Have you struggled to be consistent with your journaling?  Perhaps you have tried a daily journal of memories or observations but found it hard to keep up with? It can be difficult to remember to write something every day.

Hello, it’s Alex (@TheJournalCorner) from the Archer and Olive ambassador team.  Today we are going to look at types of memory journals and how you can make it easier for yourself to keep consistent date with them.

I have tried various different daily, weekly even monthly journaling methods over the past few years in order to keep track of family life and other memories.

This blog post will take you through examples of memory journals and give practical advice on how to remember to complete them whatever the timeframe you choose.

Remember you can also find a video of my steps at the end of this page if you prefer to watch.  I have also created a printable to help which you can find linked at the bottom of this page.

Supplies needed

Depending on the type of daily journaling you wish to try, there are a range of supplies that may help.  Each section of this blog will take you through the pros and cons of different types of memory journaling along with the relevant stationery recommendations.  These will include (but not essential):

• A journal of your preferred size - see what Archer & Olive journals are currently available here.  
• A planner - dated or undated can work well adapted as a daily journal
• A Bullet Journal you may already be using - we will look at types of page to include.

In addition to a journal or planner, some of the ideas I am sharing today will also need pens such as the calliographs and a writing pen. You may also want to add some simple decoration too and Archer and Olive have some lovely washi and stickers.

If you are looking to purchase anything from Archer & Olive, please use ‘Alex10’ to save 10%. This is an affiliate code, so it allows you to support creators like me too.

What is a Memory Journal

A memory journal is a personal diary or journal where you can note down your memories, experiences, thoughts, observations and reflections.  It’s the perfect way to preserve and reflect on moments that may otherwise be forgotten.  It can be a way to express any emotions, recall the ‘firsts’ of family life and create a record to look back through for years to come.

Examples you may have already kept include:

1. Travel Journal
2. Daily Diary
3. Gratitude Journal
4. Family Memories
5. Children’s milestones
6. Health and fitness journal
7. Memories of school days

Daily Memories in a Planner

When you think of a memory journal, you may automatically think of a daily diary.  While not always the case, writing something each day is a great way to make journaling a habit.  

I am going to share some examples of how I have used a planner to keep regular diary entries. 

When I started using an Archer & Olive dated planner as a memory journal the main advantage was that it promoted me to include something each day.  As it already had the dates, I felt this meant I was more likely to add something in order to avoid any ‘gaps’ on the page.

Personally, I also enjoyed adding decoration to the page as an opportunity to use my washi tape and stickers.  Of course this is not essential. 

Memories in a dot grid journal

I have also used a dot-grid journal for memory journaling.  This has varied from daily entries, to weekly and even monthly summaries.  I did find it harder to stay consistent without the dates of a planner but we will look at how to make completing your pages a habit.

The advantages of a dot grid journal is that you are not constrained by space as in a planner.  If you feel like writing pages and pages one day, you can.  It’s flexible enough to use for a few lines a day, page a day or month by month summaries.

Consider the size of journal carefully.  A larger one may feel overwhelming if you want to keep it up as a daily habit.  Perhaps look at TN or B6 size journals which better lend themselves to daily entries.

If you feel like your days are pretty regular, with not much to write about, you could just create a page for special events.  A larger dot grid journal would allow space to include photos too.

If daily journaling is not for you, why not try a weekly or monthly summary?  Here I just included brief notes of what we got up to or any significant events.  This is often enough to prompt me to remember the highlights or certain places we enjoyed visiting.

You can see how I created this monthly summary page in the video at the end of this blog.

Alternative Memory Keeping

Alway from the idea of a daily diary, I have found other methods to record moment that may otherwise be forgotten or that I may wish to refer back to in the future.  

These include a dedicated journal of my children’s time in school.  I add photos and notes about their events, sports and achievements through the school year.  Printing photos to include will be lovely for them to look back on too.

I have also used a monthly planner page to include an image a day to represent the events.  This could be a doodle or printed photo, even a ‘word of the day’ to prompt your memory.

A weather record may be of use too in order to compare to previous years.  The monthly page in a planner work well for this too.

Keeping Consistent

Of course, a key element of memory keeping is making it a regular habit.  I have kept a daily diary for the past 4 years now - here are my top tips to make it a habit:

1. Be realistic - what frequency works for you?  If not daily, maybe weekly but consider whether you will remember things at the end of a week.
2. Set a reminder - you may prefer pen and paper but your phone or smart devices in your home can be used to set reminders for you to complete your memory journal.
3. Habit Stacking - think about a routine you already complete daily and ‘stack’ you memory journal onto this.  For example, keep your journal & pen with the book you pick up every night.  Leave your journal open and ready on the sofa as you relax in the evening.
4. Keeping Notes - one of the main things that may stop your regular entries is not remembering what you did that day or week.  It’s ok to keep notes on your phone, sticky notes or use photos to help backfill a journal entry.

Printable and Video

I hope you have found this article useful in helping you with ideas to start a memory journal.

Please take a look at the printable below as a reminder to help you keep consistent. 

Summary

I hope you have found these ideas useful. For more journal inspiration come and say hello @thejournalcorner. We always love to see your creations, so please tag @archerandolive or use #aoshare on Instagram.

The Archer & Olive blog has a lot of articles to help inspire your memory journaling, including creating a 5 year memory journal or a scrapbook memory journal.  For ideas of memory keeping in your Bullet Journal take a look at this layout and these ‘catch-all’ ideas.