Hi there!
I haven’t done a post like this before. Today I want to share with you the bookish journal that I’ve set up for 2020. It’s absolutely not as pristine or aesthetically pleasing as the vast majority of journals that are shared on blogs! But I thought, seeing how it’s at the stage before I start filling it out, it might be fun to share so you can see how I record my progress.
I’ve made some changes this year. I have added in writing goals and progress, and put less life pages in. I will set up a separate journal for that kind of thing – motivational words and images, life goals, memories, mulling over issues and plans, and the like.
This is the opening page of the journal. I didn’t intend it to look like the opening page of a ten-year old’s journal, but that’s was happened!! I had some quotes I wanted to put in, and the drawings just came about without planning (as you can see, drawing is not a talent of mine!).
Because I ended up not particularly liking the first page, I did another with more of my usual style for journaling and scrapbooking. It’s simple, but I quite like it.
These are some of the most crucial pages in a bookish journal! I’m happy to have the list of books I read in 2018 and 2019 that I can look back at. This year I made it more like a table, rather than just a list, which I think will keep it more tidy and easy to see.
This is just a simple grid that I will just colour in – a square for each book read. I think I will decorate it with some pictures or art to make it more interesting.
I really like these pages. I have not kept stats like this before, so I’m excited to have that kind of information about my reading. I found this layout on Gabby’s BookTube channel – GabbyReads.
I have A LOT of books on my shelves that don’t get a look in. This year, I am determined to change this! So this layout is so that I can see the books in a glance to remind me what I own and should get to.
I am planning to be more dedicated to my blog this year, and I think a planner for the posts will really help me to plan and keep track.
One thing that slows my posting on my blog is my lack of motivation due to the small amount of readers I have. It can be a lot of effort to produce a post and when it only has a few readers it can be quite disheartening. So I thought I’d keep track of the stats behind my blog. It’s not that I want lots of followers or think that’s important, it’s more that I want to feel that there is a point to the time and energy that I put into the blog.
I keep saying I want to become a published writer, but that’s kind of hard to do if you don’t submit your work!! So this year I want to focus on being aware of opportunities to do so.
To go with the previous layout, this one will enable me to be aware of what I’ve submitted and what I’m waiting for a response on so that I know when I can submit it elsewhere, how many I’ve submitted and what I have available to submit.
These two layouts are to try to motivate me and keep me accountable to regular writing and reading. The writing pages are the most important because I work well with goals and I find that if I have an amount I need to write each day or week, I am much more able to push myself to do so rather than saying ‘I will write more’.
I love journaling and scrapbooking. I have done it a lot over the years. I am excited to have this fresh new one set up now and ready to go!
Do you journal? What kind of things do you like to keep track of or plan in it? Or do you keep motivational quotes in it, or memories and photos? Have you set one up yet for 2020? I’d love to hear about yours, and if you have any suggestions for mine.
Happy journaling!
It’s too cute! ^^
Thanks It’s by no means the best looking one, but it’ll do the job!