Lifestyle, My Life, Uncategorized

My favorite way to keep a daily journal

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I have always wanted to be one of those people who kept a daily journal. I would go through periods of my life when I regularly wrote in a diary, but to be completely honest, these were normally periods of only a few days in length. My longest stint was summer of 2019, when I kept a journal recording everything that happened every day of my 4K for Cancer journey. I thought at the end of it, I would keep the habit going, but as soon as I returned to normal life, I fell back into old habits and the journal stayed untouched on my bookshelf. 

The shame of this is I actually enjoy writing, and there are many moments in my life that I wish I had recorded. The one thing I learned from journaling during 4K is it is impossible to remember all the little details that happen, but those are the ones I want to remember most. I love reading over conversations I had with people and the little things I saw while on that trip. 

One of the main reasons I have always struggled with keeping a journal is that I struggle to keep my writing short and concise. I feel like I have to record every little detail of my day, which is rather time consuming and tedious when I am sitting in bed at night, ready to fall asleep. 

Emily & me at Joseph’s & my engagement party

My solution came in January last year when I was visiting my childhood friend (and current matron of honor), Emily. While talking, she told me about a habit she had adopted over the last few years after seeing her dad do it. Every year, she buys a planner, not to record what she has to do, but to write down what happened each day. At the end of the day, in the space on the calendar, she records everything that happened that day. Sometimes, it’s just the mundane tasks of everyday life, but other days the content is more exciting. The most beautiful thing about this is that, whether big or small, all those special moments that happened are recorded. And if she has more to write than will fit in the little calendar square, she turns the page to the weekly view to write a little blurb about her day. 

I bought a planner that week to integrate this habit into my own life, and since then, I have faithfully written in that little book every day. I love the fact that I am restrained to a small space to write about my day. It is a totally doable task at the end of the day, and it makes me think about what the most important details of my day were so they will be the ones that get recorded. 

I just have to say, what a year to start this habit! After the beginning of March, my life suddenly became a lot less normal, as did the lives of most people on the planet. I can’t say every day at home was an interesting calendar square to fill out, but every interesting conversation or little hobby I started for fun or work was recorded. Looking back through my planner today, I can’t help but smile while reading all those little moments that I would have forgotten by now. 

One of my favorite things about this is that I can easily turn back to any day to see what happened. So, a year from now, I can look back to see what happened today. I can remember exactly how I felt and what happened on any day by easily flipping to that calendar page. 

In addition to the original idea given to me by Emily, I have added a few extra steps. At the beginning of the month, my planner has a space to record goals and important dates, and at the end of the month, it has a page for notes. These are my spaces to spend a little extra time at the end of the month thinking back over what happened and reflect on my experiences. In the goals section, I record goals, achievements, and big events that happened; in the important dates section, I write the days the most important things that month happened with their corresponding number; and in the notes section, I write a little summary of my month.

I love three things about this little extra step I have taken. One, I tend to be very hard on myself. I am a perfectionist, and I am often looking for the next goal to achieve rather than recognizing myself for what I have done in my life. Having a section dedicated to recording the achievements in my life, whether big or small, is a little act of self-care to recognize myself for the hard work I have done. Two, I love that the most important dates are marked, so I can easily look to see which days meant the most to me and then flip to those corresponding calendar dates to read more. Three, the notes section honestly gives me closure at the end of each month and it helps me to better reflect on what is happening in my life and set goals for the next month. I can’t know where I want to go if I don’t know where I have been. This moment of reflection both helps me to make sense of difficult times (such as during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic), celebrate happier months (my month of engagement and travel with Joseph), and look forward to what I want to do next with my life. It’s like taking a moment at the end of each month to write a closing to that chapter of my life.

If you struggle to keep a journal, I highly recommend incorporating this habit into your life. It takes less than two minutes at the end of each day, but I feel it has honestly increased the positivity, productivity and gratitude in my life. Giving myself a moment to reflect at the end of each day and month helps me to focus on the good in my life. And knowing that this moment is coming at the end of each day encourages me to spend my time more wisely so I will have something to write about. 

And it’s not too late to start! Check out the links below to get your planner, & some of my favorite journaling tools, & get started right away. The best time to have started this habit was the beginning of this year (or honestly, many years ago), but the next best time is today. 

A 2021 planner to get you started

This planner has all the sections you need to help get you started on your new journaling technique.

Amazing pens

You don’t need a boring, black, ballpoint pen to journal with. Check out these beautiful, fine point markers, perfect for journaling, drawing, or just writing aesthetically-pleasing notes.

Washi tape

Washi tape is my new obsession. It makes everything look so much prettier & organized, even if it isn’t. Check out this set on Amazon, or do your own search! There are so many different colors, sizes & designs.

