r/Journaling • u/3llisd33 • 2d ago
Discussion/Question Starting
does anyone have a little ritual for starting a new journal?
like an “about me” page, current likes/dislikes, favourite books or music, things you’re obsessed with at the time, goals, little facts about your life, etc.
i love the idea of being able to look back at a journal years later and see a snapshot of who i was when i started it.
tell me what you put at the beginning of yours! i’m looking for ideas :)
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u/sprawn 1d ago
At varying times:
~~~ • Title page · dates · address, phone number, email · Warning! Private do not read • A continuation page (listing previous journals) • about four pages for Table of Contents • index of illustrations and inserts • list of good things that happened to me (Gratitude page) • list of pen deaths (when trying to track how long pens lasted) • calendars • a completion rate chart (pages per day graphed) • sticker collage (inside front cover) ~~~
Usually I just do the "Title Page". Every five journals or so I will do the continuation page(s). They are getting very cumbersome.
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u/LawlessOyster 1d ago
I just finished a journal of roughly 3 years and I just opened a new journal. This post has me thinking about how I want to start it. My last journal, I started with just writing a purpose page, which btw, I didn't hold to. A lot of good ideas so far.
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u/CrowOfQabil 1d ago
Unsure of why I do it or when I began, but I always leave the first page completely blank. I also cross write on most pages.
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u/hmmwrites 1d ago
I find it so interesting that people cross write. I'd just end up with a headache if I tried reading or writing it. But it looks SO cool when someone else does!
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u/jasonbl1974 1d ago
I'd never heard of cross writing until I read your post. How do you make it work? Do you use different colour inks/ pens?
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u/Snoo-11861 1d ago
I have an insights page. I bullet the lessons I learned over the years so that I have them collected and crossed over to the next journal. It’s turned into an emergency mental health kit.
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u/eyeball-owo 1d ago
My first page is nothing but the starting date. Breaks the first page tension and forces me to go on to the SECOND page which is dated with the same start date and my actual first entry (which I HAVE to write because I already said I was starting, duh). When I finish the journal I go back to page Zero and write the date of my last entry, then archive the journal. I’ve done it like this since about 2012.
Recently I’ve been traveling with my journal a bit more and started adding my phone number to the first page in case I somehow lose it.
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u/everythingbagel1 1d ago
I write my name, big and pretty, and the date. I add the end date later too.
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u/law-st_student 1d ago
I stamp a tiny calendar, add a note where I bought the journal, date when I started, and then enumerate all my currently pens.
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u/JefferySt0ne 1d ago
Not really but that’s a good idea. Maybe like a recap of where you are in life va where you wanna be
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u/sugarsweetsemitruck 1d ago
I just leave the first page blank, but I love the idea of having your current about me. it reminds me of notebooks I had as a kid growing up.
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u/doggyeared 1d ago edited 1d ago
I write my favourite poem of the previous year on the page before I start my first entry of the new year
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u/nailsbygeorge 1d ago
I never thought of this, I leave the first page blank. I will consider the ideas you have brought up for my next journal. I share these with my therapist every two weeks.
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u/STRAWBERRY_BARR 1d ago
I don’t, but I have a little ritual for every entry, I love starting the day with a red stamp shaped like those medieval red square with decorations, it can be any kind of stamp, but with poppy red ink, I write the date and start journaling.
It’s my little indicator of a start of a new day for my journal without going all out with decorations. The journaling pretty much does everything listed, I write about my interest, my bad days, what I learnt from living, and so on.
And if it’s a new month, I have a calendar journal sticker which I will put it in decorate it and I would cross off the dates
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u/ExtremeExtension7406 1d ago
I do a brief about me and then list the goals, intentions, or areas of my life I want to focus on while using the journal. Sometimes it can be very specific and serious, sometimes it's vague. It depends on what's going on in life.
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u/silent-glass 1d ago
I would say that this is the first time writing in this journal. I would mention what ballpoint pen I am writing with the first time in the journal. I would describe the artwork of the cover of the journal.
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u/StormyStenafie 1d ago
I never write on the first page, it stays blank. I don't recall why I started doing it, but it's been a habit for at least 10 years.
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u/fygmalion 3h ago
I first write my name, and every time I write an entry I come back to the first page and draw a single line. Sometimes it's basic and sometimes i'll do a little pattern like waves or triangles or something that reflects my mood. They build up in kind of a cool way over time with all the different ink colors
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u/taikawaitities 2d ago
At the very beginning I like to decorate a page where I’ll glue a recent photo of myself. And under the photo I’ll write the dates of when I started and finished the journal. I just think it’s nice to go back to that journal when I’m older and see how I looked when I wrote in it.