this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2025

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Journaling Just Works

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[Weekly Thread] #12 Where do you journal? (lemmynsfw.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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We’re now 516 members! A warm welcome to all of you :)

The idea with this Weekly Thread is to encourage people to participate more by sharing a theme. See that as an invitation, nothing more and you’re more than welcome to comment about anything else related to journaling, or to start your own thread while ignoring this one.

This week theme: Where do you journal?

Do you like to write your journal at home, comfortably installed on your desk or maybe on a couch or in the bed? Or do you journal everywhere you go? And how? Do you do it on your phone, or in your journal (that you carry everywhere you go?) or maybe in smaller notebook?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Mostly, I journal at home on my dining table. But, while I was on a trip recently, I felt the need to journal and of course didn't have my trusty typewriter with me. Writing on my phone would have been easy, but I felt that, in doing it that way, I would have missed the physicality of doing it on paper.

So I gladly accepted it as an excuse to go to the stationery store and browse the journal options. Given that I tend to like medium- or broad-nib pens -- in fact, I've recently fallen in love with a stub nib fountain pen -- I knew it'd have to be bigger than the pocket-sized options. For my Goldilocks combination of carrying size, size during use on a train or flight, fountain pen compatible paper, and minimalism, I ended up with a Mnemosyne 104. I've done one entry in it, but I plan to tear out the page and enter it into my springback binder, with all the looseleaf I usually use with my typewriter, so that it is integrated into my chronological order.

I realized that I didn't really care if people on public transit next to me were reading what I was writing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I felt the need to journal and of course didn’t have my trusty typewriter with me.

May I ask what model?

So I gladly accepted it as an excuse to go to the stationery store and browse the journal options.

I would never do such a thing. Never 8)

I realized that I didn’t really care if people on public transit next to me were reading what I was writing.

Neither do I (my handwriting is too poor) but I worry about corporation 'mining' whatever I trust them with.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's a Triumph Gabriele-e. I love this machine.

Yes, I'm much more wary of corporate invasions of privacy than the odd looky-loo peering over my shoulder. There are ways of keeping your data away from prying eyes -- see Selfhosted -- but the brain-to-hand-to-mechanical machine (or pen) feeling is more satisfying, permanent, and tangible.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Nice :)

I used to own an Olympia SG1 (my grandad's) that I loved to type on. It was a joy to use. I gave it to a friend when I switched full time to computer full time, in the late 80s. At first I thought nothing about it (it had done its time) but, say, around the early 00s I started realizing I missed it and I've been regretting it since then. For portable (the sg1 was heavy like a tank), I used to use a Lettera 22. Still, my true love was that Olympus ;)

There are ways of keeping your data away from prying eyes

I'm worrying both about the corporate greed and at the same time of that relentless trend in our elected representatives (and even more so in our non-elected bureaucracies), all to vote laws reducing or forbidding the use of true digital privacy protecting tools. Here in France for example, I would not be surprised if in a not too distant future things like Tor or VPNS or even the use of full non-backdoored encryption were to suddenly become illegal for the average Joe (except for people like, say, journalists, bankers, lawyers and other sensitive professions like that) all in the name of hunting naughty terrorists and perverts, obviously—not at all as a way to better control a rapidly growing percentage of unsatisfied population.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

At my desk, usually in the evening, with only my desk lamp lighting the room. That creates a really nice atmosphere for writing. And sometimes on the balcony, if the weather is nice.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Sounds oddly like me, including the balcony ;)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I will journal out, usually on my laptop. Sometimes I find it convenient to dictate to my phone but I use a lot of punctuation and bullet points so that can be frustrating. I would enjoy journalling with paper, but find carrying a journal to be more hassle than it's worth. Also, I'm left handed and if I want to journal on the go, paper has never been something I find I can write on well.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I will journal out, usually on my laptop. Sometimes I find it convenient to dictate to my phone

I've seen quite a few people using that voice to text thing on their phone. I would not trust it, but that's just me being paranoid ;)

I’m left handed and if I want to journal on the go, paper has never been something I find I can write on well.

Have you tried with a spiral notebook and/or turning the notebook upside down so the spiral are on the opposite side?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Yeah, it's a privacy nightmare at best, especially on Android...

