Category: journaling

Weekly Update: New Journal and 10 Years of Writing at Large

It’s been a while, mostly because life has been hectic, not because I don’t have things to write about. Here’s to trying to get more posts in, even if they aren’t perfect or particularly long.

I’ve just finished another journal (the yellow one on the left in the photo below) and have set up my new one. Both are Stalogy 365 B6 notebooks, and both have a similar initial setup:

1.I flip the notebooks upside down so that the header with the dates is on the bottom and out of the way, as I don’t use it.

2. I use the front endpaper to write an “in case of loss” message (my name, email, phone number and a request for the finder to do the right thing).

New journal on the right, old journal on the left.

3. I use the back endpaper as a sort of “dashboard”. One side gets stickers on it, the other gets a post it with some journaling and review prompts.

Endpaper view of the new journal.

My new journal’s cover was damaged in transit, so I covered the worst of the damage with washi tape. It adds some character to the black cover, and if it gets too grimy or peels off I can always replace it.

My old journal lasted me for 5 months, which is about what these notebooks last for. My Moleskine journals lasted for 3-4 months because they had fewer paged and I used them for scrapbooking as well.

In other news “Writing at Large” is 10 years old. I never thought that I’d be publishing it for so long, but I’m glad that I started it way back in July of 2015, and I hope to keep it going for many years more. I’ve been through a lot over the past decade, and this site reflects a tiny part of that. If I can recommend something it’s to invest your time in your own site and your own work instead of on social media. If you persist, it pays dividends.

Reading

Finished The Day of the Jackal by Fredrick Forsyth and found it fascinating. I’m planning on reviewing it here.

Started on We Solve Murders by Richard Osman and I’m working on some Ulysses posts.

Health and Fitness

It’s getting hard to run outside, harder than it ever was, in this heat and humidity. Global warming is making treadmill runs more attractive. I’ve started using the NRC app‘s guided treadmill runs and they are pretty good and making treadmill running more bearable.

Have a great week and be kind to each other.

Big Celebratory Birthday Update Part 2

A smorgasbord of stuff for your delectation. You can read part 1 here.

13. Big bold announcement: next month is Bloomsday, and after much hemming and hawing i’ve decided to reread James Joyce’s Ulysses and blog about it as I go along.
I’ve read Ulysses three or four times between 2009-2013 but I haven’t touched it since. While I still have some of my notes on this book, my goal isn’t to reconstruct them or to lecture on the topic, but to enjoy a very good book, and see how my memory of it fairs post-chemotherapy (which has affected my memory).
Why should you join along? Because Ulysses is a phenomenally good book that is enjoyable to re-read (but very challenging to read for the first time). It’s funny and touching, profound and full of adventure. It’s just built on very well crafted layers of language, meaning and context, and it’s paradoxically a book that is meant to be re-read, not read. Hopefully I will make it a bit easier and less scary to read for the first time for those brave enough to join me.

14. I have been switching my podcast listening queue around lately, which means that I got to listen to this wonderful two part episode of Alie Ward’s “Ologies”: Salugenology (Why humans require hobbies). Guest Julia Hotz talks about the things that we need to be happy as humans, and the conversation is fun to listen to and enlightening. I highly recommend it, and the “Ologies” podcast in general.

15. I’ve stopped buying eBooks from Amazon after they stopped allowing customers to download the books that they purchased (so you basically don’t own the book that you paid for if you buy in from Amazon now). I still use my Kindle Paperwhite, but I’m buying books from Kobo. I buy them DRM free where possible, and if not I use Calibre to strip them of DRM and then this site to transfer them to my Kindle (if they are DRM free you just use the sendtokindle site to upload them to your Kindle). It took me 30 minutes to get the setup working the first time, and it now adds 1-2 minutes tops to every book purchase, which is plus for me. It means that I don’t mindlessly purchase books that I don’t intend to read, and I actually think through each book purchase. I also noticed that the books I’m interested in are priced slightly cheaper on Kobo, which is a nice little bonus.

16. Using yellow ink (Rohrer and Klingner Helianthus) has been a challenge but also an education. Helianthus is readable enough to be used for my daily todo list, but thanks to this ink I’ve been learning to enjoy using a fountain pen for highlighting purposes. It’s more subtle and better behaved than traditional highlighters, and the colour pops on the page without resorting to neon shades.

