My Love/Hate with Journaling

I was reading a post from a favorite blog of mine and I became bummed. Am I the only one that has a complete LOVE/HATE relationship with journaling?

Ever since I was little I kept a journal. My mom would sit my siblings down on Sunday afternoons after church and we would journal. Sometimes it was just a picture that she would insert a caption after. Sometimes it were simple words we tried to copy after she wrote them for us. My mom is a good example. 

I have kept journals all throughout my life but they are done as needed (prn) and very spontaneously. I am not a day-to-day jotter but I'm a heavy thinker and will usually get a few entries down a week. That to me is inconsistent but juuuust fine. You do what works for you.

My issue with journaling lies within where I journal. Generally they end up in my hand-written journal but oftentimes, out of convenience, I type my entries on my private blog journal. Life and more comfortable experiences are thrown up here, on this blog. If I am in a meeting and thoughts come to my head I jot them down in my Notes on my iPhone. I have also written little love notes to Remi since the day I became pregnant so those little notes are scattered everywhere as well - phone, papers, receipts, you name it. Now, how on earth do I organize all of these entries?! There lies my annoyance with journalling. I want the ability to compile all of these notations, both hand-written and e-journalled, in one place with simplicity! Sometimes I don't do very well with modernization and social media. You're thinking, "AND YOU'RE A 90'S CHICK?! Get with the times!" I knooooooow.

Of course I love both and stick to doing both but how great would it be to somehow have them all together. Someone just please invent something. I'll send you my journal and you print my e-journal in the back yeah? There has to be a way for hand-written to meet the e-world. Haha I realize this is not a big deal at all and people have been handling both for years but the OCD in me finds is straight up nonsensical to have to write out 2 journals. I just can't pick one way! I'm so torn. For now I will just brush my OCD aside and accept chaotic journaling. 

With that all being said, I find journaling to be essential. I love capturing noteworthy moments in fun ways. Perhaps that's why I have this problem. I may not be able to perfect this form of documenting but my only advice is, keep calm and journal on. 

There are a million fun ways to do it!

• Handwritten. Journals these days come in some rad bindings with some of the cutest prints on the front. Confession: sometimes I can't pass up buying them because they are too beautiful (!!!) So snatch one up and start! Even if it's just once a week, that counts for something!
• E-journals AKA blogs. They are fast and efficient to me because I love to type. I have a public blog (which I print annually) and also a private blog (which I print out every 2 years).
• Chatbooks. I have mentioned this above in "How I Document" ^^ but this is done by printing a picture with a caption underneath. They are the cutest little books! The captions cannot be too lengthy, however. Keep that in mind!
• Index Card Journal. This one I have yet to try because I am not a big family of everyday journaling but check this out! I have quite a few friends and family that do it and love it!
• Smashbooks. This is another form of journaling I haven't tried but have heard from others that it's great! If you are into gluing in momentos, making your journal pretty and fun to look at, or scrapbooking than this is for you!
• Calendar Journal. My dad started giving us customized calendars last year at Christmas with photos and captions he created himself. I didn't want them to go to waste so the year Remi was born I wrote down (as much as possible) what happened daily. Again, I am terrible at everyday journaling and hated to have a blank day but it was still special to have that calendar. Tip: you don't have to write a novel. Point form is sometimes all you need!

What are some of the ways you journal? I am always up for new ways to journal and perfect the dang process so share the love!