Hello! If you don’t know me, I’m Kate and I’m the designer at Oops a Daisy. I design pretty much all of the stationery here at Oops a Daisy (apart from stencils) and I also do a lot of other website related things too.

Following on from Jo’s post about her journaling routine, I thought I would write my own! Since everyone has different needs and uses their journal for different things, hopefully I can offer a different perspective for anyone who needs some ideas or may be struggling to get started.

Why I Journal

Like many people, I started journaling at the end of 2019 when I set up a new journal for 2020. (Little did I know that I would soon have a lot of free time to dedicate to it…) At the time I was a Veterinary Nurse and I didn’t have a lot of time or energy to do much else, so it was mainly a way of writing down my shifts, as well as remembering birthdays and other events, in a way that allowed me to be a bit creative.

Fast forward to 2024 – I’m no longer a Veterinary Nurse and I work 4 days a week for Jo at Oops a Daisy, and have a lot of tasks to manage. My free time is often spent doing creative things, like painting, life drawing, and visiting galleries and I like to keep mementos of these trips and holidays, so have recently started a separate scrapbook-style memory journal.

I also have autism, so that impacts how I use my journal and plan my time.

Keeping it Simple

After 4 years I have pretty much nailed down what works best for me, so I tend to use the same monthly and weekly layouts over and over again.

I do sometimes switch it up though, especially when I do a livestream because I want to make it interesting for those watching.

I usually set up my spreads on a Sunday for the week ahead, with monthly spreads being completed at some point during the month before. I sometimes do these during my livestreams, depending on the date.

Monthly Spreads

For my monthly spreads I always use a vertical layout. For speed, I use the vertical days and numbers Washi tape and then highlight the weekends with a Mildliner.

There is something about a horizontal month that just doesn’t work for my brain, and I personally don’t like drawing out loads and loads of boxes, so the vertical style is perfect for me.

I try and do a creative cover page each month too, but I don’t stress too much if I don’t have time.

Weekly Spreads

My weekly spreads are usually one week to a page, again in a vertical format. Fun fact: The SE20 ‘Week on a Page’ stencil was actually requested by me as Jo didn’t have one at the time, and it’s my most used stencil by far.

Perhaps somewhat controversially, I don’t really like Dutch Doors. I have used them a few times, and I do enjoy making them (cutting paper is my happy place) but I find during the week that I don’t really like using them. Don’t ask my why, I just don’t!

Trackers

I have tried in the past to add trackers to my monthly and weekly spreads, but I almost never fill them in. I find for most things that I would want to track, I have a digital option which works better and is less work for me. For example, periods, exercise, sleep, mood, etc. are all tracked in my phone using my smart ring and a couple of apps, and I don’t feel the need to duplicate the data on paper.

Daily Spreads & To-Do Lists

I don’t use daily spreads at all. I often see them used by others when they have a big list of household tasks to do. I try not to plan household tasks because I will inevitably not do them and then feel bad about it.

Instead, if I suddenly think of something that needs doing, I will jot it down in my weekly spread and then when I get home I will transfer it to a magnetic whiteboard on my fridge. The list on my fridge is open-ended and I typically just pick or two things to do each weekend or on Thursdays (my day off) and then wipe them off when done.

You might be thinking this sounds incredibly lazy, but having autism means I often have trouble with starting and switching between tasks (particularly big ones), and also comprehending how much time things take. I will often over or under-estimate how long things take, so planning lots of tasks for one day is ultimately pointless and just leaves me feeling bad.

My work to-do lists are now digital, and we use ToDoist to manage them. This works well for us, because Jo can see and add things to my list, so she knows how far along I am with my tasks and we don’t have to keep discussing what needs doing.

I do still add things to my journal, but I do this in my weekly spreads instead. The vertical layout I use has lots of space for a to-do list, so that’s another reason why I love it!

Memory Scrapbooking

In 2023 I went on a cruise with my mum and used several spreads in my journal to stick in all of the tickets, receipts, bingo cards, and other paper stuff, and write notes about what I did each day. I really loved doing this and wanted to do more of it in 2024, but I didn’t want to have these spreads alongside my normal planning, so I bought an A5 sketchbook and have made that my memory journal.

This year I’ve managed to scrapbook my trip to the Lake District, a visit to the Design Museum in London, a visit to Parndon Mill Studios in Harlow, and mine and Jo’s holiday to Mexico!

Not only does it make a lovely reminder of what I’ve done, creating the spreads is very therapeutic for me as I love cutting and sticking paper!

Ideas for 2025

I am excited to set up my journal for 2025, because I have a lot of ideas for spreads that I would like to add to my routine.

Budgeting is high on my list for next year, so I want to either create a money tracker at the beginning of my journal, or incorporate it into my monthly spread somehow. I’ve also bought a National Art Pass and want to plan and track my days out, as well as any time I’ve done something creative, like take a class or spent an afternoon painting.

Hopefully some of you will join me as I explore these new ideas on my livestreams!

I hope you’ve found this journey into my journaling world interesting, and possibly even helpful. Just remember, the way I use my journal (and my fridge whiteboard!) works for me, and your journal should work for you too and only you!

If you have any questions or feedback, let me know in the comments below!

Much love,
Kate
xx

---

Join us to set up your next journal!

Check out “Journal With Oops a Daisy” a 6 week programme to support you through journal set-up and beyond!

The programme is totally free to join with a small donation* to our chosen charity: St Clare Hospice, Hastingwood via our Just Giving page.

Click here to find out more!

*No minimum, give what you can afford. Access to the resources is granted for 12 weeks after sign up.