17.I am thinking about the next inks to put into rotation, which is a bit unusual for me as I normally start with the pens that I want to fill, and then go find inks that go well with them. I want a blue-black for practical reasons, a cheerful green, a pink or orange, and a turquoise or teal. How do you select which pens and inks you use?

18. A bit of behind the scenes: I draft these posts longhand in a Dingbats notebook and a fountain pen. I think better on paper and it’s a way to use the pens and inks that I have. There are no AI/LLM agents/bots involved in this blog, and that’s the way it will remain. I enjoy writing, I created this blog as a hobby because I enjoy writing, and while I use AI agents as part of my job, I have no intention of letting them take away any part of the creation of this site.

Draft of this post
Well worn Dingbats blogging notebook

19. Journaling tip #1: If you’ve been feeling down lately, take the time at the end of each day to review your day and score it. It doesn’t matter what scoring system you choose, but I recommend that you keep it simple and not too granular: -1, 0, +1 or 1, 2, 3, or “great”, “OK”, “meh”, “terrible”. You just want a quick way to know if the day was a good day, an average day, or a bad day.
At the end of every day for a week or two think back on what happened throughout the entire day, give it a score, and explain the score in no more than a sentence or two. So for me today was: “OK – was super tired at the start, but I managed to get two naps in and recovered enough to get most of what I planned done”.
At the end of the week, when you do your weekly review and plan ahead what you want to stop doing, start doing and keep doing, use these scores as an input for your decisions.
Repeat this whenever you feel the need to recalibrate.

20. Journaling tip #2: if you’ve stopped journaling and want to restart, don’t attempt to backlog the days that you missed. Forgive yourself the journaling “debt” and start fresh. This is easier to do if you switch something up in your journaling routine – use a new pen, pencil or ink, a new notebook, or write in a new location.

21. A dear friend and colleague has moved to a new job in a different company. While I’m happy for him and I wish him the best of luck, I already miss working alongside him. This brings me to the following journaling tip:

22. Journaling tip #3: Take a journal, either your usual one or a new one for a special journaling “events” and write down a list of names of people that have inspired or taught you something that you are grateful for, and write down what it is they taught you. Start with those that affected you by their positive actions (kindness, encouragement, setting good examples), and then challenge yourself to journal about those that taught you by being negative presences in your life. Did an office bully teach you to be kind? Did the talentless brown-nose teach you about how much you value your integrity?
You can write about both people you personally know and those in the public sphere, and you can return and edit or add on to this list whenever you want. It’s a good reference in troubled times to remind you of who you are, what you stand for, and where you want to be.

Manufactus notebook that I plan on using for journaling tip #3

Three Habits Worth Keeping

Happy New Year!

This is the time of year when people set resolutions, themes, goals, intentions, words of the year, etc. Ambitions are high, intentions are good, but well before March most of these efforts will be abandoned and forgotten. I’ll be writing about my quarterly plan and my 2025 planner later on, but for now here are three habits that worth keeping in 2025 and in general, and a few tips on how to get into them and persist:

Exercise

Any amount and any kind that you can do is excellent. Let’s repeat that: ANY amount of exercise and ANY kind of exercise is a tremendous win. Start with walking if nothing else speaks to you, but try to make sure it’s a brisk walk and not a shuffle if you can. It doesn’t need to take an hour, and it doesn’t need to be 10,000 steps. Remember, anything you can do is good. Local gyms and community centres usually have classes you can try out if you want to give yoga, pilates, kickboxing or jiujitsu a try.

Running offers the best “bang for your buck” in terms of time and money invested per health and fitness gains, but not everyone can run, and not everyone enjoys running. If you want to give running a start, I recommend using any “couch to 5k” app, and then transitioning to the excellent guided runs and training plans in the free NRC app to keep you going. If you need someone to keep you accountable, either join a group of some sort or find a friend or family member to work out with.

The NTC app offers a huge variety of training options – from yoga to full equipment gym workouts, with some excellent body-weight workouts in between. Swimming is a great low impact way to build up cardio and a bit of strength, and weight-lifting isn’t as intimidating as you think – a pair of dumbbells at home is a great way to start exploring it. Yoga with Adriene is great way to get into yoga if you don’t or can’t take a class and the NTC app seems too intimidating.

Soccer, basketball, baseball and other group sports are great ways to expand your social circle, and tennis, pickleball, badminton are great ways for couples to work out together.

The easiest way of getting into the habit is doing a little something every day, and doing it as soon after you wake up as possible. That way you start the day with a win and some endorphins, which is always a nice way to start your day.

