How will you keep a record of your summer?

One of the simplest ways to keep a record of your summer is to keep a journal — not in a formal way, but as a place to gather your days as they happen.

You can call it a journal, a Summer Journal, Playbook, Adventures Keepsake, or simply a notebook — it’s a place to keep your thoughts, your days, and the small moments that make up a season. It’s a creative planning and memory book to record the summer, its adventures, thoughts, and ideas. Now, that may sound lofty, but it’s a notebook of your life as you live it this season.

The reason I started one was: 

• To keep a list of events I wanted to attend and those I missed but want to remember for next year.
• To capture ideas and places as I saw them. Whether I was traveling, walking the neighborhood, or being a hometown tourist.
• To have a place for lists that breathe summer – beach reads, summer music, recipes of summer, and gatherings.
• To paste items I accumulated (mementos) and photos of all the adventures

Subsequently, by setting up a Journal, you’ll capture:

• Your Intentions, Thoughts, Ideas, Dreams, Concerns as they flow through the summer
• Your Activities and Ideas as you go through each month of the season
• Collect and keep mementos of your days, events, and travels to remind you of this summer

Simple supplies needed for a Summer Journal:

This doesn’t need to be complicated — use what you already have and add to it as you go.

• You can use any type or size of journal (dot matrix, lined, or blank) you’d like
• Or use a 3-ring binder, just download and print the fun sheets, add blank paper as you want to keep your mementos on
• Writing Utensils of your choice 
• ** NOTE – The following items are not a necessity, but fun and can be added at any time as the summer goes along
• Markers, Colored Pencils, Watercolors – Any artist supplies you wish, not a necessity, but fun
• Glue Tape, Scissors, Paper clips **
• Washi tape, stickers, ribbons – any adornments you want to **
• Stencils, Envelopes **

How to Start a Summer Journal

If you’d like a simple way to begin, here’s one approach:

1. Start the first page with “Summer 202_” and embellish as desired.
2. The following two pages will serve as your Index (or Table of Contents) to keep track of page numbers and what is on each page as you build your journal.
3. From there, you simply begin — adding to it as your days unfold.
4. You can put in a calendar on the following pages – you can get a stencil to draw it on a page, tear a page from your favorite calendar, and glue it in, or draw a bullet journal version. The calendar is a fun way to keep track of your activities. You will be amazed at all the adventures you went on at the end of the summer. 
5. Track your thoughts, feelings, ideas, and anything that is in your head or your heart. Use the journal prompts or activities as they come in the weekly newsletters or on social media throughout the summer. Write or doodle at will. Or just start your journal with your response to this statement – “This summer I am __________.”
6. Plan activities from your Summer Fun List and other ideas as they come along. Sketch, draw bullet journal layouts, and take photos as the days of summer are enjoyed. There are Activity Fun Sheets in the weekly newsletters, monthly Summer Loving the Ordinary eBooks, and Membership to help you come up with ideas of things to do as the Days of Summer progress. If you’d like a simple rhythm to move through the season, you can read more about the 100 Days of Summer here.
7. Finally, add mementos from events you attend, travel, pressed flowers from the garden, golf scorecards, and postcards from places you visit, especially those from your hometown. One way to do this is to remember that this is a place for summer memories…where you can journal – this is the memory that goes with this moment. Or this makes me feel…
8. This journal is a good way to begin capturing your Summer. It is a seasonal version of our Curated Life Journal. If you want more intentional living, using a Summer Journal, we have a course to help you create one. If you wish to have more intentional Summer Living, join our Curated Life Membership.

You don’t need to set this up perfectly before summer begins.

Some women like to spend time creating a Journal or Playbook ahead of the season, while others simply begin with a notebook and build it as they go. Both work beautifully — the goal is simply to have a place to keep your summer.

Over time, this becomes a journal, an activity tracker, and a memory album — a record of your summer as it was actually lived.

Easy Ways to Record Your Summer

If you’d like a little more structure as the season unfolds, the Days of Summer module inside the Curated Life Membership offers weekly ideas, simple rhythms, and a place to move through the season alongside others. Or you can create a Summer Journal or Playbook in a live course with a self-paced option. Finally, if you wish for a free download of the Summer Fun List, sign up for our weekly newsletters.

Or, you can simply begin with your journal and see where the summer takes you.