between the amount of writing I do for here, my Prep Talks, my side projects, Levo League, and endless drama-filled-bullet-pointed-color-coded emails to friends, I haven’t had much more energy to devote to extra writing. Until now. I’ve held off a few weeks about posting this out of fear that I wouldn’t be able to actually keep up with this!
Good news: This is a serious solution to the no-patience-for-journaling thing.
Back in December, I saw a One Line a Day Journal in Urban Outfitters. I wanted to get it for the New Year. But something about the five years in the one space gave me anxiety. I mean, in five years I’m going to be… eep… 28.
And then I remembered that I had a Sarah Pinto planner that Mackenzie gave me. I’ve used a Sarah Pinto planner in the past and I loved it. Now that I’ve graduated, I really don’t use a planner in the same way I did during school. (My Russel + Hazel Smartdate system has been a dream for everyday planning!)
I couldn’t just let the adorable planner go to waste though! And then it hit me… it’s the PERFECT way to keep track of the little memories of the days throughout the year. It’s an agenda, so it’s obviously set up perfectly for a journal. This particular planner has boxes for each day instead of lines for each hour.
So I don’t want to post the dates I’ve completed… but I whipped up an example of the idea behind it:
You can add as much or as little as you want as long as they fit in the little box. I sometimes draw something super little just as a way to remember what happened that day. So far it’s been a fun little task to add into my nighttime routine. (Or, if I forget, I try to remember to do it first thing in the morning.)
Has anyone tried journaling one-line-a-day? Do you have extra planners/agendas that you want to use in a new way? 
xoxo
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24 Comments

Mariel

I have a five-line a day journal that I've been keeping for several years now, and it's honestly so wonderful to be able to look back at little snippets of what I've done, because so much of that I would never remember. I used it for most of university, and I know I'll especially appreciate it later!

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ac90e968-6522-11e2-8905-000bcdcb8a73

I LOVE my line a day journal, and while your idea is nice, it kind of takes away the whole point. The best part about keeping a one line a day journal is being able to look back and see what you were doing on this day in past years. I am currently on year 3 and every night I am excited to crawl into bed, open it up, write a short entry and then see what exactly I did last year and 2 years ago. It is so fun!

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Claire Peucker

I love the idea of a one line journal. I've tried in the past to keep a journal but despite my good intentions I'd never keep it up for very long – this may be the solution I need to try again!

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sequinsandsass.com

I bought that One Line A Day journal last year and I didn't even make it through January! 🙁 I think the idea of doing it for FIVE YEARS really overwhelmed me.. and I'm the kind of perfectionist that gives up if they can't make it JUST RIGHT, so once I missed a day or two, it was just done. Womp womp! That said, I think keeping a one-line-a-day journal in a planner is a much simpler, much less anxiety-inducing option.. thanks for the great idea!

xx, Eleanor

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Dana

I've had a journal for a while now, but I love this idea! I think it's so adorable – definitely want to implement it in my journal and make it a little more creative!

Dana
mudana1.wordpress.com
Pink Champagne Problems

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Unknown

Someone gave me the idea of a memory jar where you write a short memory on a piece of paper daily, fold it up and put it in the jar. At the end of the year you have 365 memories in one pretty jar 🙂

-Irina (www.chocolateatime.com)

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Madylin B

I just got a smash journal – I record little snippets about my day or a receipt etc – very fun! I also have these journals from target that I write in there is one for every month of the year!

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Sara Collins

I started writing one line a day last year and it's so interesting to see how I felt on any particular day. I got the idea when we did the same activity in high school English one year and then we had to write a poem using several of our lines!

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Sara Collins

I started writing one line a day last year and it's so interesting to see how I felt on any particular day. I got the idea when we did the same activity in high school English one year and then we had to write a poem using several of our lines!

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catziac

Carly,

I have the One Line a Day Journal and I absolutely ADORE it (see my post about it here: http://catziac.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/in-5-years-time/). I don't find the five-year time span daunting, but exciting! I feel like the next five years of my life are going to be some of the most insane, amazing, topsy-turvy years and I love the idea of having it all written down in a way that I can easily see how much things have changed and what has stayed exactly the same. Your planner idea is adorable though — stick with it! You'll be happy you did!

– Cat
http://www.catziac.wordpress.com

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