Keeping a diary - is it old fashioned?

Caterina

I have a small paper diary, usually buy it for around £1 either in charity shop or £ store in early December. DH uses an electronic diary on his mobile. Then we have our usual annual church calendar downstairs. No personal journal but sometimes I keep track of my diet and feelings. But not regularly.

ivyleaf

I kept a journal when I was at school and up to after I had my first child. I was usually too busy after that!

About 20 years ago OH gave me an A6 organiser for Christmas. It was one of the best presents I'd ever had. I now have an A5 filofax which I love. It has a very tactile cover. I mostly just use it for noting appointments though. I write them on a calendar which hangs on the kitchen wall as well, as I'm much better at remembering things if i write them down twice!

DD now has a bullet journal. She says it's the only thing that has ever made her more organised.

wit40iwtwan

I love my diary - I use a Good Housekeeping A6 Week to View version - each year I switch between the 2 colours albeit for 2018 I had to buy 2 due to a water incident! (giggle)

I track what I eat, spend, birthday info, address info and that time of the month in the above diary - it is invaluable and the best diary I have been able to find.

I also do BUJO (bullet journaling) for more of my goal type activities and mini projects.

I also have a number of rather small books for jotting down story ideas and other random stuff that then goes into my BUJO.

In addition we have at least 2 calendars in the house - one in the kitchen and one in the sewing room - this has birthdays and key events like when I am at Yoga class or away at some show so hubby and 26YO son can operate! (HEHEHE)

LameWolf

monnagran wrote: »

LameWolf I think you should write a book about your canine guests. You speak of them with such love that it is bound to be a best seller.

That's very kind of you to say; I do in fact write a small piece for the quarterly "Paws for Thought" magazine that is produced by the Mensa DogSIG (SIG is Special Interest Group) but I honestly can't see anyone actually paying to read my ramblings.

I'm intrigued by the amount of people who have a blog these days - that's something I don't think I'd do in a million years.

moneyistooshorttomention

Oh well - prompted by this thread - have duly bought myself a journal. Found some suitable hardback notebooks for it at £7 at WH Smith. Limited choice by the time I avoided the ones with plastic covers - but there was a few to choose from.

Rather wishes I'd kept the one I started briefly some years back. It was a handy place to note down the odd few "inexplicable" things that have happened to me over the years (shades of "The truth is out there......duh dum duh dum":rotfl:). As, when those sort of things happen, you know they really have and then get the sceptical looks from some other people when you say about them...:cool::(. Journals are handy places for that sort of thing/as well as "ahead of your time" opinions/in the wrong place for opinions that are considered perfectly normal elsewhere opinions/etc.

Citygirl1

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Oh well - prompted by this thread - have duly bought myself a journal. Found some suitable hardback notebooks for it at £7 at WH Smith. Limited choice by the time I avoided the ones with plastic covers - but there was a few to choose from.

Rather wishes I'd kept the one I started briefly some years back. It was a handy place to note down the odd few "inexplicable" things that have happened to me over the years (shades of "The truth is out there......duh dum duh dum":rotfl:). As, when those sort of things happen, you know they really have and then get the sceptical looks from some other people when you say about them...:cool::(. Journals are handy places for that sort of thing/as well as "ahead of your time" opinions/in the wrong place for opinions that are considered perfectly normal elsewhere opinions/etc.

Glad my thread has inspired you. I too wish I'd have held onto my past journals. Will you journal every day or just when you need to?

moneyistooshorttomention

Citygirl1 wrote: »

Glad my thread has inspired you. I too wish I'd have held onto my past journals. Will you journal every day or just when you need to?

No - not daily.

It'll be more at those times where "something inspires me" to use your language. Whether it be "a perfectly standard opinion for my area that I cant express where I live now" or any further "inexplicable" things that happen to me. Maybe my thoughts on new places I've gone to/eaten at/etc - what I saw or ate and what I thought of it.

Generally a bit of a "catch all" - but not yer "mundane everyday - ate this at home/did that social activity/etc". Also not for "paperwork" type stuff - as I have an A4 page-a-day diary that I write in details of dealings with firms/officialdom/etc - in order to keep track of what should be happening/what is actually happening and what I need to do to get that gap bridged. So today's entries in the "House & Body upkeep" A4 diary consisted of:
- sorted fuel tariff for next year
- chased up Internet provider re the email I was promised I'd have Monday from them and result of that
- arranging with main pension provider to change my monthly "payday" and notes about chasing up on that if need be

"Body" notes also go in there - must get round to changing "butcher hygienist - with a very convenient memory that suits themself (trans = they lie)" to "normal hygienist - with good reputation" for instance.

fuddle

Old fashioned or not, it stopped an 80 year old with dementia from getting swizzled by a carer.

The lady would write everything in her notebook. Carers appearance with their names, what they had said, telephone conversations what she had eaten and also every other thing that went in about her daily life right down to toileting.

This one day I was covering care there and she identified me as the 'one who sorts the care times' so had some trust to say that she had in her diary that she give a carer £20 for grocery money and she's yet to get a receipt back. She could identify the carer clearly by her noted physical description and I could see that I never had that carer down for a visit that day and she wasn't the lady's 'shopper' anyway. The carer admitted she needed petrol money and faced the consequences of her actions, not least by taking of the money but entering a property when she didn't have permission.

I will always write things down on paper. I have grown up with phones from my late teens but I have no desire to use them as an organisation tool. I think writing things down was this lady's independence and I applaud her for being so diligent in protecting herself. Concise note taking is a skill and I don't fancy relying on g00gle to take over really. Just my preference.

moneyistooshorttomention

Sounds like that lady knew/admitted to herself she has dementia and keeping such an exact record was something she was doing deliberately in an attempt to protect herself from a failing memory. Sounds like it was a good idea for her - as it seems to have worked.

I know I will keep records of "important" discussions and have often quoted back at a firm/my employer/etc that:
"Mr/Ms Smith said 'this/that/the other' at 1157am on that date".

It's not proof of what agreement/etc has been made - but it certainly helps. When I used my household diary today whilst I was talking on the phone to a different person in the firm about the email I was promised on Monday (and didnt receive) = I was able to quote back at the second employee that "Mr X of Y office told me at that time on Monday that I would receive an email from him #that day and probably about an hour's time# " and I havent done so.

In a previous job I had one time too - it was suspected that someone was stealing and they knew I (as personal secretary) would have kept exact records of my dealings with that thief. So they came and asked me for them - to see what the thief had/hadnt done. I just took out my relevant records and handed them over and they were rapidly able to ascertain that the person concerned was indeed stealing and they had the proof.

At the time I took in lodgers for some years in my first home I used to keep very exact financial records and was clearly able to see when a lodger stole from me one time - and proved it. I got my money back:)

fuddle

I'm an advocate of written record too. I wonder if electronic phone records would 'stand up' given the ability to edit any note taken etc. Anyway, it's not relevant to me as pen and paper, or an email trail, is my way and always will be.