Well, my plan to blog everyday here for 100 days straight … it obviously didn’t work. So time for a new plan. How about 100 posts on this blog this year. This is #12 if I count right
So maybe free writing = free typing will be a part of the regular routine. After all – I see people writing about anything and everything
“Useful” + “content” is all over the internet. AI writing is filling out empty places and box with descriptions.
So if AI generated text is ok to put out there – why not a stream of consciousness? Why not unfiltered (and maybe repetitive thoughts)?
I love all things miniature. Faeries, legos, cameras, books and journals. Overall – anything made into a miniature form – I want to acquire.
I really enjoyed this video from Victoria and Albert Museum. Someone in my Instagram feed posted a snippet (reel) of the part where they are showing World’s Tiniest book – and from there I’ve found museum’s YouTube channel and the full video with even more tiny books from the collection.
It was also insightful to find out why some of the items were handled with gloves, while others with bare hands.
Tunnel books are such a fun item. I can’t remember ever seeing one in real life
I don’t have any tiny books in my collection, but I have a few tiny journals (empty so far) that I can fill with … something worth of placing into museum in … years?
This year I started doing weekly (mostly) reviews on the computer. I’ve tried doing it in my journal before, but I lose motivation, and it was harder to track and read those when I wanted to.
So in January I’ve set up folder in my Notes app on my Mac, and started logging. I’ve decided that I future me would appreciate structure and review not only “Did this – Bought that – Visited XYZ”, but also snippet of how I was feeling, what I was thinking and track internal changes.
I’ve compiled list of questions that I am now answering every week or two:
I’ve set up a separate note as a template, pinned it to the top of the folder, and when I am ready to do week review, I duplicate a note and update dates in the title.
Highlights – Where I list main events of the week – “been there-done that-this happened” style
What worked / What did I do well (proud of in myself) – positive moments. Overall I am usually hard on myself, so this is the reminder to give myself pat on the back at least once a week
What didn’t work / What wasn’t done? – some items that were sad or upsetting moments where I let myself down. or where I didn’t do something that I pre-planned.
What did I learn? – this one has different layers – what I’ve learned knowledge wise, what I learned about myself, or life lessons. And what are the lessons for why smth wasn’t done in the previous question answers
What did I do for creativity? accounting for creative things (drawing, painting, photography, etc) I’ve accomplished that week. Because if not documented – after few weeks I start to feel like “I am not doing anything at all”
Read-Watched—Listened to this week? – listing podcasts, youtube videos, books, articles, blogs, movies, tv shows
Section to prepare and set up focus for week ahead:
What I can improve, adjust next week?
What are my main 3 goals next week?
This weekly review is becoming a routine but also a good recap “diary”. Good for accountability, but also snippet to see “What am my spending life weeks doing, what is important, am I on the right track towards my values”
Travel the world or polluting the world by traveling?
From one side – common opinion is that travel, visiting new places, getting to know different country’s culture is one of the areas that makes life full, meaningful. And the angle that money is better be spent on these types of experiences instead of things and object consumption.
But then there is a documentary like this about how ridiculous some locations has become, how it’s a “spectacle” now. Just another check box to tick in the “bucket list” of things. Documentary gives an impression that travel became hollow (or I’ve interpreted it that way). But I wonder what those visitors in the film would say if interviewed?
was it a highlight of their year? did they have to save money for months to be able to afford this experience?
is it worth “blaming” social media, credit card ads, or travel magazines for influencing people that this is what travel should look like?
And then… whole other side on travel industry and how much income does that bring to the area of interest. How many local households depend on the wallets of people coming to the place from another country…
Crab feed dinner – work industry event. This was my first time – both at the this yearly event, and learning how to crack crab
Olympics. Watching live stream of opening ceremony, some events throughout these weeks. I was disappointed with “one-sided” story and curated stream offered by US – so probably next Olympics I will try to find Canadian or other country broadcast for the different perspective
Creativity refueling – books from the library and Uppercase magazines, journaling, sketching
Sheep and goats. Fun “surprise” – discovered on my regular route walk in the neighborhood – hill covered with goats and sheep (rented to eat grass, weeds). Usual practice for local HOAs and households, but it was unexpected fun “new” thing on my usual route
Visited Snoopy (and other Peanuts) at Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa for Valentines Day. 3 hours of cuteness (+ 4 hours of driving there and back enjoying emerald color hills of California in spring 😍)
Gym. 4 weekly sessions with the personal trainer. Amazing how much progress is possible for just a few hours a week.
Not even half of things were accomplished from February plan, but it is still better than to avoid planning.
I started keeping a journal (diary) when I was in 4th or 5th grade. I remember seeing pages in the kids magazine “Трамвай” (published in USSR in 1990-1995). Pages that told me (and thank you internet for scanned pages of the magazine):
A diary is a secret companion
And that’s how my need to keep a journal started.
More than 30 years later – I still keep a journal. More than one. Right now I have quite a few in use – for different purposes.
Morning Pages – Letter size(?) TruRed journal in grid I got from Staples. This has been housing my morning pages (Julia Cameron “The Artist Way” school) journal for almost a year. Some days/weeks I write more than one page. Others are just a line or paragraph if at all
Bullet Journal (Leuchtturm1917 notebook and Travelers Notebook 1/2 year weekly insert) – for writing to do lists, plans for the week, events recap if I am too lazy to write long form in my Journal #3
Actual Journal (also Leuchtturm1917). This for freewriting, analyzing, recap of events if I feel up to it(frankly wish I was doing recap of actual events on my pages more instead of theorizing on ideas and thoughts)
5 Year Hobonichi. Initially (in 2025) I thought it would be my short recap of the day with record of only positive events. Then life happened and it got neglected. This year I am using it as occasional quotes journal
EDC = EveryDayCarry. Travelers Notebook passport size – with inserts that keep changing. Small enough to put in any purse that wouldn’t fit my regular journal (#4) to take with me outside the house. Sometimes I would take insert out, put it in the pocket of pants and jacket and carry with me on a walk or hike. In case I want to write something down or make a quick sketch
Hobonichi Cousin Avec – this one is hard to keep but also hard to let go (and not to buy for the year). I love sticking pictures, receipts, ephemera from the trip or just a grocery store to the pages. I love Tomoe River paper, feel of it, how pages are so thin, but also how much ink and watercolor they can hold. I initially started buying Hobonichi after being disappointed with Moleskin daily planner paper. Now I am so attached. I try to fill out daily pages with recap of events every few days, but not always happen. But man, it is soooo fun to look back and flip through the pages with various tidbits taped in after a year.
Notebook for day job. When I was going to the office I used to see co-workers with piles of yellow legal pads on their desks. I love the look of those, but it feels so good to have my daily notes, lists of tasks, remarkes from meetings all in one place and in a nicely bound hardcover notebooks instead of yellow legal pad (or wire bound notebook – idk – wire for me cheapens the look and “substance” of what is inside those pages)
Regular size Travelers notebook. Don’t use if often. Usually take it to day trips and fill with inserts based on what I think I will want. Bigger space than TN passport size (#5), and I can have sketchbook insert, one for writing and add watercolor insert if I think I need a variety on a trip. Wish I was using it more. I am still not in love with the “cropped” size ,but I love the leather cover collection I have acquired so far (PanAm and Moomin covers and inserts are on my wishlist)
