I have blogged in the past about my penchant for journaling – that pretty much started during the pandemic, where I was often struggling to find things to do to occupy myself. I used to watch YouTube journaling videos and decided I wanted to try my hand at it, too. After all, it was supposed to be good for my mental health during a time I was scrabbling to find something that brought me joy.
I started off with Alicia Souza – her journals were fun, there were a lot of freebies included, and it’s the perfect place to start for someone who has never journaled before. Less space to fill, and ergo less intimidating than my later journals.
However, I soon found myself outgrowing it. It felt like something that my daughter should be carrying, and once I started going to the office, it felt too large, too colorful, and yes, too childish to be carrying around in a professional setting.
Enter the Hobonichi Cousin. I love its flexibility, the blank space that allowed me to plan, journal, vent, whatever. Soon, I found myself filling up all my pages, and there’s been no looking back since then.
I also influenced my son, who used his teeny Hobonichi A6 Hon to document his experiences moving to the UK last year. Any empty pages were used to practice his Manga/Anime drawing.
This year as well, I have opted for the Hobonichi Cousin with the delightful Iyo Okumi cover.
I wanted something a bit more though. I was tempted by the 5-year journal that you maintain over a five year period, jotting a few lines about each day, and being able to look back over five years and seeing how you have progressed in life.
But the Hobonichi was a bit too expensive, and I also wasn’t sure how I would use it, and didn’t want to pressure myself into maintaining two journals.
But then, I stumbled upon the Q&A a day. It’s less open-ended than the Hobonichi and only requires me to answer one question a day for five years. It’s interesting and an easy habit to maintain, and I am curious to see how my tastes and mindspace evolve over the next five years.
To make space for this additional journal, I have reduced some of my other journaling habits – reduced my dependence on stickers, ephemera, washi tapes, stamps, etc., and just stick to basic writing – dumping all my thoughts into my journal.
Last year (maybe because of so many new experiences), I found myself sticking, overwriting, really using every aspect of this beast of a journal, until by year-end I could not even close the book properly.
This year, I see a lot of that already going away – in sync with my urge to live a simpler, minimal life.
