Journaling: The 5 Year Plan

Journaling: The 5 Year Plan

I began journaling when I was 5. I have loved writing and recording the memories of my day for a long time. Writing down the day’s events was a delight to me every night. Between the ages of 5 and 13 I filled over 15 journals with entries, taping tickets to a movie into the page or a letter from a pen pal; I even illustrated some days – they were THAT good. As I got older my entries became less frequent and began to feel like a burden. I couldn’t commit to all the detail I was used to putting into them. With piles of homework, a driver’s license & a later curfew my habit of journaling was forgotten.

I’ve always felt some guilt over that – that I didn’t take the time to write it all down. I love having a gateway into old memories and escaping into those youthful places, some of which I don’t even remember having. It’s fascinating to see a younger you on paper. I have tons of documented proof that I’ve changed, progressed and grown in some way throughout the years. So there!

I made efforts through college to journal in different ways, I filled one journal with quotes, another with my feeble attempts at poetry, another with prayers, and even another with random moments of creative thought. These were valiant attempts but all of them were incomplete and scattered, disappointing ends to frenzied dreams.

I have no documentation of how I felt the night I met my husband, how he took me to see a Shakespeare play on our first date, or how I felt when he surprised me 2 years later with a proposal. While I remember each of those events fairly well, it’s all the spaces in between them that are lost to me. My memories have faded and I dearly wish I had some record of our dating life.

oh well.

2 years ago I stumbled upon a little blue book with gold tipped pages and an orange ribbon. It’s called a “One Line A Day” journal and when I opened up the little cream pages I felt the ability to journal on a daily basis return to me. This little book allows you to record your day in 1-3 sentences and has mapped out space for 5 years of entries. The years are not preset, each page is topped with the 365 days in our calendar with five entries below each date.

It’s ingenious.

I bought the journal in 2009 right after we got married with the determination to record and document the first few years of our marriage and I failed miserably.  I wrote in small intervals in 2010, failed almost completely in 2011 and I’ve made a roaring comeback just this summer.

I’m bonkers about this book. I love the idea of having 5 years of journaling all in one tiny book.

Journaling not only gives me a precious record of sweet events & memories, it makes me set aside time each night to reflect on my day, recall my reactions and feelings throughout the day, and it gives me time to consider how well or how poorly I did. This time of reflection is really precious and valuable.

Fun Fact: there are a couple different formats of this journal that would certainly either be great for you or a friend.

– There is the “Q&A” version that asks you a different question for each day of the year allowing you to compare your answers over 5 years.

– For Jane Austen fans there’s the “Jane-A-Day” journal that gives you different quotes to enjoy each day.

– And finally the “Mom’s One Line a Day” – a sweet gift to any new Mom.

These are great gift ideas but I also encourage you to go out and pick one of these up. Look at it as a personal learning & growing experience. Challenge yourself to learn the discipline of a simple journal and reap the rewards of seeing your past entries, the silly & sweet alike. It will be more rewarding than you know.

How many journals have you filled?

What types of journals have you kept?

If you’ve never journaled, what’s kept you from doing it?

Molly Keating
Molly Keating
Hello! I'm Molly and I run & manage the Blog here at O'Connor. I grew up in a mortuary with a mortician for a father who's deep respect for the profession inspired me to give working at a mortuary a try. Work at O'Connor has brought together two of my deep passions, writing & grief awareness. In 2016 I earned Certification in the field of Thanatology, the study of Death, Dying and Bereavement. I am honored to be able to speak on these taboo topics with knowledge, compassion, and a unique perspective. I want to sincerely thank you for following & reading the blog, I hope that this is a healing place for you.

21 Comments

  1. Shayna Mallik says:

    Molly,
    Great Blog!!! Journaling is so helpful if you take the time to do it and make it part of your routine. I use to journal when I was younger and have stopped. Your blog has made me miss the time of the night I would set aside to journal, and I I love the one line journal, I will definitely be looking into that Thank you!!!!

    • MollyKeating says:

      That’s awesome Shayna! I hope you’re able to re-kindle some of that commitment to journaling. Even if I skip a day I’ll just go back and enter it in, it’s easy to do when you’re space is limited! Thanks for reading & sharing your story

  2. Carrie Bayer says:

    Molly, this is great! I have kept journals off & on over the years- it’s very interesting to look back thru them. You can see where you were in a particular time in your life & see where you are now- usually a big difference that is hard to see otherwise. Thank you for the reminder of how wonderful keeping a journal can be. Carrie

    • MollyKeating says:

      Carrie, what you said about those differences being “hard to see otherwise” is so true! I think I assume I was a lot then like I am now and when I look back it’s obvious that I’ve changed significantly & most of the time that is really encouraging. Even if it’s not a good change it’s still so important to look back, reflect on yourself.
      Thanks for sharing your journaling journey!

