Yours truly started writing in both the Q&A a Day: 5-Year Journal and the One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book
back in October of 2015. I committed to writing in them for just over a year before putting them to rest. They did not work for the way I journal, but they might work for you.
Both of the 5-Year Journals use the same principle – they are each a “condensed, comparative record for five years, for recording events most worthy of remembrance,” according to One Line a Day.
Each page has Month and Day printed on it; it also has five sections on it. Each section is comprised of a space for a year date and a handful of blank lines.
Additionally, Q& A a Day gives you 365 one sentence questions to answer, such as ” If you were a literary character, who would you be?”
One Line a Day comes with a ribbon page marker. Q& A does not.
Both The One Line a Day Journal and Q&A Journal might be for you…
- … if you prefer a small, hand-sized journal that can fit in your purse (But not your clutch. I have tried it.)
- …if you have little time but want to jot something down in a journal
- …if you do not need much space for writing all your thoughts
- …if a larger blank page is intimidating
- …if you would like to have notes from 5 years of your life on one page (That’s the most awesome feature.)
Additionally, the Q&A a Day Journal might work for you…
- …if you need a random prompt every day
- …if you are just getting started and you don’t know what to write about yet
Additionally, The One Line a Day 5-Year Journal might work for you…
- …if you want to note a few ideas for a specific topic (e.g. This journal might be great for guests to leave a note about their stay in your rental space; it might also be a great health progress journal – just enough space for a few stats; it might be your gratitude journal.)
- …if you want to give it as a present to a child. (The other journal, the Q& A Journal, assumes that teens or adults are using the journal. The questions reflect this audience.)
- …if you prefer a ribbon bookmark already in the book.
Neither journal might be for you…
- …if you prefer leather journals. They are made of some kind of heavy cardboard. (You can have them rebound in leather.)
- …if you feel like you’re about to explode from all the things you didn’t write because there is not enough space to contain your genius!
- …if you prefer wide journals.
- …if you prefer to journal with a fountain pen. (My fountain pen bleeds through both.)
I love the idea of seeing 5 consecutive years of the same day on 1 page. Seeing your progress (or lack of it) is fascinating. The concept is great. I just need more space to write; I like to write anywhere from 2 pages (average) to about 10 pages a day.
Because I was also writing extensively in my main journal, the 5-year journals became a brief summary of something I had already written. The redundancy really burdened me. I began skipping days in the 5-year journals, then writing in them retroactively. It was a mess.
If a 5-Year Journal was my only journal, of the two, I would go for the One Line A Day version. There are no prompts to ignore, so it’s a miniature version of my main journal.
I also feel a little sick to my stomach that I recorded pretty much the same activities on the same days of the year – I had not altered my life one bit. My lack of progress was staggering. And the year had gone by so fast! I might return to this journal one day, just for that kick in the pants.
Peace Be With You,
Deborah
P.S. You may purchase the Q&A a Day: 5-Year Journal or the One Line a Day: A Five-Year Memory Book
by clicking on the titles.
P.P.S. Have you used one of these journals? What did you think?
Hey, my husband and I have the Q&A A Day 3-year-journal for two 🙂 It’s neat to take the time to write down something quick each day 🙂
Mariana Abeid-McDougall,
It’s great to know that someone has found a use for the Q&A Journal. I didn’t know there was one meant for two people; I might need to buy that one and review it.
Thanks for stopping by.
– Deborah M. Thomas