My A5 Journaling Filofax

Some of you may not know the back story to this one. I've always wanted to write in a journal, but never had the enthusiasm to sit down each night and write about the mess of a day I'd had. I just got fed up with it.

Gail, who blogs at It's My Life, gave me a really good idea. Instead of journaling every night, just write a few notes about how you were feeling, what you did that day, etc. and then journal at the weekend when you have more time to focus on it.

I needed a spreadsheet for this. So I made one.

I set up columns, titled: Day, Date, Listening, Eating, Drinking, Feeling, Wanting, Thinking, Quotes, Liking, Hating and Photo Ref.

I have been asked if I use the Photo Ref column for the 365 Project. I don't, but there's no reason why you couldn't. It's just for reminding myself that I've got a picture for that day, so when I get round to ordering prints I can reference the photo on my computer and know which day it was for.

The other columns are fairly self-explanatory. In the Listening column I've put songs I heard that day that made me think, or that I could relate to in that moment. It's a nice touch to add, especially when you're a bit of a music junkie. I've also recorded what we ate for dinner and my favourite drink of the day, good food is a great photo opportunity. I want to add the little things in life to my journal.

It's only Saturday afternoon, but I was eager to get set up. I'm using my A5 Black Domino Filofax which I've had for a few months now. I was going to use the Identity as I thought the Domino's rings would be too big, but when I went to look at them both I realised they're pretty much the same size. I prefer the Domino as a journal - it's what I decorated it for, it looks like a book of Victorian secrets!

 

The only issue I have with using a Filofax with large rings for a journal, is I like to stuff my Filofaxes until they have no room to breathe, and my journal was only about 25% full. I have no idea what else to put in there. Embellishments and journaling cards will add thickness to her but not enough.

 

So, let's open her up. This is my first week's journaling:

 

 

 

Close-up of the bottom left page, with Newton Faulkner lyrics:

 

 

Front of the journaling card:

 

 

I hope I have inspired you to shake the dust off from one of your unused A5 Filofaxes, make it beautiful, and start writing. Not for anyone else, not to make it look functional, but just go crazy and let it be your journal, about your life.