journaling: a little every day goes a long way - my one line a day journal by leuchtturm 1917

Over the years, I've mentioned journaling quite a lot on here. In 2019, I decided to start a five year memory book and opted for the Leuchtturm 1917 offering because it was guaranteed the paper would take fountain pen well. Orange is one of my favourite colours so that was the colour I opted for. This is a thick notebook as you can imagine and so far, the hardcover has held up well. 

I've filled in every day of 2019 and 2020 so far. Whenever I write that day's entry, I always find it fascinating to read the previous year's entry and it instantly takes me back to that day in 2019. For this year, I decided to try using prompts instead and to save what I did for my main journal where I write freely.

Other things recorded in it are my workouts and how much effort I had put into it. My sister gifted me a MyZone belt in May of this year and I've been using it regularly to stay fit and ensure I'm putting maximal effort into my HIIT sessions which I do a few times a week at home. Seeing my progress and effort keeps me motivated for my workouts, along with the competitive element (against my sister which is a guaranteed losing battle as she is an army reserve officer).

The next three years will be interesting and I'm already looking forward to seeing what memories are recorded when this notebook is filled.

archer and olive 160gsm a5 dot grid fabric cover notebooks

As I've decided to give bullet journaling a go at some point in the near future (this might be a case of just 'shut up and get on with it' as I've been putting it off for a few months now), I need the right materials for it. And by materials, I mean notebook. I can't imagine not using my fountain pens or pigmented fineliners in it so I knew it had to have good quality paper and be of a size that would be portable enough for daily use.

A5 is a sure bet for me - it's a size I'm very much used to and having toted an A5 notebook to work everyday for a whole year, I know it works.

In terms of paper, 90gsm is standard for the Leuchtturm 1917 and Rhodia notebooks. I know I like it but I do wonder if there would be too much showthrough for me to be comfortable with. Enter some research I did which led me down a rabbit-hole... which then led me to Archer and Olive. This is not a sponsored post - I'm just a happy customer.

Archer and Oliver is run by Bonnie Kuhl from across the Atlantic.What really enticed me was that Archer and Olive are named after Bonnie's two cats. If that isn't adorable, I don't know what is.

When this notebook arrived, I was impressed by the packaging. It comes in a beautiful thick cardboard box which I will definitely be using in the future to store little trinkets in.

The notebook is wrapped in a single sheet of card and there is a card sleeve displaying the notebook's qualities too. It's great that all of the packaging shown here is readily recyclable. Unfortunately, what you can't see is that it actually came wrapped in plastic which I put in my recycling bin anyway but am still dubious about its capacity for re-use.

I opted for the 'morning sun' design for a few personal reasons and I really do like it's bright, happy, yellow hue. The fabric cover feels very hardy and the elastic closure looks like it is sturdy enough to put up with me potentially overstuffing this notebook.

Although this notebook is only 160 pages, it is as thick as my notebooks that are 192 pages. This is because of the epic 160gsm paper.

This notebook comes with two ribbon page markers which is ideal for what I intend to use it for: bullet journaling. One ribbon can be for 'today' and the other can be at a page of importance (i.e. goals for the year).

It also comes with a pen holder which is stretchy enough for my fountain pen of choice: my Pilot Kakuno. It's surprising how such a cheap fountain pen (it only cost me about £8 at the time) is one of the ones I reach for time and time again.

The interior is as you would expect: a page at the front for your details and then the dot grid pages, ready for use as whatever your heart desires.

I'm not going to lie: I'm very excited about using this. I also have a dot-grid Papier notebook which needs using and it'll be a tough choice to see which one gets used first. There is a part of me that thinks I should use the Papier first because if I use this 160gsm paper first, nothing else will compare. As a self-confessed paper snob, this notebook will do nothing to change that part of my personality!

re-reading old journals and preparing for future thoughts

Disclosure: there are emotional parts to this blog post. I also toyed with the idea of posting this or not for a long time but in the end, decided to share it.

As a confessed nerd, I am a huge fan of journaling. Having kept one on and off during my teens, I started decompressing mentally much more in my early twenties. I now journal almost daily and it really is a great thing to do before bed. On the days that have been stressful and I don't write anything down, I do notice that my sleep is more disturbed and I wake up feeling less refreshed the next day.

Mental health has had a spotlight on it for a while now which I think is justified. Conditions that aren't 'visible' have had some unjustified stigma attached to them and I do believe that everyone will have gone through some mental health difficulties at some point in their lives. 