Spirals the other way round does work a bit better for me - I could also see doing my journal digitally with my ipad so that I get to doodle and have more personality in my writing, plus develop my digital handwriting.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

I journal on my desk and everywhere I go.

My actual journal never leaves my desk (the old ones are lined up on a bookshelf not far away). So how do I journal on the go? I used to use my phone a lot, I had been using the DayOne app since it was first introduced (and I loved it) but I’ve switched back to analog full time and see little incentive for me to ever move back to digital as I want my privacy to be respected.

So, to journal on the go, like I used to do through the late 80s up to the early 00s (at which time I got my first Palm PDA which lust be the piece of tech I've liked the most), I now carry a small pocket notebook in which I quickly jot down thoughts, events, anything I want to add in my journal later on. Quickly is they key elements here as I don’t want to waste my time writing two times the same stuff so, I quickly learned to devise my very own shorthand system to take notes real quick and, in the evening that day or sometime later during the week I would be able to transfer them down into my real journal in plain Engl… French ;)

Without that shorthand system which is nothing complex (a few symbols, abbreviated words in a single letter and silly stuff like that), I’m not sure I would not use my pocket notebook as much as I do (which is all the time as I even use at home, when I'm not in front of my desk). It's really quick and it really does save me a lot of time.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I never journal, but I like to do it when I'm on a trip alone. Even though, I like to think that I'm never truly alone, whether it's because I rent a room in a private home, at an hostel, or taking part in an excursion. I always meet people.

I do it to keep a record of my trip and also because I have a lot more time to myself. Usually, I journal in the evening, in bed, to reflect on my day and keep a memory of my trip. I use a small notebook someone gave me or one that I bought and kept in my notebook box. A few years back, I started bookbinding, so I also make my own notebooks.

It's been a while though. I should consider taking a new solo trip !

Little tip: For those who like Midori Traveler's Notebook-style, it's super easy and way cheaper to make them. There is a bunch of tutorials on YouTube, like this one. I made a few ones with scraps of saddlery leather someone gave me. Well...someone gave it to someone who gave it to someone who gave it to me ;)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Sorry for the late reply, you may have noticed my last message announcing I won't be available a lot for the time being.

Little tip: For those who like Midori Traveler’s Notebook-style, it’s super easy and way cheaper to make them. There is a bunch of tutorials on YouTube, like this one. I made a few ones with scraps of saddlery leather someone gave me. Well…someone gave it to someone who gave it to someone who gave it to me ;)

That's a great suggestion!

I would add that a DIY journal also makes one's journal feel incredibly more personal. At least, that's how it felt to me every time I made my own. Like you suggests, no need to learn anything special or expensive and even using scraps it will feel unique. I would encourage anyone to give it a chance.

My last handmade journal, dating back a couple years ago, was exactly that: a few stapled sheets of paper with a nice cover made out of recycled cardboard (from a sturdy pasta package :p). The paper I used for the pages was a few sheets of mix-media smooth A4 paper from Clairefontaine I folded in two (being smooth making it great for writing with a fountain pen, and fine for my watercolor sketches) :p

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Sorry for the late reply, you may have noticed my last message announcing I won’t be available a lot for the time being.

No problem at all, personal time and health first !

a few stapled sheets of paper with a nice cover made out of recycled cardboard (from a sturdy pasta package :p)

Ahah, it's great ! Since I started bookbinding, I keep everything that may be useful (cardboards from promotional calendar, marbled paper scraps, etc.).

Have you covered your journal with nice paper ? What kind of sewing did you use ? The coptic binding method is quite easy (well it takes a little bit of patience on the first try), you can sew different signatures together and the notebook lays flat. The Japanese method is much easier and quite decorative, but I don't really like it for writing because the notebooks don't open properly.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Ahah, it’s great ! Since I started bookbinding, I keep everything that may be useful (cardboards from promotional calendar, marbled paper scraps, etc.).

Best method, imho ;)

Have you covered your journal with nice paper ?

I seldom do that. And nowadays I seldom make any nice notebook myself (I will do quick & dirty ones for specific needs) but back then I used to a few types. I leanred traditional bookbinding and loved to to do that so... ;) Coptic is both easy and gives great results. Plus it looks cool.