Journaling Question: New Day = New Page?

[K. Cakes]

Like this.

 

I love the look of the blue headings, I might steal this! Question: Do you use the same ink combination throughout the entire journal, or switch it up? I love the look of uniform colors in a finished journal, but I always find myself wanting variety when I'm doing the actual writing.

[pmhudepo]

I switch inks every now and then.

 

What you see in the picture is a B nib with Waterman Florida Blue for headings and an F nib with Akkerman Bekakt Haags for the entries.

 

I must admit that I've neglected my journal during the past month, for various reasons, but the lastest entries were made using an OBB nib with De Atramentis Johann Sebastian Bach (ebony) for headings and Iroshizuku Asa-gao (blue) in a F nib.

 

I keep using the same combination for a few months. But I haven't been journaling for that many years, so you might also conclude that I'm finding my way. Earlier entries would simply list things I had done during the day; most recent entries turned out much more philosophical. Interesting development, to say the least.

[pmhudepo]

Oh, and for many more journaling ideas, check out

 

Show Us A Photo Of A Journal Entry

[HildyZ]

I always finish the page! It would bug me to no end if I left any space available, and I've become quite skilled at stretching out (or thinning down) my last few thoughts so it just fits.

 

I do this, too. I don't like blank space, although someone in Paper and Paraphernalia once provided this information on "page harmony", which inspired me to love margins.

 

http://retinart.net/graphic-design/secret-law-of-page-harmony/

 

I can't find the original post, which is a shame. Now I use my spacious margins to mark the date, and if I need to add another thought later.

[Jadie]

Paper is precious....

 

...so I just connect my new day's entry to the previous day's, separated by a line space or two to distinguish them.

 

But I do change ink colors for every page---alternating between each of my fountain pens---so that if you speed-flip through my journals, they're a mix of rainbow shades and nib widths. It's a lot more fun that way! (And I won't even mention the diary stickers I put in on random pages...)

[palendra]

I skip a line, write the date on the edge and keep going. I'll usually switch colors too.

[HDRoot]

Skip line, date right-justified, new entry begins next line. I prefer not to waste (expensive) paper and I like having as much of my (boring) life in a single journal as I can. I don't want to leave too many volumes for my survivors to haul to the dump. I write with the pen and ink for which I'm in the mood.

[Bookman]

When I really want to be decadent I skip two lines.

[DJW1066]

It depends.

 

Sometimes I'll leave a bunch of blank lines if I have a premonition that there's more to add but I just don't know what it is right now (often). And it's so messy to insert little superscript references to a page farther along where the narrative continues (also often).

 

If closure is certain, then only 1 blank line gets left. But I'll also leave blank lines at natural breaks in the narrative, not just for new dates. That's one reason why I like the front index pages on the Leuchtturm journals, which makes it so easy to locate dates and other milestones in the journal.

[PAKMAN]

I don't go to a new page for a new day, in fact I don't even skip a line (wish I would sometimes when I think of something else that needs to go with that day.) I try to write every day about the day and what I did. If I miss a few days then I go back and try to fill in at least a little about what happened that day as I remember it. I want the journal to last all year and they typically have 200 pages front and back, so not enough to last all year if I used a page a day. I typically write 1/4 to one page per day. My life isn't all that exciting and this journal is just a "what I did that day" journal.

[Gloucesterman]

When I really want to be decadent I skip two lines.

 

OMG, how profligate and decadent an attitude.

 

Do you ever think of all the little saplings that never reach antiquity because of your wanton disregard for "proper" spacing?

 

Thanks for letting me use some rare words like profligate, decadent and wanton. In fact, I honestly think I have never used the word profligate in the past. Although I know what the word means, I never used it.

 

Saw a great bumper sticker once - Eschew obfuscation. The sticker was on a give-away table at a business trade show many years ago. The organization that was giving it away was a 100% classical music station. They also had a sticker that read, Bach is Beautiful.

Edited July 10, 2013 by brgmarketing

[tigger23505]

I have three and the answer depends on which one I'm working in.

 

My work daybook journal is run on a date a line and write basis - though there are a number of sketch type drawings that tend to get a full page.