For me, writing is very therapeutic. After my father died (maybe one day, I'll write about the experience of this as a 'good death' is something I am passionate about), what I found most difficult was never being able to talk to him again. In Hong Kong culture, we believe that things you cremate with the body are taken with them to the 'afterworld'. So for his cremation, I wrote him a letter using the best paper I could buy, using my 'Flower of Scotland' ink (as our happiest days were my childhood in Scotland) and written in my best handwriting. This helped me a lot. 

Sometimes, I also like to read parts of old journals to see what I was up to at that particular moment in time. As cheesy as this sounds; by doing this, I could really see how much I'd grown as a person and how much mentally stronger I am too. That said, I still have a long way to go in this journey and the blank journals below are just waiting to be filled with future ramblings that will hopefully allow me to develop more as a person. 

Do you find writing things down helpful? Did journaling get you through any particularly difficult periods of your life?

dreaming of better days through my travel journal

During lockdown, I was meant to be on holiday for a few weeks, traveling Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Obviously, this never happened. But if it had, it would all have been planned in this notebook. This notebook has been with me to a number of places already and my hope is to fill it before long.

My most recent holiday was a long weekend in Lisbon back in October. It was a reward for passing an exam and it was also nice to get out of the country for a bit!

Planning the trip, I always start by noting a rough guide for each day. Sometimes things change depending on my mood which is fine - but I do like to have a skeleton plan for every holiday I take. I'm not the type to fly somewhere spontaneously and just make plans on the day. Maybe that will change one day!

The next bit is an outfit plan so that I know what to pack. And then comes the packing list. This helps to ensure I don't leave any essentials behind here in the UK and also helps for when I pack to come home (to ensure nothing gets left there too!).

I then write a brief list of things I want to see. I work with a some lovely Portuguese nurses who were amazing in giving me a list of 'must-see' attractions. I went to every single one of their recommendations!

Every night, I wrote a journal entry detailing the events of that day and also what I ate (very important information). I don't usually travel with a fountain pen just in case they leak. Therefore, a Muji gel pen accompanied me on this trip.

In the top right corner, you'll see that there is a circular sticker I have folded in half in line with the page. This is a marker for the end of that 'chapter' of the notebook and the beginning of another trip.

I'm not sure where and when my next trip will be but it'll definitely be planned in this notebook. Australia is on my bucket list so that is a possibility if I can get a stretch of annual leave long enough to make the most of a trip there. Fingers crossed!

introducing the trigg life mapper

Bullet journals are increasing in popularity and though the system does not work for me, I can see why it appeals to so many. Bullet journals are customisable, enable you to brain dump if you needed to and also record anything else you wish. How good would it be if you could have a planner which also enables you to brain dump, work towards your goals and aim to become a better person within a year but would not require you to set up each week as a chore?

Well, here's where Trigg's Life Mapper comes in. And I can tell you it's not for the faint-hearted. Trigg's Life Mapper is a day-per-page planner and has prompts every week for you to review different parts of your life. I can see this being especially good for mental health in general because there is ample space for noting down deep, dark thoughts and feelings. Because of the day-per-page layout, the planner is very thick. However, there is an elasticated band in lime green to keep all of your pages together.

The personal page is a good space to put your pledges for the year. These are akin to new year resolutions and below you can see some of mine. I'm not the most patient person, hence why that one is on the list and working as a doctor means I often flake on plans if I'm tired or have had a long shift - I am trying to change this!

There is a year to view too which can be useful for all sorts of things.

Some introduction pages can aid the user in getting the most out of their Trigg planner. Very useful as it can appear overwhelming with all of the added features.

Next, there is a space to note down the values most important to you in the next few years and also assess how happy you are with different parts of your life. I have blurred mine out as these two pages are very personal!

Month to view pages! Each month has a different focus. For example, you can see July's is willpower, and August's is mindfulness.

At the beginning of the year, you can write down your goals for each part of your life: self, relationships, passions and work.

Each day has its own dedicated page where you can write down tasks which absolutely need to be done that day, a plan for the day and other tasks which can be deferred if time does not allow them to be achieved within those twenty four hours. At the bottom, there is a space for appointments or whatever else you wish. There is plenty of free space for each day.

At the beginning of each week, you review each of the four sections of your life along with a reflective note or two.

And half-way through the year, there is a six-month review of each section too.

At the end of the year, you do another visual assessment of each part of your life and record how satisfied you are with each of them again.

