Have you ever discovered something and then all of a sudden you see it everywhere? That’s what happened when I learned about the five-year journal. I heard Katie Linder mention it in one of her podcasts and then I heard about it in other podcasts and articles. How can it be that it took me this long to discover such a fantastic approach to journaling?
The idea is that you write a few lines each day and once you get into years 2, 3, 4 and 5 you compare your entries. I have dabbled in journaling since childhood when my mom gave me a shiny yellow diary with a mini padlock. I rarely go back and read what I wrote, though. I’m excited to have this tool that will make it easy to reflect as time passes (I guess it is a low-tech version of Your Memories on Facebook, right?). My family and I will experience transitions and new adventures over the next five years, and it will be fun to reflect on them in this way. Also, I have a terrible memory and I have heard using this journal is a helpful technique to remember past events.
I started my five-year journal on New Year’s Day. Considering we are living in unprecedented times (yes, those words are overused but they are true!), I feel it is important to document our lives. I will still stick with my morning pages, so this is adding a quick evening journaling practice. I’m excited to add this routine to track my life in an historic time period. When my future grandchildren need to interview an old person who lived through the pandemic, I’ll be ready!
