When I was little there was this period when I used to write in my diary every single day. Just a couple of sentences usually, sometimes only one. “Today we did arts and crafts and we made seals out of paper” comes to mind as an example. Just one little line, but apparently it was the highlight of my day. I filled up an entire notebook, which I’d gotten as a gift from my aunt, with entries like that.
I never was that consistent again when it came to writing in my diary. I used to get all motivated and buy myself a pretty new notebook, usually after watching Bridget Jones’ Diary. But after a few days I got tired of writing daily, so it became once a week, then once a month, once every couple of months… And then when that familiar surge of motivation reared its head again, I wanted to buy a new notebook to start over. You know, fresh start and all that. As a result, I have tons of only halfway filled notebooks at my parents’ house.
It always made me feel a little guilty, whenever I abandoned another diary, because it is so much fun to read through old diaries, see what I was up to back then, remember how I felt.
Then, back when I wasn’t doing all too well in 2013, I started to write more frequently and realised it was quite comforting to write about everything that bothered me. So I made a plan. In 2014, I was going to write in my diary every single day. This time, I was actually going to do it because this time, it was different (which was what I told myself everytime, but let’s forget about that for a second).
And guess what? I did it!
I bought a new notebook (the one with the flowers), and started writing on January 1, 2014. I also printed a “Don’t Break The Chain” calendar, which I’m pretty sure was a crucial part of me actually writing every day. This calendar is a really useful tool, but so simple: you just cross off every day you have done the task you wanted to do, and after a while you’ve created a chain of crossed off days. I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of person who does not want to break the chain under any circumstances. I go all twitchy at those kinds of things.
My only goal with this was to write every day — I didn’t set myself a certain amount of words, or lines or anything. So there are diary entries which just say “Today was so much fun but I’m so tired right now, I can’t even write about it. Going to bed.” There are also entries that go on for quite a few pages. There were times I wrote about really personal stuff, things that were bothering me, but other times I just wrote down what I did that day. There are also entries that simply consist of a nice quote I came across on Tumblr or in a book, which I wanted to remember, or which reflected how I felt.
On Wednesday the 24th of September, I filled the very last page of the flowery notebook with my writing. That hadn’t happened in at least 10 years! I was really proud of myself for that. Today I noticed that diary is already going a little yellow around the edges, which made me smile.
This was a nice little experiment. I found out I can actually pull through and write every single day. And I’m not planning on stopping now. It’s become part of my routine, and I think writing down a little bit about your day every day is a nice habit to have.
What about you? Did you write in a diary as a child? Do you write in a diary now? I’d love to know!
Books Baking and Blogging 
I didn’t write in a diary but I wrote loads of stories. Recently rediscovered one in which a greedy lady ate a rainbow and turned the world black and white. So interesting to see what our younger minds invented and enjoyed! I’m impressed with your diary commitment. I try to write a gratitude list daily but inevitably I forget for weeks at a time. Am grateful for your post today though – it has inspired me to do today’s list. 🙂 Thanks!
That story sounds great!
Ha. It was quite fun to reread! I think I was about 7
Nice! I don’t have anything from that age, unfortunately. I wish I’d kept stuff.
Ohh, it’s so much fun to reread the stories you wrote as a child! I’ve got loads of those too. That story sounds amazing, to be honest. Could be turned into a great children’s novel! 🙂 I’m glad this was useful to you, thank you for commenting!
I’ve never been able to keep a diary, mainly because I never felt like I had enough interesting things to say, and I always felt… fake, I guess. This year I bought myself a five year diary-type book which has space for a few lines every day for five years. In some ways it’s a bigger committment because it goes on for so long, but it’s actually easy to write down one sentence every day. I’m trying to oick out one good thing that happened each day so I have something positive to look back on when I’m feeling down.
Congrats on filling a whole notebook!
Writing in a diary does take some getting used to, I had that same feeling at the beginning. But after a while it just becomes second nature, and you stop worrying about whether or not it’s interesting – it’s not as if anyone’s ever going to read it. 🙂 I love those types of diaries! Hope you have fun with it!
Thank you very much. 🙂
Congrats on writing a diary entry every day last year! I’m the same way with diary’s. I have tons of half filled ones lingering around and i can def relate to Bridget Jones making you want to buy a shiny new one. That’s why i currently have one sitting in my nightstand with only two pages filled. 😛 this is a good idea though! I might have to give it a shot this year.
Thank you! Hahaha, I’m glad Bridget Jones has that effect on more people and it’s not just me. I hope you have fun with it if you decide to give it a shot! 🙂
Me too, half filled ones sittings in a suitcase. I cringe when i reread some of the entries…although found heaps of quotes that i use fir silver threadings blog event…congrats on the full one.
I cringe at some of my old entries sometimes as well, but I don’t really mind – it’s still fun to read, I think! Thank you, Louise. 🙂
i have checked out some of your othere recipes. hope you do not mind but I have downloaded them and put them in my recipe book…. yet to try that whole wheat cranberry cheesecake.
oh this is sooo awesome. GOOD ON YOU! I wrote a journal/diary when I was 14. It was very angsty and sad. Hehe. I stumbled over it a few years ago and tore the whole thing up….which I probably shouldn’t have. Just to be able to look back one day, eh? BUT NO I AM SILLY. *sigh* I struggle to ever write anything down because…eggh. I don’t like handwriting. But I do wish I did because it’s an awesome feeling to complete a whole journal!
Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!
Thanks Cait! 😀 Oh nooo, you tore it up? You silly silly person! You could always keep a diary on the computer, of course. Although that does feel different… Yessss, it certainly is an awesome feeling! I was so happy and proud, haha! 🙂