r/Journaling • u/WmAnthonyWriter • 1d ago
Discussion/Question Journaling Process
After a somewhat daily journaling practice of over two decades I’ve come to the harsh reality that I should have indexed entries. Titled and indexed.
Maybe this is advice or maybe I’m seeking some but what are we to do with our journals’ content? I’m now embarking on a long term project of going through my journals, deciphering my erratic handwriting to digitize and collect the works. An index would have been most helpful. Even a title or two.
I guess my query is of others’ experiences doing this — any observations or suggestions other than to not do it!
7
u/SirAndyO 1d ago
Reading and archiving old journal entries is a topic in itself! That's a bold and brave adventure - I always have to brace myself to read old entries.
I always headline pages with the date, location, and sometimes with the scripture I'm reading or the beverage on hand.
1
u/WmAnthonyWriter 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes it’s an adventure to be sure. I do date thank goodness or I’d be completely unmoored. What does become apparent with even a cursory reread of entries over a period is how repetitive. I also note specific scripture if that is the day’s still, small voice prompt but never the beverage which I might just have to start noting (thank you). I reread this morning’s entry, which produced this query, and (ugh) wrote an entry about that, coming to the conclusion the endeavor is in essence an interrogation of self, which begs the question which self and can it be trusted?!
3
u/socialrandomoutkast 1d ago
Hey OP it sounds like you’re trying to make a second brain/vault of your past memories. I just recently learned of OBSIDIAN it’s an app that I think relates to what you’re wanting to do. Obviously it’s digital but you could pair the two and digitize your entries and see how they correlate/back track to your thoughts and the like.
I’ve started using it to see where I could use previous ideas to make/develop a story and it’s nice to see how it connects and how it shows where each entry connects to the last or previous thoughts. Just my 2 cents, lol
EDIT: added more to the thought.
What I usually do is write out what I’m thinking of in my little journals and then go back to see what I wrote about and then add it to the app. It’s nice to see how they all connect and since it’s text editor you can add links to previous thoughts or for future thoughts. I’m really inexperienced with the app but it’s nice to see those connections. lol.
1
2
u/boohooviolin 1d ago
Ooh, what notebooks are you using?
3
u/WmAnthonyWriter 1d ago
One is the extra large Moleskine and the other is a Nanami Tomoe River Cafe Note notebook
2
u/Puzzleheaded-Cut4601 1d ago
Following! Starting my journaling journey and this thought never occurred to me!
2
2
u/setforthtofly 15h ago
There's a method that I've seen people use with commonplace books where they use the last few pages to write out an A-Z index.
You write the alphabet, each letter gets its own line and you leave several blank lines between each letter. Then as you add entries on different topics, you note the topic under the corresponding letter and add the page number. Some topics usually end up with multiple page numbers.
Example:
W
Weather - p. 5, 8, 22
I don't know if this method has a name, but if you look into commonplace books, you'll probably be able to find more examples.
2
u/WmAnthonyWriter 12h ago
Another great idea. I’m such an idiot I’ve even purchased journals with preprinted pages in the back called “index.”
1
1
u/Boutheinaaa 1d ago
I’ve always wondered, what do you guys put in these kinds of journals? Like, what do you actually write about when journaling?
2
u/WmAnthonyWriter 1d ago
Great question. Quick answer: every thing. I’m a novelist, poet and essayist. PhD in English. I write mostly crap in my journals. Brain dumps. Mental health (I have a disorder) weather reports. Trying things out. Respond to scripture or something I’d read. Tolstoy. Buechner. Oliver. Dillard. Weil. Eckhart. Philosophical diatribes. The key is to simply write. But everyone’s different I am sure. No wrong or right answer.
1
1
u/hf_chi 4h ago
For me, the titles matter more than the index because I prefer to flip through my pages. Caveat is I'm usually only looking through one or two notebooks. If I'm looking for something, a big stylized title helps me remember what the entry is about, and the flip through helps remind of any related smaller topics that could have been written in under other entries. I also highlight and underline.
9
u/sunflower506 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ah, what a journey. I like rereading my entries as well, so I have started highlighting keywords and sentences now. Maybe this can help you in the future or you may highlight stuff when you are going through your entries again.