I’ve been journaling and diary-keeping for many years, but I really got seriously into it in around 1998 or so. I’ve used both paper and digital journaling (I was on Livejournal for around 10 years, until it jumped the shark) but now I mostly use paper.

I have three journals on the go at the moment. My most important one is a bullet journal, though I have diverged from the “official” format and work mostly in weekly spreads. I find that it helps my ADHD brain keep track of the structure of my week better. For this, I use an A5 dot-grid book. Weirdly, although I’m quite artistic, I keep my journals minimalistic and mostly un-decorated.

I have a daily long-form journal, though in practise I only write long entries a few times a week rather than every day. I’m into the Tarot too, so I also use this one for my daily card pulls and weekly/monthly spreads. For this I use an A5 lined book, because I fill them faster and lined notebooks tend to be cheaper than dot-grid ones.

My third is a Commonplace book; this is where I keep a record of things I’ve learned that I want to remember, books I’m reading (and my thoughts on them), quotes I want to keep, notes about research I’m doing, and stuff like that. I use loose-leaf binders for this, so I can more easily rearrange pages and keep entries on specific topics together.

How about you?

  • DowntideOPMEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    Drinking journal is fun. Everytime I have a new entry I put a drop of what I’m drinking on the page. The thick cotton pages hold water well and drive fast. Theres a lot of complexities to the flavors when homebrewing so it’s helpful to document whatever I can.

    That’s awesome. I don’t homebrew (yet???) but I do enjoy real ale, and Scotch, and my partner is getting me into gin too. The flavour profiles vary so much from one to another (I’ve learned that pale ales made with Citra hops are my absolute favourites; if I see Citra on a beer label I know for sure that I will like it. They remind me of grapefruit). When it comes to Scotch, I like the Speyside malts best, they’re rich, sweet and fruity. I had (a very expensive) one that tasted literally like Christmas pudding. Gin… I don’t really know enough about yet but I’m starting to find flavour profiles that I like and dislike. I like the spicier ones and dislike the more floral ones, I think. I have a gin in my pantry right now that’s infused with Earl Grey tea, and it’s divine.

    And… now I need to find Lemmy subs about booze, lol.

    • foxtrotsEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Ive always loved ales and scotches as well. I recently just finished off a Speyside (Glenfiddich) the otherday with some friends. however we have been stuck on Islay region scotches for a while. I had a friend get me into gin recently as well. Especially traditional gin martinis. A recommend would be Aviation gin from Portland. Ryan Reynolds owns it so that is a plus or a minus depending on who you talk to but it actually is very smooth for a gin.

      You are right though we really could use a good classy drinking channel.

      • DowntideOPMEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Don’t think I’ll be able to get a gin from Portland here, I’m in the UK. And with Ryan Reynolds’ name on it, an import would probably cost like £1000 or more. Islay scotch… I’m not a fan.