Ramblings-n-Writings

Archive for April 8th, 2008

I’m not much of a journal writing person, but I am attached at the hip to my DayTimer. The other day while blog surfing I read a couple of posts about Journal 10+. Talk about a cool concept! The posts got my curiousity up, so I visited Journal 10+’s website. After a little exploration and reading reviews, I was hooked. My copy arrived today from Amazon.

So, what is Journal 10+? It’s a 493-page journal that spans 10 years. (It actually includes an 11th year, hence the name Journal 10+, since the designer assumed people would start journaling somewhere in the middle of a year.) Now, if you are a prolific writer, this probably isn’t a journal for you. Each day only has 4 lines. In the back of the journal are Carryover pages for more writing. The neat part is that each day has a page and that page is divided into years. If you look at the middle photo, you’ll see that the journal is open to July 4 and lists the years, all 11 of them, down the side with room to write an entry each year. What a neat way to remember what you did for the holiday three years ago! Each month also has an overview page (bottom photo) that lists the days down the side and years across the top.

Along with the Carryover pages in the back, there’s an address/phone section, special dates section divided by month, and (another favorite concept of mine) a keeping track section. The keeping track section has one page for each year. The page is divided into four sections – one for medical records, one for automobile records, and two blank sections. I love the idea of being able to keep track of things like that. In fact, with some recent car trouble we’ve had, I’ve had to dig out old receipts and knowing exactly what date to look for would’ve been awesome! Oh, and in the front of the journal is a long term planning section with goals and accomplishments for each year.

By the way, the quality of the journal seems very durable. The cover is leatherette and very similar to a softcover Bible cover. The inside pages are smooth without a lot of grain making it extremely easy to write. The binding is also very similar to a softcover Bible and includes two bookmarks too. I must say that I do agree with a review that I read – a spiral binding would be perfect, especially for us lefties!

I have the distinct feeling that I’m going to be attached to the hip with my Journal 10+, and DayTimer is going to be losing a customer. Something that may deter some from purchasing the journal is the cost. The current year’s journal costs roughly $35, but if you do the math, over 10 years the journal costs $3.50 per year (far less than one would spend on a DayTimer or similar brand refill). On Journal 10+’s website, you can purchase a previous year for about $20 and save a little money. I had originally considered doing this, but decided that I wouldn’t remember enough from 2007 to include! I purchased my journal through Amazon because I receive free shipping and the cost worked out to be the same as Journal 10+ when you added their shipping cost.

If you use a Journal 10+, how do you use yours? Do you keep track of family events or work items? (I’m seeing great potential for tracking my business growth as well as family and farm events.) What’s your opinion of the journal? Leave a comment!