How to Use a 5-year Journal! (1 line a day Journal tips)
For the past 7 years, I’ve been journaling every day. Getting a One-line A Day Journal (5 Year Diary) was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.
Since I was 15 I’ve been journaling on and off, and it has been life-changing. The small moments that make life special, and the challenging moments that help us grow are both enjoyable to reflect on and fulfilling to see progress with time.
If you’re curious about how to use a One-line A Day Journal, I have some tips for you on how to use them and how to make the most out of it. You can also watch the YouTube video I made for it!
Tip #1 Use abbreviations
Since this type of journal is used for short entries, it makes sense to use its space efficiently. If you’re writing often about people close to you like family or friends, you can use the first letter of their name instead of spelling it out.
You can use all sorts of abbreviations for your journal, so it’s both saving space and adds a little bit of privacy!
tip #2 don’t use super long sentences
Another space-saving tip is using only a few words for your journal. When I write on my one-line a day journal, I typically use 1 to 4 words for my sentences that describe what I’m doing.
“Jogged. Did calligraphy. Had coffee with mom. Went to friend’s house.”
This also helps in building your habit of journaling daily since it only takes a short amount of time to write down.
tip #3 write what you did but also what you felt
When we look back on our journals, generally we want to know what we felt or what was going on in our thoughts. So after writing an activity (for example, “watched a movie” or “had a conversation with someone”) you can add what you felt about it. Was it enjoyable? Heartwarming? Spooky?
You can write the overall feeling of the experience in just a few words or even symbols for emphasis!
tip #4 don’t overthink it
You can just write whatever is on your mind when you’re writing in your journal. Raw emotions. Mundane tasks you did. It doesn’t always have to be neat or worded perfectly.
For me, it takes about 30 seconds to one minute to write down one entry by looking back at what I did for the day and something about what I felt.
tip #5 make a cover for the journal
Since you will be using your One-line A Day Journal for a long time (for 5 YEARS!!) you don’t want it to wear down before you can use it all up.
I actually made a cover for it using an old t-shirt that I sewed together.
When you go for trips or sleepovers, you want to protect it from wear and tear when it’s in your bag. A cover helps to protect against it and also adds a layer of privacy.
tip #6 reconnect with old friends
When you finish a whole year of your One-line A Day Journal, you go back to the very first page and continue to write for the next year.
The beauty of this journal is you can read what happened on the same day a year (or years) prior.
If you write about someone, like a friend from your previous entry, you can reconnect with them and look back on the experience that you both shared on that same day.
wrap up
I hope these tips can be useful to you if you want to try journaling or if you want to restart your journaling journey. I also made an in-depth video about how I journaled for 7 years and shared what I learned from it.
Here are some of my favourite journals and tools to use while journaling:
📚My 1 Line A Day (5 Year Diary) Journal: https://amzn.to/2ZhOPLN
📚Another great 1 Line A Day (5 Year Diary) Journal: https://amzn.to/3E7565c
📚Big journal to get started with journaling on your own: https://amzn.to/30P3Rcp
📚Favourite pen for journaling: https://amzn.to/3pni1M7
I’d love to hear what you thought about this blog post in the comments! Was it helpful? Do you have any questions?
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