If you think you don’t have time to work out, be honest with yourself and track your time for a day or two. How much time is spent on social media? Binge watching TV? Mindless scrolling? Could you cut some of that out? Could you go to sleep a little earlier and wake up a little earlier so you can have some alone time to exercise and clear your mind?

If you already have a solid exercise routine in place, take the time to diversify it if you can. This goes particularly to us runners: strength train. Swim. Cycle. Do things that aren’t just running, because just running is one of the main causes of such relatively high injury rates amongst runners compared to other athletes.

Reading

Most people don’t read, which is their loss because reading is a superpower. Train your brain off the social media dopamine hamster wheel and teach it how to focus for significant stretches of time by picking up a reading habit. You’re standing in line bored? Open your Kindle app and pick up that detective novel or space opera from where you left off. Replace TikTok, social media and YouTube with books, and make sure that they’re books that you want to read. Don’t go off bestseller lists or influencer recommendations or whatever one this or that award, or is considered a classic. When you’re getting back into reading you need to gradually train your mind to get used to this activity. Start with a book that really interests you (not one that’s impressive), and start with a physical copy because they’re easier to read. Reading will do to your brain what exercise does for all of your body: make you better, stronger, faster, healthier and happier.

If you’re already a reader, then mix things up a bit: if you only read non-fiction, read fiction for a change and vice versa. Try something new, because you may just end up liking it. If you’ve only done light reading so far, pick a challenging book and work your way through it. Treat your brain like a muscle you are training, where you gradually progress to bigger and bigger weights. Challenging books are often the most rewarding, but you probably should start with them.

Journaling

Digital or analog, it doesn’t matter, journaling is worth doing. Gain insight to yourself, unleash your creativity, and let loose to your thoughts in a safe environment. This is the path to self improvement, learning to be kind to yourself, and having a positive mental attitude towards life.

If you’ve never journaled before, start small and simple: pick a notebook that you will enjoy writing in (whatever speaks to you, no matter what other people think), use whatever pen or pencil you fancy, and write 3-5 things you are grateful for each day. Add more sections to your daily journal as you go along: a “story of the day”, an account of what you did or what you consumed and what you thought about it, a nightly summary, etc.

Make it a ritual of sorts: write in your journal every morning and evening, every time you switch between major tasks during the day, or when you feel the need to respond to something (don’t post online, post in your journal instead).

Don’t be intimidated by gorgeous and elaborate works of art in various journaling forums, blogs and on Instagram. These are journals as craft projects, and while they are nice, they aren’t what we’re trying to get to here. It’s OK to add stickers and bits and bobs to your journal, but its purpose shouldn’t be to be photographed and posted. It’s there to work for you, so treat it like a workhorse, not a circus pony. Also, remind yourself that many of these journal photos are there to sell: stickers, washi tape, pens, notebooks, ink, the poster’s journaling course, etc. People rarely show off their “real” journals because if you’re honestly journaling only for yourself, that’s just not something that you’ll want to share.

How I Use My Notebooks: Gym Journal

Here’s an idea that I haven’t seen discussed before: take a pen and a pocket notebook with you to the gym and journal in between sets.

This is my gym journal:

Moleskine Pocket lined hardcover Mickey Mouse limited edition and Zebra G-405 pen

It’s a battered Moleskine pocket hardcover lined notebook, a limited edition Mickey Mouse one from years ago. There was a series gash in the spine, so I fixed it with some gaffer tape. I use a Zebra G-450 gel ink pen, and it lays down a bold, 0.7 black line.

I don’t use this notebook during every gym session, but when I’m trying out new things, when I’ve got a lot on my mind, or when I’m trying to solve a specific problem I take it with me. I don’t write details about my workout (rep numbers, weights, etc) as I have an app for that.

So what do I write in this notebook?

  • How things felt during the workout, particularly when I’m trying something new or if I’m recovering from an injury.
  • Notes on other gym goers bad behavior. I don’t want to confront them, but I do get frustrated when people don’t return weights, don’t use a towel or wipe down the equipment, and hoard equipment during the gym rush hour. Writing it down allows me to let off steam and focus on more productive things (like my workout, or returning equipment that I know is no longer in use back to its place, or on anything else).
  • Ideas or projects that I’m brainstorming at the moment. I oftentimes use a workout to think about something I’m considering or something I’m stuck on. I jot a few notes in between sets to not forget the ideas I came up with during that time.
  • Things I want to journal about later, in my “regular” journal. These are usually things that I forgot to journal about and want to get back to later in the day, when I have time to sit down and better process them.