Planner Stickers

Maybe you’re not feeling the creative vibes of making your own stickers with Washi tape. No problem! Check out these beautiful stickers that you can decorate your planner with. There are over 1,500 designs to help you keep that planner looking beautiful and organized.

Happy journaling!

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Lifestyle, My Life

Hello world! This is my story

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I’m so glad you decided to drop by.

My name is Tyler, and this is my first blog post. For most of my posts, I plan on writing about things actually happening in my life, or about topics that I find interesting (and I think you will, too!). But, I thought I would use this opportunity to tell you a little bit about myself.

I grew up in southern Maryland, and I have been a writer for as long as I can remember. I wrote my first short story when I was four years old about the ants that had trespassed into my house, and I have been writing stories ever since. 

For most of my life, fiction was my main form of writing. I loved using my imagination and escaping into the worlds I created. My characters were almost as important to me as the real people I knew in my life. 

When I started college, everyone expected me to be an English major. But I went for communications instead. It was the “smart” choice, because it gave me to opportunity to fall back on a degree that offered plenty of career opportunities should the “writing thing” not pan out. 

I still wanted to focus my elective choices on my true passion. Creative fiction writing was no longer an option, but journalism seemed like a good idea. It was still telling stories, but now my subjects were real people. 

Induction ceremony into Alpha Chi my junior year of college

I fell in love with journalism. I loved the opportunity to give someone the spotlight and make them feel special. 

The thing about journalism, though, is it’s normally pretty cut and dry. The inverted pyramid style taught by my professors always felt so confining and suffocating. They wanted to know what happened, and when and how it occurred. I just wanted to describe my real living character and tell their story. 

So, I took the skills I learned in my journalism classes, and I moved on to creative nonfiction. In these classes, with magazine writing style format, I was given the opportunity to expand my typical 400-word news stories to 2,000-word expositions. For the girl who once couldn’t keep her middle school assignments under 10 pages, this increased word count was surprisingly freeing. I had learned from journalism how to strip a story down to its bare bones; now I had the opportunity to expand on only the most important details (and the knowledge to know what those details were). 

During all this time, however, I don’t think I ever truly found my voice. In all the stories I had ever told, I had neglected one very important one: my own. 

When my professor said we had to write memoirs for our class, I was distraught. I didn’t believe that I had a story to tell. Which is funny because I had anything but the conventional childhood. 

I have suffered from chronic illness since the age of 10, when I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Twelve diagnoses and over a decade later, I am no stranger to pain, to overcoming challenges, to perseverance, three things that can make a great story. 

Induction ceremony into Delta Alpha Pi (academic honor society for high-achieving students with disabilities) with my good friend Caitlin

The trouble is, what really makes a good story is being able to connect with the reader. While my story was one full of plot possibilities, I didn’t believe it was one anyone would want to read. 

My professor told us to choose any topic, and that she would be the only one to read it. Even with that information, I did not want to tell any story that was painful to write. However, after weeks of brainstorming, I couldn’t get one particular story out of my mind. It wasn’t one I wanted to share, but after years of denying this particular moment, it was time to face it.

When I handed in the memoir about my hospitalization for anorexia to my professor, I was visibly shaking. I felt raw and exposed. I was convinced it wasn’t the story anyone wanted. 

I had always gotten high marks on my papers. But when my professor handed my memoir back, it was the first time anyone had asked me for more. She asked me to let my peers read it. Nervously, I handed it to one of my classmates. Once again, I waited with bated breath, hating myself for sharing something so personal. But when she returned to me, tears brimming in her eyes, she thanked me for telling the story she had been too scared to share herself. 

It was then that I learned that not only do I have a story to share, but it’s one that actually touches people. It’s one that can comfort and encourage, one that can facilitate connection and possibly inspire others’ creativity.

Since a young age, I have always wanted to help other people. But it took me nearly two decades to discover that my way of doing that was the thing I have always been most passionate about: writing. 

So, this is my blog, and on it, I plan to share my story, and also some other things that I have grown passionate about over the years. I am going to talk about the travels I have taken, and the adventures I am still going on, because I have found that the best way to learn more is to go places you have never been. I am going to share about ways I have found to find balance in my life, mentally, physically and spiritually, because dealing with chronic health has taught me that self-care is one of the most important ways to care for yourself and others. And most importantly, I am going to talk about the people in my life: those who have inspired me, those who have made me who I am, and those who I am growing with. 

I hope this is a place where you can find inspiration, illumination and comfort. I hope it’s a place where you can read something authentic, and then know that it’s okay for you to be yourself, too. And most importantly, I hope it inspires you to tell your story, in whatever way feels most natural to you. Create art, write poetry, talk to people, volunteer…whatever makes you feel most alive. And when you do, please leave a comment and tell me about it – I would love to hear your story, too. 

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