Journaling, Journaling Through the Year

Happy Journalversary to me!

Yes, I made up a word, but, as I write this post, it’s a very special occasion.

One year ago today, my wife and I were in Morehead, Kentucky for the Cave Run Storytelling Festival, an event I love (and missed this year). During one of the breaks, we drove into town—which is my old stomping grounds, where I attended college—to shop at CoffeeTree Books. This store brings back many memories, as it is located in a redesigned movie theater, where I saw film after film as a college student. So I enjoyed two of my favorite things: shopping for books and reminiscing about the Big ‘80s.

Anyway, I browsed book after book, and one caught my eye—One List a Day, A Three-Year Listography Journal. I looked through it and was intrigued. One question a day, asking you to list three things. That first day was “three decisions you have recently made.”

I could do this.

I checked the price and put the journal down to look at other areas of the store, but I kept going back to it. I finally decided to take the plunge and buy it before I changed my mind.

Back at the hotel, I answered that first question. The next morning, the second. And on and on. For the last year, I have kept up with the journal. Sure, I have a missed a few days here and there, but I have always caught up. THIS IS HUGE.

Now, during this period, I was laid up with an injury for two months and lived through the “COVID/Quarantine” experience. But that doesn’t dampen my achievement: I, Carlton Hughes, have journaled for ONE YEAR.

I have started and stopped countless journals through the years. I would normally follow a familiar routine: buy a neat-looking journal. Get a fancy pen. Get up each morning for one to two weeks to write in the journal. Get busy with life. Wake up late a few days. Rush to get to work/meet church obligations/do things with family. Forget the journal and eventually relegate it to the back of a bookshelf, never to be opened again.

I have quite a collection.

With my current venture, I learned that journaling, even this simple one with only three things each day, keeps creative juices flowing. I realized I had set the bar too high in previous attempts, thinking I had to write a novella of my life each day.

Plus, since I’m into the second year, it’s interesting (albeit a bit scary) to look back at how I was thinking a year ago. So far this year, my answers have reflected the current crazy world situation, so, though it is not fun now, it will be fun to look back on it in several years.

So, in the tradition of my one list a day journal, I will ask you a question: what three things come to mind when you think about journaling? Go ahead . . . I’ll wait.

Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate—all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb.