5 Tips to Maintaining a Journal
Keeping a journal and maintaining one can seem very daunting. You might look on Pinterest or TikTok and see people that have these well planned and thought out journals that look awesome and want to start one yourself. Or maybe you’re like me and have started one before and then you forget to use it and it just starts collecting dust somewhere in your room. These are some tips to help you keep your journal going with (minimal) dust collection.
Use materials you like
I have a set of pens, markers, and highlighters that I absolutely love to use. If you have any utensils that you enjoy using and that maybe spark some inspiration in you, those are a must for your journal. Maybe this could also give you a reason to pull out that fancy pen you like to motivate yourself to write in your journal.
Set time aside for your journal
Having a routine that includes using your journal will help you so much with maintaining it. You might choose to start your day by looking through your journal at any reminders you wrote down for events or homework or other things on your to do list. Take 10 minutes out of your busy day to pick it up and write down all the crazy things you have to keep track of. That’s one of many good things to use if for!
Use your journal to keep track of important things
Not only does this help you use your journal more often and keep it updated, but it will also keep you organized and it keeps all of your important information in one place. You can keep track of special dates like birthdays or anniversaries, your schedule for classes or work, to do lists, passwords, budgeting, even when you last changed your toothbrush! Honestly, I use my journal for everything. I am opening it during each of my classes to write down homework I have due and write down any meetings I have with professors or my lab partners.
Use a journal that you can customize
Your journal is just that, “your journal”. You should be able to make it look how you want. Some people choose to just buy pre-designed journals from places like Hobby Lobby, or Target, or Staples but I love being able to get blank journals (or bullet journals) so I can really make it my own. Having a journal you can customize means you don’t have to keep the same theme throughout the entire journal, and as you change and grow, your journal can do the same.
Keep your journal somewhere easily accessible
Think of the saying “out of sight, out of mind”. If you try to put your journal in a drawer or on a bookshelf just hidden away from you, when is the next time you’re going to pull it out to write down about your day, or look at the events you have next week, or the homework you forgot about that is due tomorrow? I highly recommend putting your journal somewhere you will find it easily or see it every day such as on top of a bedside table or with all of your notebooks for class. That way you will never forget to look at it.
Even if you just use it to clear your mind after a long day, journals can be some of the most satisfying things to use. Just have fun with it and make it yours.