The main point of this journal is to get me as much as possible off my phone. It’s tempting to check the news for the umpteenth time, or doom scroll various feeds, or play mindless games while you wait between sets. My goal is to bring these habits down to a minimum, and this journal is a useful tool in the search for less screen time.

Sample entry from last year. I write with gym gloves on, hence the atrocious handwriting.

I originally thought that it would be embarrassing to use a notebook in the gym, but I decided that “so what, who cares” is the attitude to take in this case. People do much more embarrassing things at the gym and nobody comments on it. I use an inconspicuous notebook that isn’t at all precious, and a hardy, inexpensive, inconspicuous gel ink pen to go with it. Both have survived falls and encounters with misplaced weights, so they are gym hardened, Don’t bring large, colourful notebooks with you, and don’t bring pens that look expensive or draw attention to themselves. You’re going for the “boring, not worth paying attention to” look here.

Would you consider taking a pen and notebook with you to the gym? If you already do, how do you use your gym notebook?

Journaling Series: Journaling in Response to Media

There’s a new show out on a streaming service and I’ve started watching it. It’s part of a large franchise with a vocal fandom, and as usual, the fandom has opinions. These opinions are extreme, because that’s what social media and news sites amplify. Outrage sells. Hate sells. Abusive bot attacks drive up traffic and “engagement” so why should these companies stop them?

I too have opinions about this series, but they aren’t of the outrage kind. A few years ago I would have expressed them on Twitter, More recently I would have written about them in various group chats. These days I do neither.

I journal about them instead.

We have been trained to think that our opinions on the media we consume must be packaged attractively and shared as widely as possible. We have been told that it’s our responsibility to go on social media and let everyone know how we feel about a show, a movie, an album, a book, about every bit of culture we consume. We have been told that it’s for the benefit of our friends and for the benefit of the artists we like. It is not. It is for the benefit of a small group of shareholders.

I have no interest in feeding the outrage machine. Screaming into the bot filled void does nothing but make you hoarse, miserable, angry, and possibly part of a mob.

I also realized that I’m not interested in entering a debate or an echo chamber about this particular series. I just wanted to clarify for myself what worked in this series, what didn’t, and should I continue watching it or not.

So I journaled about it. No outrage. No drama. Just me and a blank page having a bit of a think about a streaming series. There’s no personal affront here, no mob cheering you on to hurl abuse on the series creators, no mob telling you what to think about certain casting choices, plot choices or the series creators.

My thoughts and conclusions about this series aren’t interesting, just as the name of the specific series is irrelevant. I recommend this process with every bit of media you feel the need to share your opinion about, BEFORE you share your opinion on it. It’s what I do with the books that I review. It’s what I do about podcasts, movies, series and shows. It allows for a guiltless, safe place to voice my opinions, to consider and rework them. It’s also far from the maddening crowd, which means I know that these are my own opinions and not the regurgitated opinions of others.

If you’re interested in the process, here are some questions you can use as prompts:

  • Why did I start watching/reading/listening to this?
  • Who would I recommend this to?
  • Am I enjoying each episode/chapter? Am I looking forward to the next one?
  • What is my favourite thing about this show/movie/etc? What is my least favourite?
  • Bonus: How would I change the show/movie/etc to make it better? What would be gained and what would be lost with this change?

Do you journal about media? What prompts do you use?

Journaling Series: On Starting a Journal

After finishing my previous journal I just started a new journal, which is both an exciting and daunting prospect whenever it happens. There is so much potential in a new journal – it makes me want to crack it open and fill as many pages as possible in the first sitting. Yet opening that first blank page also makes me freeze in fear of “ruining” a perfectly good notebook with my scrawls.

Stalogy 365 Days B6

There are many tips on how to overcome that fear, ranging from deliberately destroying the first few pages to using various formulas to inspire you to fill those first pages. What I currently do is just open a new Stalogy 365 Days notebook, turn it upside down (so the header, which I don’t like, is at the bottom) and slap 2-3 stickers on the back endpages. This time I chose a 10th anniversary fountain pen day sticker and a Goulet Pens dream pen sticker to start off, but I usually add a few more stickers as I use the journal.

