Freshen up Your Journal.

I've kept a regular journal, with some dry-ink spells, for eighteen years. My style has shifted in that time. Here are some tips from my experience:

• Choose a beautiful blank book, but more importantly, choose one that matches your style and tools. If you don't have a lot of space when you write, a spiral journal is a good, compact choice. If you prefer to use gel pens, fountain pens, or even markers, choose a journal or sketch book with sturdy pages. I try to have thick pages in all my journals so that my tools can shift with my mood and location. A fountain pen is lovely at home, but a ballpoint may be best for a park bench. For more about shopping for a journal, click here.
• Keep a to-do wish list in your journal. Make a list in your journal of what you would love to accomplish in a day, week, or month. I use weekly lists. Because I do this, I don't have to keep a separate planner (apart from Google Calendar). I make it colorful and detailed. I keep the list marked with a sticky flag, so I can easily flip back and check my progress. The best part of my to-do wish list is that it is just that: I don't expect to accomplish everything in that week, but I have clear directions for myself and where I'm going. I try to check off half the items.
• Use sticky flags. Pick flags you like! These character flags are my favorite. The flags can mark lists, prompts, and ideas.
• Use sticky notes. This is another reason I can get by without a paper planner. I have large blue, lined Post-Its, and I put them on the endpapers and inside the covers of my journal. These are where I collect story ideas, writers' names, book titles, movie titles, questions, and other lists. When I start a new journal, I either put the notes in my new journal, or I copy the lists into a blue glitter spiral notebook I use for that purpose.
• Keep a wish list on the last page. I add and cross off as I go, and I copy whatever is still relevant into the next journal. I especially try to keep up with names of, for example, Urban Decay eyeshadows I want. When I have a little money, or someone needs a gift idea, my list is ready.
• Play with stickers. I add stickers to every other spread, just to add some whimsy. Sometimes, the coming surprise makes me write more.
• Color coordinate. I've never wanted to use the same ink colors for adjacent journal entries (except in my first journal, which I think I filled with thick black ink). If the colors change day by day, I have a much easier time finding something I've written down (I may remember that it was a pink day). I used to use any colors that didn't clash with the cover. But now, I use only colors that cover art uses. I tried three colors, but two is much easier to manage. When I began my current journal, which shows Cinderella's pink dress, I checked all my pen cups and bags for pink and gold pens. The pens went into my glittery silver ipsy bag. When I start another journal, I'll switch out the colors. I also color coordinate the stickers I use. I love consistent color in various shades and finished. When I respond to a prompt or make a list, I use a different color pen, and I mark the entries with a horizontal (not finished) or a vertical (finished) sticky flag.

My journal is a big part of my life. I don't know enough about bullet journaling, and I don't have time or focus for art journals, but my journal still reflects who I am and who I want to be.