10 Ways to Start a Journal or Blog

I have roughly thirty-two journals on my shelf. I say roughly because some end abruptly with a break-up, death, move, or distraction. A few were for individual trips or specific projects. And some are missing like one that didn’t survive a cabin fire. The total of thirty-two denotes journals I’ve kept since high school (a mere stretch of some thirteen years). I value them above all first editions or autographed books I own.

At this point I will admit I have a slight addiction to blank books. That is why, with the expertise of experience, I’ve compiled a list of ten ways to begin a blank book or blog. I’ve included here the easiest, the most thought provoking, and the ones that age well. Imagining looking back after a year and seeing a page that encapsulates yourself, your humor, your work, your family and friends, and the current events of that year. Everyone should have such a solid reference point, so let’s begin:

#1 – Titles. Write a list, chart, or brainstorm cloud of all the titles attached to you. Let them be formal and informal, given and self-proclaimed. Examples from my life include: writer, cat-roommate, newlywed, Tarot-reader, and horror film fan.

#2 – Self Portrait Stick Figure. Silly sounding, I know, but it’s the notes you add, not your artistic prowess, that count in this start. What thoughts are in your head? Are there scars, laugh lines, or freckles on your face? In what position are your arms in (akimbo, shrugging, or ready to bat?) and why? Note areas of pride and of problems.

#3 – Pie Chart. Thank you to my friend, Kat, for the perspective including percentages. I love this start because it puts the whole circle of your life and priorities on the page. The best measure is time spent during the day. What takes up most of your time? Also, look at what you decide to include in the chart even if it’s the slightest sliver. Why did you choose those specific pieces?

#4 – Personal Day Schedule. This is my personal (no pun intended) favorite. What would I do, hour-by-hour, if the day was mine alone? Get past all the things that you really should do, those pesky errands or pieces of business, and really think. Given an entire day all to your self, what would the ideal schedule state?

#5 – Life Recipe. A large portion of my pie chart would be labeled “thinking about food” but this has a more philosophical bent. What ingredients (e.g. time, freedom, transportation, or experience) do you need and in what amounts? I need about two pounds of time and a dash of procrastination each day to make anything good. How do they all mix together? Are there do and don’ts?

#6 – Questions I Ask Myself. This is by far the most difficult, revealing, and overall cathartic start to a journal. Just let the questions fly; you don’t have to answer them. Let them be tough, silly, obscure, accusative, and, most of all, personal.

#7 – Past/Present/Future Chart. Here’s another visual that is a great start. Write a list of your life in the left margin, such as: career, location, family, goals, and interests. Let it be anything that’s on your mind. I’ve included petty details like bank totals and weight but also more abstract items such as faith and daydreams. Fill in what you remember, what you think now, and what you project for the future.

#8 – Word Collage. Write it, cut and paste it, or spray-paint it and take a picture, just include words that mean something to you. This doesn’t need any footnotes or explanations. Whatever word defines, touches, reminds, or inspires you should be included. This also makes the most unique cover art.

#9 – Items on the Refrigerator. I tend to stick a lot of scraps on our refrigerator. Doodles, cards, cartoons, quotes, pictures, and postcards end up overwhelming this major appliance and need a yearly razing. The point is, whether you hoard lucky pennies or pocket lint and wherever you stash them, there is a reason we keep certain items. List them and think about why.

#10 – The Accounting. A classic start and the one I most often use. It’s a quick and dirty recording of who and what I am at that moment: hair color/style, weight, job, relationship status, location, general mental state, current list of worries, and possible goals. I always phrase it as if introducing myself to, um, myself. I like to give an honest (and I will confess, sometimes harsh) rundown because, trust me, in the future these entries are the best to reread.

That brings me to my final point. Rereading journals is a nostalgic but also cathartic act. In the end, it doesn’t matter what you wrote or what form it took, its just that you have your own words to look back on. Mundane, heartbreaking, happy, or bored, journals record our daily lives, and, as I quoted Anton Chekov in a 1996 journal: “any idiot can face a crisis – it’s this day-to-day living that wears you out.”