New Journal

I started a new journal today.

Kickstarting a new journal takes me a bit of time, in this journal's case about 8 hours. The beginning of my journals include my life goals, my intermediate (1-5 years) goals, and notes about things I want to do daily and weekly. I also include a list of carry-over tasks from the previous journal, items as of yet undone.

With each journal, I question what I had in the previous journal. I also question if I still care about the item I'm about to add to the new journal. Maybe that goal isn't important any more. Maybe that goal has morphed into something similar, but not quite. Maybe I recognize I am not going to achieve that goal: the time has passed, the desire isn't there, the willingness to work towards the goal is gone, the physical resources to achieve the goal are no longer available. Life happens. Things change.

I was about 3 days without a life-goals journal as I bootstrapped this one. I made pretty much made zero progress on any of my goals with the exceptions of the weekly task of "read a book" and the daily task of "close the rings." I am relieved to have my journal again (even if BenCody thinks the journal adds too much structure to my world).

As for the journal itself, I have been wanting to use one of my Moleskine Two-Go notebooks for the longest time. I didn't have one with me when I started the last journal this past February, so this was the first opportunity to use one. I have been so excited to use the journal! The size is delightful, and the cover is cloth, which is different and new and exciting!

And yet, as with most things, reality is different.

The left pages are unlined (/me looks at BenCody), the right pages are lined (6mm lines, natch). I thought this would be great because I could draw on the left side, and write notes on the right. That was the idea in the design.

Turns out, I want lines on both sides for this notebook.

The paper is thick, which is great because it means when I pull out the markers and the pens, the ink doesn't soak through to the other side (even though the inks do bleed). The paper is thick, which is unfortunate because it makes seeing the lines on the opposite side of the blank page difficult. I've found using the Daiso Japan vertical index cards (lurrrrrrrrrve them) behind the page, lined up carefully, gives me enough of a line that even if I haven't already written on the lined pages on the back side of the blank page, I can still find the lines well enough to write straight on the blank page.

I definitely like the size of the journal (4.6" x 7.2" - probably reads better in metric - as opposed to the large size, 5" x 8.25"), really like the weight of it, and love how it fits into my hands and into my backpack. I like the feel of the cloth cover when the cover is new. I managed unwittingly to place the journal down on a piece of the pastry I was eating, only to realize later I have a big grease stain on the back of my journal now. The previous Moleskine I had was the classic, large size, which had a cover I could wipe off, and didn't really worry about it absorbing grease. This current journal is cloth covered, so, I do need to worry about where I set it down.

I think I will be okay without lines, but I am unsure if I'll use another two-go after this journal. We'll see. I filled up my first few life-goals journals in about a year, the last one I filled in six months. Worst case, if the lack of lines really drives me nuts, I can spend another three days pondering life and the adventures I want to have, prepping a new journal and having at it.