As a longtime journal fanatic (and admittedly a collector), I have grown intrigued by the trend of journalling ecosystems that has been growing on social media over the past few months. For those of you unfamiliar with this term, it describes a personal network of journals and notebooks that work together in harmony to enhance one’s life. These systems are intended to be used for a range of purposes, including, but not limited to organisation, self-expression and personal growth. Each journal is assigned a purpose, with the goal of them all working together to form a well-rounded journalling practice, and in turn, contributing to a well-rounded life. 

I was initially drawn to this idea as a source of inspiration for my own journalling practice; the concept of a system of journals working together seemed like an innovative way of implementing structure into my journalling. Like many of  us, I am always in search of tools I can utilise to make my life easier, more productive, more fulfilling, or whatever I might be yearning for that day. Whilst I already have an established journalling practice (although  I never would  have called it that previously, due to intense imposter syndrome), I still hoped this might be the system I needed in order to fix my life. I felt that the structure might be beneficial to my rather sporadic journalling routine. 

There are important benefits to having a sense of structure to your journalling . It can both help you to gain more from your journalling in general, as well as preventing aimless use, such as rumination (often under the guise of processing emotions). Through the use of guidelines, you can gain more clarity in your journalling without getting overwhelmed by the contents. Having said this, I do think there are limitations to the way this trend is approaching the act of journalling itself. 

Popular videos about journalling ecosystems recommend an intense, and sometimes rigid, structure. This is an easy way to fall into the trap of obsessing over perfection in your journals, as opposed to actually using them in a functional manner. For example, I have seen various social media posts of people agonising over the 'right’ way to use their journals; worrying over notebooks being cohesive, not being able to complete a journal in exactly a year, and the journals not being aesthetic enough to post in the first place. All of this transforms the supposedly mindful and restorative act of journalling into a performance. 

This leads to people prioritising the aesthetics over the actual practical function. You can also see this in the abundance of posts and articles telling us we need to buy specific journals, such as the hugely popular Hobonichi journal, as well as other journalling supplies. This takes away from the well-being benefits of journalling, and acts as another trend that persuades consumers to buy more unnecessary products, which will inevitably be abandoned when the pressure of these systems becomes too much. Already people have been finding some of these trending notebooks in second-hand shops, which just goes to show how quickly they’re falling out of use. 

Bullet journals were another similar trend from several years ago that went through a similar life cycle. Many of us picked up bullet journalling back in 2018 as a cute and fun organisational tool. However, as with journalling ecosystems, the original intended use and benefits of bullet journalling were lost in the noise and broken communication of social media. An organisation method originally created to help people with ADHD was turned into an overly complicated, aesthetics-focused practice that became inaccessible to its target audience. These too, were quickly abandoned, as the effort and pressure of perfection made consistent upkeep near impossible.

These kinds of perfection-obsessive and effort-intensive journalling trends only serve to create an unsustainable practice that does not translate long term. Combined with the high standards and pressure set by social media influencers, a level of shame is added when you can’t keep up with what the internet leads you to believe everyone else is managing. This means that so many people are missing out on the many benefits of a regular journalling ritual due to it being presented in a way that is impossible to stick to. One of the most worrying aspects of this is that the people most likely to miss out on this are the people who would benefit from it most.

So, why do we misinterpret the original meanings and purposes of these tools that could be so useful to us in so many ways? I have a few theories. We live in an age where we are so accustomed to immediate rewards for our efforts; an immediate dopamine boost from a short-form video on social media, or our online orders delivered the next or even the same day. It’s not surprising that we are now having difficulty with the idea of things having to grow slowly and without being rushed or forced. This also explains our need for a new notebook or other stationery items in order to even start our journalling system; we need a reward to motivate ourselves before we’ve even started. This can work to an extent, but we can’t ignore the effects we have on the environment by doing this . We also reward ourselves throughout the process by making our journals visually pleasing, which in theory inspires us to use them more, until the pressure of meeting that standard every time actually puts us off. While the original intentions of all these motivations are not inherently bad, it can still lead to an overall negative effect on our journalling practice.  

Does this mean that journalling ecosystems are completely futile? I don’t believe they are. They can be very beneficial, but not in the way they are currently sold to us online. Due to our collective obsession with immediacy, we have forgotten the art and the value of building something over a prolonged period of time. I’m talking years. This is especially relevant for something that we’re naming an ecosystem, because, just as in nature, this has to grow and adapt organically to our needs and use in order to function successfully. 

I say all of this from experience. I began journalling as a young child by writing accounts of my days in various diaries. I now have a rotation of journals, sketchbooks and planners that have all organically found their distinct purposes over the years, so I can attest to the satisfaction of having a lifetime’s worth of journals showing your growth, along with a system that works for you. 

We don’t have to view journalling ecosystems as something so out of reach that it could never work for us. We just need to realise that in order for a system to feel natural to use, it has to be built naturally, and in a way that feels authentic to us. After all, you’re the only person your system has to work for, so why should you tailor it to others’ perceptions? And it’s never too late to start. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll figure out a system that suits your needs.