And each area is again reviewed in more depth as twelve months have now passed.

There is ample notepaper at the back which is plain so can be used for drawings, diagrams or just text.

The paper is of a high quality and takes fountain pen extremely well. I used a Lamy Safari fountain pen with an EF nib in it and it took it well. The cover is thick and seems durable enough to last a whole year of being bashed around (which it most certainly will be if used consistently!). My only critique of it is that there is only one page marker where there should be, perhaps, another one at the very least.

Overall, this is a very impressive planner and definitely not for the faint-hearted.

Disclaimer: though this product was provided free of charge, it has been reviewed as honestly as possible and as if I had paid for it.

mission accomplished: journal once a week for a year

When I first started journaling, I did it sporadically, too sporadically for it to make a difference. Therefore, I made it a goal to journal once a month back when I wrote my '101 in 1001' list in 2014. When I wrote my '100 things in 2016' list, this was upgraded to journal once a week. This was also a feature in my 2017 list. I now journal almost once daily!

And it seems to have made a difference. Journals have been filled with thoughts from every crevice of my mind and I have noticed a change in how I approach different situations in my life. My stress levels are lower, my mind is more rational and I just feel happier in general. Reflecting on what I perceive to be the negative points of my personality and life have allowed me to tackle them head on - and those sort of changes take time.

If you struggle to journal (which I also do on occasion), just write whatever comes to mind - no matter how silly. Alternatively, google a list of journal prompts and have them to hand during your journaling sessions.

introducing the sorrento large leather journal in pink and why I now journal daily

It's been a bit of a stressful time lately in most parts of my life. As a result, I've taken to journaling almost every day (sometimes more than once a day!) in an attempt to offload everything on my mind, no matter how ridiculous they may seem to me in months or years to come. Since doing this, I've noticed that my sleep has been better, I'm feeling a lot less stressed and that my journals are filling up at quite the rate. To try and fight stress, I also meditate and practice mindfulness once a day before bed.

To make journaling more enjoyable, I am always on the look out for pretty journals and today's offering is a beautiful one. It is the Sorrento leather journal from Pen Heaven and it has been personalised with my initials. I chose the pink colour (though it comes in many others too) and the minimalistic design looks great next to any number of my fountain pens on my bedside table.

The lovely leather cover feels luxurious every time I pick it up and I would envisage a journal like this being the perfect gift for anyone with a vague interest in stationery. And you can have the recipient's initials engraved on it too!

Possessing 128 pages, it has room for all your thoughts and secrets. The acid free paper comes in either lined or plain so you can either choose to stay within the lines in an orderly fashion or completely freestyle it for those days where you just need to rant and rant. Fountain pen performs brilliantly on this paper with little to no showthrough and only a little bit of bleeding if you use a thicker nib.

Currently, it takes pride of place on my bedside table alongside the Otto Hutt fountain pen seen above though I have a few pens which take it in turns to be my journaling tool of choice. 

To see my initial thoughts on the fountain pen shown (the Otto Hutt Design 06 Fountain Pen in pink), please click here :) A more thorough review will follow after I've used it for a while!

**NOTE: I was sent this journal with compliments from Pen Heaven. All opinions are my own and the review has been written as if the product had been purchased by myself personally.

fleur de lys extra large recycled leather wrap journal from central crafts

Journaling is something I do most nights (around 5 out of 7 nights a week) and it has been the one thing which helps me unload things that would usually keep me up at night. I'm someone who dives into things head and heart first - partly why I've always wanted to be a doctor - but it also means my mental health needs a bit more looking after.

Every night, I sit in bed with a journal and fountain pen and unload everything from the day that is still on my mind. I then reflect on how these things make me feel and what I can learn from them in the future.

You may have read recently in the news that a junior doctor was removed from the GMC register for reflecting about an adverse event on her online portfolio. Reflection is a big part of this job and I am now apprehensive at sharing my reflections online. Yet another reason for writing things down and storing these filled journals somewhere safe.

Anyway! I've digressed a bit. Today, I want to introduce Central Crafts to you all. They are a family run business with an ethos of sourcing high quality and ethically produced items. As an avid recycler, this is something I really respect. Too often, the throwaway culture currently present means that very little thought is put into how much waste we create.

Today, I have here the Fleur de Lys Recycled Leather Wrap Journal in extra large. A more thorough and handwritten review of the journal is in one of the photos below. Enjoy!