Stickers on the back

I then turned to the first page and started my first journal entry with the following sentence:

“New journal! My third Stalogy 365.”

After that came my usual daily gratitude list, and so I had most of the first page filled up in no time and had no problem moving on after that.

For those still in search for “new journal” inspiration, here are some pointers:

  • Personalize your new journal in some way. It’s about to hold your innermost thoughts, so you might as well make it your own.
  • Switch formats mercilessly if you find an old journaling format isn’t working for you – page size, ruling, type, etc.
  • Have a starting formula for your journal. If you find it difficult to start journaling each day, then pick a formula that you can use each day – like a daily gratitude list, a quote, notes about the weather, your plans for the day.
  • The first few entries are the hardest, but they’re also only 2-3 days out of the entire life of a journal. It’s worth remembering that and plowing through those days.
  • When in doubt pick a quote from a book or article you’re reading and start a discussion with the author.
  • If you’re really at a loss for starting ideas, use the first page, not the last one, as an ink testing page.

Do you have any new journal rituals or tips? Do you enjoy starting a new journal or find it daunting?

Journaling Series: On Finishing a Journal

As I’m writing this I’m two or three pages away from finishing another journal. It’s not the first journal that I’ve finished, but somehow it’s always a tiny, little momentous occasion. After all from the moment we crack open a new notebook and dare to write on its pristine pages we envision this outcome: a notebook chock full of words, sketches and mementos.

Slightly frayed and ink stained but this Stalogy 365Days B6 notebook has served me well for about 6 months

For me the end of a journal offers a change to review and reflect on its contents. The last few pages aren’t used for normal journaling, but rather are reserved for me to write notes in as I leaf through the completed journal’s pages. What key moments does it hold? What revelations? How can I look back with kindness at moments of weakness or failure, and how can I learn and grow from them? This is not always a pleasant or easy experience, but I have always found it worthwhile.

Sample page with a sketch.

This is also a time when I consider whether I need to switch a journal format or not. I’ve been using the Stalogy Editor’s Series 365Days B6 notebook for the past two journals and I’ve been happy with it, so that’s what I’ll continue using for now.

What about you? Do you have any “end of journal” or “end of notebook” habits and rituals?

Journaling in Hospital

  1. I’ve been spending practically every day for the past week or so with my dad in hospital.
  2. There’s this phenomena that when you most need journaling, the it will help you the most, you find yourself least able to do it.
  3. Hospitals are journaling hostile environments. There are no tables to use, there’s constant noise and distractions, there’s zero privacy and you never know when the staff will pop into the room with something. Whether you yourself are hospitalized or you’re there with someone else, there’s very little opportunity to crack open your journal and start writing.
  4. Hospitals are also where weird, interesting, scary and new things happen, so you generally do what to write about them, to process them on paper. Fo instance, today three policemen escorted a prisoner into the heart surgery department. It wasn’t something I ever expected to see, a sort of non-sequitur that took me a minute or two to process.
  5. The solution is to take temporary notes on your phone, put a reminder for an appointment with your journal in the evening or when things quiet down around you.
  6. If you’re the one hospitalized, try to journal two or three times a day, documenting what’s going on, how you’re feeling, what the staff said, who visited you, etc. The best time to journal is during the nursing staff shift changes, because that’s when nobody will bother you.
  7. Journaling is like running – oftentimes it’s really hard to start, but I haven’t regretted a run or a journaling session yet.
At night you can escape to these empty spaces and write

January 2024 in Pens and Paper

January was a big month in terms of writing pens dry. For the first time ever I managed to write all of the Inkvent pens dry by the end of the month. That’s 12 fountain pens written dry, which is the most I’ve ever written dry in a month. The secret is not filling them more than 50% full, and making sure to journal and note-take consistently.

In terms of paper products I’ve journaled in my Stalogy 365 B5 journal and will be switching to a new journal next month (also a Stalogy 365 B5 because I like the paper and the format). I do have a little quirk with these notebooks – I use them upside down because I don’t like the header with the dates on it, so I flip the notebook around so that it’s at the bottom of the page. That way it doesn’t bother me as much.

Stalogy 365

I’ve also been using a Rhodia A5 dot pad to time block my day, and Kokuyo A4 KB which I cut in half (to get two A5 pieces of paper) and write my daily todo list on. At work I use a Maruman Mnemosyne horizontal A5 notebook (either squared or blank) to brainstorm on, track my tasks, take meeting notes, etc. My weekly plans and long term 12 week year goals are in a Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal that stays at home, on my desk. The rest (Stalogy B5 journal, two pieces of daily planning paper, and the Mnemosyne) travel with me when I go to the office.