 

My random thoughts journal / diary? is prettt much a new page every time I start.

 

My commonplace book uses the Locke index so an entry will be referenced to the last page for that class of item. Getting a fresh page for any completely new item. I'm so far behind on it right now that it will never be finished. I've got pages of quotes and random extracts that are still in my original electronic commonplace book.

[fncll]

New day, new page.

 

This is for psychological reasons. For some reason I feel like I'm dragging dregs of yesterday into the next day unless I start on a fresh page.

 

Exactly. In addition I am emotionally-allergic to writing on the back-side of pages.

 

If I were worried about using up even half the journals and notebooks I've collected, I'd be skipping 20 pages per entry!

Edited July 15, 2013 by fncll

[Senecabud]

For all my fellow journal-keepers, where do you start a new day? I used to start a new page for each day. For the last several months, however, I've just been putting a blank line at the end of the previous day and starting a new entry on the same page (assuming I have at least three lines available).

 

What do y'all do?

Exactly as you do. I also change colors and/or nib sizes/widths each day.

Edited August 29, 2013 by Senecabud

[Senecabud]

I just leave a line on the same page but I have been known to actually NOT do that. How remiss of me. Oddly enough, the book I most often keep to the 'gap' procedure is in the pocket Moleskine I use for venting my spleen in. A literary expression - the paper isn't that good with fluids as we all know.

LOL!

[kcnightfang]

I don't keep a separate journal, I use one or two notebooks for all my writing, thoughts, and journaling. I'm still working on my note-taking philosophy, so this is just my current system:

 

I draw a horizontal line across the page, number the new entry, add a date and time in the YYYY-MM-DD HHMM format, and go. I use a new line, number, and time for each new entry, with a new date the next day. Then, if an entry fits into a larger thought pattern, I assign it a symbol on the outer margin, just below the entry number, and then index it.

 

Eventually I photograph it, and add the photo and copy to my digital notebook. I need to get better about this part.

[Horseknitter]

I always finish the page! It would bug me to no end if I left any space available, and I've become quite skilled at stretching out (or thinning down) my last few thoughts so it just fits.

 

You've described my practice very well. Strange how I arrive at the end of my thoughts 'just in the nick of time".

 

I begin each page with the day and full date in the upper left margin. I use a pen and ink color until I run out. And to begin a new pen and/or ink I note that in the upper right margin, opposite the date.

[MyriamV]

Skip a line, write the date and time, skipp a line and start writing. If I write again on the same day, I write the time and then whatever I want to say. I switch color everyday. That way I can have more than one pen inked and they all get used within a reasonable amount of time, i.e. no ink drying up in the pen before I use it again.

[N2theBreach]

I'm very unregimented. My style of Journaling has few rules. Some days I'll start a new page. Others, I'll continue on the same page. (I really like to live on the edge! How scintillating. )

 

For me, a journal is about the here and now, not a record for the future. If I'm trying to find a solution to an issue, I'll do "free writing" to release thoughts and ideas that are hiding in the hidden recesses of my mind. If I'm upset about something, I'll dump my feelings on the page to get them off my chest. A pile of feelings on my chest can get heavy, better to get rid of them and let the pages take the weight.

 

One of the "few rules" I try to abide by is to include some things that help me. Sometimes, I'll write three positive things that happened that day. If they are hard to come up with, I'll choose some things that happened and reframe them in a positive way, maybe as opportunities. Other times I'll write three things for which I'm grateful. I also try to write something that I learned about myself that day, and maybe strategies about how to capitalize on it.

 

I think the beauty of Journaling is its flexibility. There are no wrong ways to do it. At one time, I could have seen myself sitting down in the evening, by lamplight, to capture the discoveries I made so future generations could benefit from my learnéd wisdom. However, I encountered a shortage of world-changing discoveries, so I chose to keep a journal that helps me, today.

[Lone Coyote]

Why dont you divide the page with imaginary lines?

 

Divide it in three imaginary parts, that way, if you extend with certain entry, you can skip toward the next "block", if not, you can always use the space you left on the past page.

 

Cheers,

 

Lone Coyote