A Journal Format can be an analog or a digital diary. There are many types of both analog and digital diaries. But the simplest and the most efficient way is to write the journal in its format.
Although your journal is personal and no one has the right to check whether you have made mistakes in the grammar or you haven’t used the journaling format, using the journaling format and taking account of the grammatical mistakes not only makes your journal pleasing to see but also allows you to manage each and everything perfectly.
Whether you prefer a digital diary on ms word or any other application or you like to write your journal in a notebook with your own hands, is up to you but following the grammar and format of journaling will always help you to maintain an aesthetically pleasing record of stuff you did every day.
1. What is a journal?
A journal is an informal diary in which a person writes about his feelings, thoughts, or daily experiences. Every person has a connection or relation with his journal so there is a specific manner to talk to your diary.
2. Paragraphs
The number of paragraphs to add to your journal is totally up to you but normally we use one paragraph. You can definitely add more paragraphs if needed. The paragraph starts will an initial statement describing the whole plot of the journal. Then in the body of the journal, two to three ideas or problems are given but you can add more ideas for sure. The last line or statement is the summary of the whole plot and contains your predictions and opinions.
A journal with only one paragraph.
A journal with two paragraphs
A journal with three paragraphs
A journal with more than three paragraphs
3. Date, day, and time
The journal starts with the date and day. Some people also like to write at the time but it’s not necessary. These are written on the extreme left side of the page. The format of the date can vary from person to person but the normal format of the date is dd/mm/yyyy. For example 24/01/2022. If you want to write it in words it can be like 21st January 2022.
4. Salutations
After the date day and time, the salutations are aligned again on the extreme left of the page. Salutation is a greeting to the diary before starting the actual conversation with your diary. Generally, in English, we use dear diary. Some people like to name their diaries. If you are one of them then you may want to salute your diary with “Hey“, “Hi” followed by the name of your diary. For example “Hey Mia“. The salutation is always followed by a comma like “Dear Diary,”.
5. Language and Grammar
A journal is written in an informal manner. This is because in your diary you are communicating to yourself rather than a non-personal senior, colleague, or authority. You can use slang language if you ought to. You can even use emojis to show your emotions. You always use simple past tense. But if you want to refer to the extreme past, future, or present, you can use other tenses too. Using sentence adverbs gives more detail about your emotions and makes your writing much more interesting. E.g. “Unfortunately, we could not reach the train station on time.”
6. Boxes for extra detail
Sometimes you want to add some extra detail like “Things I did today“, “Today’s goal“, “Today’s gratitude” etc. you can either make a small box or paste another piece of decorative paper to enhance the pleasing effect. You can even make the titles of these small boxes look pretty by using many kinds of cute designs. If you want to make the box prominent make cute borders around it.
7. Name/signature
At last, you have to write your name and/or signatures.
8. FAQs
Q: Is it important to follow the format every time you write a journal?
Ans: Every time you write a journal, following the format is not necessary but it makes your journal look pleasing to the eyes and will also improve your grammatical skills.
Q: What should be the frequency of journaling?
Ans: It is great if you journal daily but if you have other jobs you can maybe skip some days and only journal about the days that are important in your life and you don’t want to forget.
Q: How to be consistent with journaling?
Ans: If you don’t have time to journal or you cant be consistent with journaling you can just journal either about the important days or leave some time from your leisure to journal. You can also journal at night when you’re about to sleep for less usage of time.