I have a monthly calendar with some monthly reading, running, gym, swimming and blogging targets on it and I draw that on a Well Appointed Desk “Rebel Plans” notepad.

Earlier this month I used the wonderful Pelikan Hubs paper to do my daily planning, and it was amazing (cardstock thick and fountain pen friendly). I was running out of it quickly though, which is why I moved to the Kokuyo.

Pelikan Hubs paper pad

In terms of standard pens I’ve used the Pilot Hi-Tech-C in 0.4, my Spoke Design Spoke Pen in orange crush, and a Pilot Juice Up 04 in orange and light blue. As I will be spending a lot of time at hospitals next month, I will likely be using more standard pens then.

Pilot Hi Tec C and Spoke Design Pen

Pencils in use were the Tennessee Red, which is gorgeous and a treat to use, and Leuchtturm1917 Drehgriffel Nr.2 mechanical pencil in red and grey. I have better mechanical pencils that this one, and yet I keep returning to it. Something about the Drehgriffel design is simply appealing to me. You can read my review of it here.

Next month will likely see more use of standard pens and pocket or cheap fountain pens. I will be in the hospital a lot, so that means that my setup will change to reflect that.

Here are the fountain pens I filled for February:

Schon Design Pocket 6 pens.
Kaweco Sports.

The new and challenging setting will mean that I’ll likely go back to my trusty Moleskine hardcover and Ti Arto for the duration of my dad’s stay in hospital.

What stationery products have you been using in January?

Journaling Series: My Current Journaling Setup

I realized that the last journaling sample that I uploaded is three years old and my setup and journaling format changed considerably, so I decided to post an update.

I currently use a Stalogy 365Days B5 grid notebook in light blue. This is the second such notebook that I’ve used, the previous one being black. Before that I used Moleskines, and it’s quite possible that I’ll return to using Moleskines, but currently I enjoy both the smaller format of the Stalogy B5, and its fountain pen friendly pages. The notebook is thick but the pages are thin, so there’s show through (and sometimes bleed through) on every page. It doesn’t bother me, but if it bothers you then you’ll need to either write on only one side of the page or choose a different notebook.

I exclusively use fountains pens in this notebook, whatever is currently inked, though I prefer fine nibbed pens.

My journaling format has also changed, and it’s now as follows:

  • Gratitude – I tried writing this in the evening but I found that it works better to write this part as early as possible in the morning. Sometimes it’s divided into sections (health, family, work, home, etc), but it’s usually a bulleted list of around 4-5 things. I try to be specific, and I try to remember even the most mundane of things. Especially during tough times it’s super helpful, and it also serves to get me journaling early in the day. Some days I only get this done, but those days are rare.
  • Notes on what happened during the day. I used to try and be a completionist, but that was just a source of frustration and eventually gaps in my journaling practice. Instead I now journal only things that are meaningful, which means that I journal less to record the day and more to reflect on key moments in it. I try to include a story of some kind (like seeing something interesting on the bus drive to work), and a reflection or insight of some sort (for example, my thoughts on someone being fired, or what the news appears to do to people’s mood and patience).
  • I end with something out of Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is a note on how I tried to advance each of my chosen values (for me it’s self development, courage, creativity, fitness and friendliness). This helps me manage my PTSD, especially during tough days. I know that I’ll be keeping myself accountable in the evening, so I try to keep them top of mind throughout the day.

I journal in the morning, and usually also once or twice during the day and once in the evening. I’m trying to develop both a shutdown routine and a task switching routine, and use them both as opportunities to journal and reflect.

Apart from these, once a week ever since the beginning of the year I reflect on how well I achieved my goals for the week, and once per month I reflect about the month. At the end of the year I review the entire year, and that’s usually the longest entry in my journal for that year. I tend to write 2-3 pages a day, though some days it’s just one page, and some days it closer to 5-6.

Sometimes I sketch in my journal, but it’s rare, and unlike my Moleskines, I don’t glue things in my Stalogy (so not ticket stubs, tags, stickers, business cards, etc).

Sketch sample on the right, the blotting paper on the left, and the fountain pen I used.

I keep a folded piece of A5 blotting paper in my journal, as the ink takes time to dry in the Stalogy, and without it the whole page becomes a mess.