Journal, Diary and Planner Lovers!

[WheresMySquishy]

Hi everyone,

I have seen a lot of people on the forums take up journaling recently. I really wanted to have a space on the forums where we can share pictures and ideas for our journals, diaries and planners. Apologies if a thread like this has already been made somewhere.


I'll be sharing the pages that don't have anything identifying me or people I know. It's also okay to show spreads and pages that you haven't written in yet.

Happy journaling and/or planning!

[Bananatime04]

Hey @WheresMySquishy 

Whether journaling is your thing, or it’s never really seemed to help you, I really like bullet journaling! I’ve never really found regular journaling very helpful but when I started bullet journaling it was like a break from everything around me because it took a lot of my focus! I’m making this post as @xXLexi_Lou122Xx  and I talked about it a while ago but also heaps of other people are also doing it! 

We could share ideas, inspiration, your designs/creations and even some suggested places to buy bullet journal essentials  

So my dot journal is from typo along with my gel pens, fine liners, pencils and other supplies. 
I have only done 3 pages so far:

- Reasons to live 

- Contact numbers

- Self care 

these are some of my inspirations: Profile page

Goals - short term or long term

Mood trackers

These will be my next 3 pages, @xXLexi_Lou122Xx  what do you think about joining me with these? 

[WheresMySquishy]

Here are some pages I've written recently:

[Bananatime04]

I love your ideas @WheresMySquishy

[WheresMySquishy]

@Bananatime04  Here is the merged thread. Sorry it took so long, I'm still getting used to the mod controls.

I love your ideas too! I think the ideas of having a self-care plan and reasons to live on paper are great. I also have a list of contacts like my specialists and the medical practices I go to.

[xXLexi_Lou122Xx]

@WheresMySquishy @Bananatime04 Yay! This thread is officially a thing!

I’ll definitely use some of those ideas, I can’t wait to start more pages!

[WheresMySquishy]

I made a list of my favourite journaling prompts!
Feel free to use them if you can read my handwriting.

Weekly and monthly journaling prompts

I have no idea why the second pic keeps being flipped over. It appears as vertical when I upload it. I wasn't having that issue before.

[WheresMySquishy]

Hi all!

Here are some page ideas I've tried out recently:
- Things I'd like to try (you could make this into a checklist that you tick off)
- Today's headline
- On this day (this one is for the history lovers - what historical events of interest occurred today? Anniversaries of your favourite forms of media count too! I've been using https://www.onthisday.com/)
- Today in one word (this is a good idea if you don't have much time to journal, and it can also help you track your mood)
- A mindfulness page. You could focus on doing a routine activity, the sensations that you felt while doing it and how it made you feel. It might help to imagine that it is your first time doing that thing or doing a body scan while doing it.

I also got another book with thick pages that can be used as a scrapbook or vision board, but I haven't decided what to put in it so far. I might make a list of ideas.

[Bananatime04]

@Lost_Space_Explorer5 

[WheresMySquishy]

Hi all,

Here are some planner tips I've come across. Some of them I've tried for myself!
- Use clear plastic sleeves or pockets to organise receipts, cash, letters, etc. Alternatively, you can buy envelopes and adhere them to your notebook or planner with glue or adhesive dots, or buy pockets with a sticky backing (I think stores like Daiso, Kmart and Officeworks have these).
- Mark reoccurring events with colour-coded dots or stickers.
- Wrap washi tape around a card (e.g., a business card) and put it in a pocket or punch it into your planner rather than carrying around a full tape.
- Clip together old calendar pages if you no longer need to refer to them. This can help find the current page.
- Plan out events without committing to them using sticky notes or erasable pens. You can also use this to plan out meals or menus.
- Wrap a stretchy elastic band around your notebook and use it to store extra paper, pens and supplies. I know Kikki.k and Officeworks have ones which have a loop where you can insert a pen as well.
- Use a half-sized insert (you can cut a full one in half) as a to-do list in your weekly section of a ring-bound planner. Alternatively, you can use a sticky note.
- Use a heavy-weight sheet of cardstock as a page lifter. You can insert it into the back of a ring-bound planner to prevent pages from curling at the end.
- To-do lists don't have to just be checklists. You can divide them into a table to delegate tasks (e.g., important-urgent, important-not urgent, not important-urgent, not important not-urgent) or use Cornell note paper (here is a site where you can make your own).
- Printables can be resized to fit your planner by adjusting your printer settings. There are a few tutorials online for this.
- I am thinking of using a QR code that can be scanned so someone can see my emergency details at the front of my planner.
- Use washi tape to create a 'flap' of extra paper when you need more space to write, but still want to see what is written underneath.
- Use a display book with plastic sleeves to archive old planning pages.
- Use different coloured pens to categorise different subjects or categories (e.g., work/school, different organisations you are involved with, appointments, etc.). I've heard that you can also colour code by writing over pen with crayon.
- Using a binder clip on the side of a page may help get it to lie flat.