The Joy of Writing a Summer Journal

The long days of summer are here and to many of us summer offers an opportunity to slow down and reflect. Summers afford us time to read a book during long daylight hours and write down ideas, meaningful thoughts and moments. Summer is a great time to start a journal, write stuff down and start a journey of the mind.

The benefits of writing a journal have received a lot of attention in the last few years thanks to psychologists, researchers, business titans and religious leaders.

What kind of Journal is right for you

In this blog post we will list our recommendations for the different types of journals we are most frequently asked about.

Bullet Journal Recommendations

One of the most talked about ways of  getting organized is the bullet journal, which uses symbols and shorthand to quickly reference ideas, goals and to do lists. A bullet journal should lay flat and have a strong binding. Most customers pick a size of 5 x 7 inch or larger, because it can be hard to get organized in a pocket sized journal. Look for a paper quality, that handles different media such as pens, pencils, gel pens and markers well, this will make it easier to use color and drawings in addition to symbols when laying out a bullet journal.

The Leuchtturm Bullet Journal, has everything you need to get started, such as an index, instructions and suggestions on proven bullet journaling techniques and hacks. The Leuchtturm Bullet Journal has two page markers for easy reference. If you are confident you have bullet journaling down to a system that works for you, but still would like some support like dot grid pages, two page markers, numbered pages and an index we recommend the Leuchtturm dot grid journal as it will save you some money.

For those bullet journal writers,  that  enjoy creating their own look and layout, page numbering and index we suggest a blank A5 Paper-Oh notebook.
To evaluate and keep track of goals and life experiences over a longer period of time Paperblanks created a 5 year journal, which makes for a perfect companion for major life transitions like courtship and marriage, college, pregnancy and birth of a child and early childhood and keeping your head on straight when starting a major venture like a business.

Start a Book Journal 

 
Summertime is a great time to catch up on reading. Creating a literary log or book journal to keep track of what you have read and more importantly why a particular book was meaningful to you can be great fun. A book journal can provide a great jumping of point during discussions at a reading circle or book club. We suggest that you number the pages of your journal and create an index or choose a journal, that already provides these features like a Leuchtturm1917 journal.

Our customers find great joy in picking a journal, that is inspired by a great artist like the Paperblanks Embellished Journals Series, which feature great writers and artists like Bram Stoker, L.M Montgomery and Lewis Carroll. A journal, that looks like an old manuscript out of one of the worlds great libraries like the Paperblanks Aurelia Notebooks also makes a popular choice.

Pick the perfect Travel Journal

Summer and travel go together. For many travel journal writers the Italian brand Moleskine will come to mind. Moleskine was marketed by identifying with the travel journals of famed travel writer Bruce Chatwin and Ernest Hemmingway.  The Moleskine Pocket Journal started a whole rebirth of elastic banded simple journals and still makes a good reliable choice for travelers, who want an unfussy and practical journal. When traveling decide if you need to be able to keep a small journal at hand and in your pants or breast pocket or travel with a decent size bag and do most of your writing at a table.

For small true pocket size journals our favorite is the German brand Troika Liliput (spelled wrong on purpose) journal, it has dot grid paper,  a pen loop and even a small pen  to ensure that both pen and paper are always at hand. If you are able to sit down and write and carry your journal in a bag we recommend a slightly larger size. Paperblanks Midi Journals offer a wide range of cover designs and quality bindings in a compact 5 x 7 inch format.
In summer when we slow down we often long to reconnect with our spiritual side.

Journals for Bible Study and Spiritual Journeys

Writing a journal can be a great way to connect with spiritual questions, faith and religious books either by yourself or in a group setting. There is really no wrong way to go, but most of our customers will select a lined journal with a strong and attractive binding that can be brought along in a bag. Leuchtturm1917 journals with page numbers and an index in the front and plain non distracting cover are a popular choice for a bible group journal and include stickers to mark cover and spine. Paperblanks offers journals inspired by the famous medieval Lindau Gospels and Iron and Twine, which was inspired by 18th century Christian prayer book and journals that are inspired by Buddhist art, and Islamic art for those looking to make a more specific connection between their journal and their faith.

Create a Summer Journal with the Whole Family

When children return to school, their first assignment is often to write about the summer. For many children this feels like a chore. Family summer journals are created as the summer happens, collecting funny anecdotes, photo's, clippings, drawings and more turning a chore into fun. A family journal comes out when waiting for food, a flight or ferry and when reminiscing after trips. Some tips, do not pick a journal that is too small, it is bound to get to lost and maybe hard to handle for small hands. Strong journals with blank sturdy pages work best. For smaller children the blank Stacy Walker Journals work well with bright colors and simple attractive designs. Paperblanks landscape format guest books also make a great choice with 120gsm paper they are a nice scrapbook/journal/sketchbook hybrid. Pick one of the renaissance covers to give the book a magical air.