  3. One of my favorite parts of going to bed is seeing you journal and then reading me what happened 1 or 2 years previously on that day. It is so euphoric to look back and remember our history together, Molly. I wish I had kept a more detailed journal of our adventures and conversations. I’m so thankful for our dating years and like you, the memories I have, though they are just snapshots, will never be forgotten. This post made me want to start using my One Line a Day again. I hope it’s not in storage.

    • MollyKeating says:

      So sweet! It’s so cool that you are also able to enjoy this simple little task of mine. I’m thrilled that it means so much to you. Thanks for the encouragement to keep on journaling, sweetie!

  4. Jeff Turner says:

    Molly,

    I must admit that I have never journaled, ever. I have on occasion found myself writing about experiences long after the events for one reason or another. Those thoughts and memories turned into narratives are powerful at times to read and remember. What’s missing are exactly what you describe and I think of as the “important minutia” that can be lost. I suppose one of the reasons I do not journal is because of the discipline needed for a systematic interval that would be acceptable and achievable without adding one more thing to fail at. So, fear I guess is in the way.

    In the last few years I have begun writing down dreams. The work of the subconscious to chew on things I may or may not be working on consciously. With guidance, I have found there to be valuable hints and messages that I need or want to tell myself and often things that I maybe in denial about. So, I guess I have journaled dreams. These, like life’s moments, are easily forgotten even though they were so vivid in those secret hours and in the conscious moments just after. There are many, as I review them, I realize would be lost to me without the written record.

    So, I guess in writing this response, I realize that I have been in denial about journaling, sort of. I’ll be honest Molly and admit that I don’t know if I will ever be a “journaler” or not. But I am thankful for the pause this blog has given me to think about the value of the moments of our live’s as they go by.

    Responsively yours,

    Jeff

    • Jeffie,
      I certainly don’t think journaling is for everybody and I hope this post didn’t apply any unnecessary pressure on you to feel that way.

      I love the way YOU have journaled. Journaling dreams is a much tougher practice in that you’ve got to catch them quick & I usually fall back asleep before I can.

      I also like what you said about “one more thing to fail at.” I’ve definitely approached journaling that way – it gets so defeating when you just skip a couple days. One thing I do like about this journal is the years are all fill-in-able (made that up!) and if you miss one day & just really can’t remember it – not to worry, you’ll make up for it somewhere in the next several years!

      But, even if you don’t journal I think just making an effort to consider your day at it’s close is a great step into self-reflection, perspective & personal growth. I think you’re pretty good at that ; )

      Thank you so much for reading & writing back!

      Replyfully yours,
      molly

    • MollyKeating says:

      Jeffie,
      I certainly don’t
      think journaling is for everybody and I hope this post didn’t apply any
      unnecessary pressure on you to feel that way.

      I love the way YOU have journaled. Journaling dreams is a much
      tougher practice in that you’ve got to catch them quick & I usually
      fall back asleep before I can.

      I also like what you said about “one more thing to fail at.” I’ve
      definitely approached journaling that way – it gets so defeating when
      you just skip a couple days. One thing I do like about this journal is
      the years are all fill-in-able (made that up!) and if you miss one day
      & just really can’t remember it – not to worry, you’ll make up for
      it somewhere in the next several years!

      But, even if you don’t journal I think just making an effort to
      consider your day at it’s close is a great step into self-reflection,
      perspective & personal growth. I think you’re pretty good at that ; )

      Thank you so much for reading & writing back!

      Replyfully yours,
      Molly

    • Jeffie,
      I certainly don’t think journaling is for everybody and I hope this post didn’t apply any unnecessary pressure on you to feel that way.

      I love the way YOU have journaled. Journaling dreams is a much tougher practice in that you’ve got to catch them quick & I usually fall back asleep before I can.

      I also like what you said about “one more thing to fail at.” I’ve definitely approached journaling that way – it gets so defeating when you just skip a couple days. One thing I do like about this journal is the years are all fill-in-able (made that up!) and if you miss one day & just really can’t remember it – not to worry, you’ll make up for it somewhere in the next several years!

      But, even if you don’t journal I think just making an effort to consider your day at it’s close is a great step into self-reflection, perspective & personal growth. I think you’re pretty good at that ; )

      Thank you so much for reading & writing back!

      Replyfully yours,
      Molly

  5. Kim Stacey says:

    I love this idea, Molly! I really like Gretchen Rubin, of The Happiness Project, and she’s got a version that I might buy as a Christmas present to myself! (Heck, why wait?!)
    http://www.amazon.com/The-Happiness-Project-One-Sentence-Journal/dp/0307888576/ref=pd_sim_b_4

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