How to start, define, and create a Curated Life Journal
What is a Curated Life Journal? Why do we need one?
Here is a bit of background on how I started mine.
I carried a sketchbook as an Interior Designer (and avid gardener). I used my sketchbook to write down ideas for spaces, write project lists, sketch out designs on the spot for carpenters and clients, and draw something that caught my eye when I was out and about. I used my sketchbook to draw herbs while waiting at an airport, make notes on recommended books and movies, and for quotes I came across during my day.
Then, one evening, I was scrolling through Pinterest and saw all these Bullet, Creative, and Travel Journals. Those journals called out to me. I had left the Design World and started a storefront (more on that later). I missed my handy sketchbook. So, I purchased a dot-matrix journal.
Bullet Journals – Wow! They are extensive and beautiful in the same breath! Then I started watching YouTube how-tos — OVERWHELM hit big time!!! So, I put it aside until I needed a new morning journal and journaled daily in it.
If you’re looking for a gentle place to begin, my Loving the Ordinary List is a simple monthly practice that pairs beautifully with journaling. It’s free, and it’s a lovely way to start noticing your own rhythms.
Using a Journal to Curate Life
Like many ideas that need time to grow and blossom, mine unfolded slowly.
I started this blog as I was walking into my 50s. I was needing direction back to myself—my soul. Then it hit me that my journal could be my atlas or my journey log of clues about myself. So I started using it and writing ideas down, snippets from the books I was reading, lists for daily life, sketching out ideas, and brainstorming solutions for things that were no longer working in my life.
My Curated Life Journal was born!
If the idea of creating a journal that grows with you feels supportive, my Curated Life Journal is a simple guided framework you can follow at your own pace. Many readers use it alongside their existing notebooks—it’s just another tool, not a rulebook.
Steps to Start Curating Life with a Journal
Here’s how I got started:
First, I started journaling about what I wanted in my life and how I saw myself living every day as my life was at that moment. I’m not living it “as to when I had more money, lost weight, and a better home… you fill in the blank.” Start a journal about how you want to live today.
Second, I wrote about the obstacles or problems I encountered while living that life. Then, I numbered the issues in order of importance. Creating this list helped me see where to begin.
Third, I wrote a title with an issue or dream on a page (also called a banner). Then I started brainstorming every thought, idea, or project associated with it. Brainstorming may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be—just free-flow and write everything that pops into your head.
Lastly, I created a page to track the intention; then, I made another page to keep book club selections, friends’ suggestions, and books I saw mentioned in the media. A tracker page is a two-page layout in the journal.
I’m showing you the pages I created to bring back an old love of reading that I had left behind when life got busy.
If you enjoy seasonal living, journal prompts, book lists, or monthly guidance, we explore these in more depth in the Curated Life Membership. It’s a warm, supportive space with monthly themes, home design modules, gatherings, and gentle encouragement. Inside the 78 Days of the New Year module, we begin exactly here — with a journal, a quiet moment, and a desire to live with intention.
I am showing these pages I created to reignite an old love of reading I had left behind when life got busy.
Repeat these steps as needed throughout your Journal
As time passed, I worked on other problems or frustrations with the same method.
Let me explain my use of the word frustration. My frustrations were often “a feeling of persistent anxiousness about something.” Like “What’s for dinner?” I ran it through the above steps and created an accessible page to help with that.
I keep using this method in my journal. It has helped me move forward in the life I want to create. The journal helped me curate a life that was genuinely mine, with my wants and needs at the center. It will work for you also.
This isn’t a quick solution. Creating the life you want is a journey. Enjoy trying the solutions as they come. Say “No” to what doesn’t work. Just start writing.
I advise finding a writing tool you like to feel in your hand. I love pretty pencils. If you want to color things in like some creative journalers do, then go ahead and use markers—there are no rules except the ones you set for yourself.
The many uses of a Curated Life Journal
Other ways I have used my journal to curate my life:
- To capture ideas until I had time to create them
- To track progress with a tracker page, while forming a new habit
- For notes at events, Zoom meetings, and classes
- To hold questions I wasn’t ready to answer yet
- To create lists for projects and holidays
With a Curated Life Journal, start with what is rolling around in your mind and get it on a page. There is no ruining a journal. Use an Index page to log where items are. If you don’t like what you’ve done, X it out and write, “This is not for me.”
Believe me, you’ll smile when you see it because you are curating and exploring your life, and clearing away what no longer fits. This journal, for me, was the best tool for walking into the life I wanted. I hope it does the same for you.
If this kind of journaling feels like a doorway into something bigger, you’re not alone. Many of the women in our community start here—simply noticing what their days feel like, what matters most, and where life is quietly asking for change.
In Live Your Best Curated Life, we explore these themes more deeply, but gently.
For now, just begin where you are. If you’re ready to turn your curated journal into a curated life, Live Your Best Curated Life opens periodically.
Start noticing your rhythms now, so you can design a life that supports how you truly want to live. Over time, they become the foundation for greater clarity and ease.
Leave a Reply