Photo Journaling documenting your memories

As a scrapbooking my journaling tends to include a lot of photos. I started to keep a journal specific to the Covid 19 Pandemic. I thought it would be a great way to document what was happening, after all this is an historic, unprecedented event. I had several of these blank travelers notebooks which are about 4.25”x8.25” on each page and decided it was the right size for my creation. Tiny photos? Yup I print the images I want as a 4×6” collage photo and cut them out. It’s very economical.

Below are images from my actual journal. I have just completed all of 2020 and ended up filling up 4 of these travelers’ notebooks. If you google travelers notebooks on Pinterest there are tons if idea. What did I include in mine?

Things like doing things like walking on the empty beaches of Cape Cod visiting my family. We had been quarantining on both sides.

What books I read. I have several pages like this and include things like shows everyone was talking about and watching. I admit I did a lot of reading. Some of it was on audio as I walked. I was working from home full time and started using my normal commuting time to walk.

Another favorite journal find for me was full sheet sticker paper. I used it to print the book covers and also to print funny memes. I would print one full sheet which I made up in a word document and a few weeks of photos and do a couple weeks at a time from my calendar list of what happened when.

I journaled the challenge of trying to home school kids while working from home. This was the ultimate challenge for working mom’s in 2020. My daughter was in high school so she handles most of that herself but had some challenging health issues which entailed 4 surgeries in 2020 so it wasn’t without its challenges. I admit Bake Shop was my favorite class and the lab on cinnamon buns tasted great.

Trying to do fun things with friends during a pandemic – what was safe – what wasn’t safe – wearing masks. Cancelling a scrapbooking weekend which is something we had never done before. I missed going out to eat, just running to the store to go shopping because I needed something and people in general.

Washi tape, small sticker letters and die cuts if you are a paper crafter of any kid you probably have plenty. If you don’t have any these are easily found in most craft stores, or even the craft supply section of Walmart or target.

Another thing I did was print out funny meme’s on sticker paper and add to the journal. I have several pages like these with full themes and others randomly placed. I am a Star Trek fan and there were plenty of those to choose from. Sadly not so much with Stargate SG-1.

Really the sky is the limit. I have other pages that are more hand written notes and journaling. Starting with the day they closed schools and the last day I was in the office for over a year. I have sticker sheets with peel and stick words (used above).

I’d love to hear what you did to journal through the pandemic. Now that I have done this, I plan to continue with fun things I do with my friends and family going forward.

Creating a journaling routine can seem challenging at first if you have never done it before. Essentially you have to carve out a few min every day to sit and journal. There are a few guidelines though that can make it easier to create a habit.

1) Pick a time that tends to be your quiet time of the day. If mornings are busy getting off to work and getting kids off to school, trying to add journaling in then will never work. Maybe you carve out a few quiet moments at lunch or before dinner. For me my quiet time is in the evening before bed. I like to read and have some quiet moments. This is the best time for me to do my gratitude journaling.

2) Find a journal book style and pen you really like. There are lots of sizes to choose from. If you want to be able to take it on the go, get something small enough to fit in your purse. A bigger size will work if you plan to leave it at home. Think about how you like to write – do you like lines, unlined, artwork? It may take a few attempts to really figure out what you prefer.

3) Make it a habit. It takes 21 days to create a habit. So make a commitment to yourself to spend 10-15 minutes a day on your journaling no matter what for the next month.

4) Be Flexible. If you try evening and you fall asleep instead of journaling, try a different time. Wish your journal had lines? Or artwork? You can draw in lines or add stickers to decorate it.

5) Expect the Unexpected. It may take a few attempts to really feel like you can make journaling stick.

6) If you already journal and just want to add gratitude journaling you can create a separate journal or just incorporate daily gratitude into your existing progress.

It’s ok to make mistakes, to try and try again to find what works. There is no right or wrong way to journal. The ultimate key is finding what works for you. If you stop for a while (sometimes life happens) it’s OK to pick up where you left off.

These are just some of the things you can track in a bullet journal to save you time and money.  You can track things like spending, calories, food choices, goal tracking and household tasks.  After a few weeks of tracking you’ll be surprised at how much that coffee and bagel add up every week.  Maybe you save that money to attain another goal on your list like a vacation you want to take.

1. Meals out
2. Daily Coffee/breakfast $
3. Drinking water
4. healthy Meals
5. Fruit and Vegetable servings
6. Clothing purchased $
7. Exercise
8. Paying bills on time – or bill amounts
9. Gas $
10. Membership fees (track things like gym memberships or subscriptions like Netflix)
11. Social Media time
12. Getting up on time
13. Hours slept at night
14. Daily Steps walked
15. Food tracker
16. Money Saved
17. TV shows/Movies
18. Family Time
19. Hobby projects
20. Personal Goals
21. Wellness Appointments
22. Kids Activities
23. Cleaning Tasks
24. Coupons Used
25. Donations time or $

Start by making a list of what things are important to you, what are you personal goals? Find things to track that will help you to attain your goals.

If you want to save up for a bigger purchase – then track discretionary purchases like morning coffee, meals out and clothing purchased.  Once you see where your extra money is going you can start making changes.  You can track Money saved by omitting those purchases or getting the most for your money by utilizing coupons.

Running short on time? Track what you are doing to see what you may want to change like watching TV or time on social media.

Want to get fit or healthier? Track things like water intake, steps walked or hours slept.

Another great thing to track is hobby projects.  Especially when you have several projects in progress.