10 Ways to Journal Your Life Together

By Amy Miller

*this post contains affiliate links.

I recently looked through the scrapbook I made of our first year together, and it was fun taking this trip down memory lane, again! How special it is to look back through journals, or scrapbooks, and other mementos, and recover a taste of a memorable moment. One of those memories is this one that I made a scrapbook page out of :) It was the day we moved into our first apartment!

10 ideas on how to journal, recording memories, journaling, memory keeping, journaling your life, documenting your marriage, documenting your life, marriage fun, memories in marriage, journaling, ways to journal, ways to scrapbook, scrapbook ideas, marriage ideas, marriage advice, marriage help, newlyweds, newlywed life, marriage specialist

or Like this one:

10 ideas on how to journal, recording memories, journaling, memory keeping, journaling your life, documenting your marriage, documenting your life, marriage fun, memories in marriage, journaling, ways to journal, ways to scrapbook, scrapbook ideas, marriage ideas, marriage advice, marriage help, newlyweds, newlywed life, marriage specialist

Why was this a significant moment? There wasn’t a special occasion or event taking place. We were just at the park cuddling and reading books together, but we were happy. These quiet, happy, everyday moments are the ones that matter most to me. What’s even more important, though, is writing down why it feels significant to me.

marriage journaling, journaling, digital journaling, journaling marriage moments

Recording your life can seem like such a daunting task, especially for those of us who don’t enjoy writing, or scrapbooking. However, there are so many ways to accomplish it, especially now with all of the technology available to us! I have listed 10 options for you of how to journal your life in the hands-on approach, or the digital route!

Five ways to journal through the hands-on approach:

  1. Traditional journal: Hand-write journal entries in a notebook or other blank-paged book.
  2. One-liner journals: Write a short-summary of the day with one or two lines. It doesn’t get more simple than that. Some people use a mini calendar book, or memory planner to do this (see picture below). I liked doing this at one point because I got my crafty fill, but it wasn’t overwhelming.
  3. Keep a small notebook on-hand for when you have some time on your hands to write. I end up cutting out those pages and adhering them to my actual journal.
  4. Married journal: Co-author this journal with your spouse, to make it more fun from both points of view. (There is an entire post about this, so check out the previous post!) Also, these two journals for husband and wife, quoting each other, are so stinkin’ cute!
  5. Scrapbook: Do a full on crafty scrapbook with all the trimmings of photos, captions and stories. You can even simplify it like I do, by adhering photos into a blank-paged book and write your journal entries that go along with it.

Recording your life can seem like such a daunting task, especially for those of us who don’t enjoy writing, or scrapbooking. However, there are so many ways to accomplish it, especially now with all of the technology available to us! I have listed ten ideas for how to journal, that may help you!

Five ways to journal through the digital route:

  1. Word documents: Instead of typing essays, type journal entries. Save, and back them up, or print them out like a book. Doing it via Google Drive is even better! I love doing this because I’m a faster typer, and because if I want to write a blog post about some of it, I can just copy and paste, as a time saver.
  2. Blogging: Whether you want it public or private, it’s designed by you! You can even have your blog posts printed and bound in a book, like my husband has done for me.
  3. Apps: This is a great option for those of us who are so busy, but happen to find 10 minutes while waiting at the doctor’s office to write a few sentences. One we really love that you can get on your phone is called “Day One,” it’s $5 for the mobile app and $40 if you want to be able to do a desktop version.
  4. Video: some people love the more visual and interactive aspect of documenting life, which can be so fun. One way my husband does this is through little video montages of big events, like concerts, vacations, and then he makes a 5 minute yearly recap video for Christmas for us every year. I’ve also seen people compile 1 second videos into a quick continuous video every month. And some apps actually put it together for you, like 1 Second Everyday. 
  5. Facebook/Instagram: We already post pictures to facebook or instagram all the time. Why not write in a more detailed caption for each photo to remember it better? The advantages of this are that it will be more easily stored, and will virtually be available anytime. You can also change the privacy settings, so that only you can view it, or only certain friends or family. AND added bonus, you can easily export these to a printing service like Chatbooks, where they print out a physical copy of your instagram pics and captions. So you get the digital AND physical copies@

Whatever way you decide to record your memories, make it fun, and make it you. I encourage you to find for yourself the importance in recording those daily happenings, thoughts, moments, and special occasions that you will experience. And please, if you have other ideas of how you have enjoyed journaling, share them!