Q&A a DayTheoretically, I love keeping a diary, but in practice I haven’t been very diligent about it in, oh, the past 10 years or so. Partly, it’s because the rise of smartphones and photo-sharing apps have made it so easy to visually capture and archive everyday life, but that’s not the same as having a blank page for free-form musing on life events, emotional states, goals and dreams, or good old rage-venting. And I regularly feel shame when I look at my pristine, neglected Moleskine journal, covered in a furry layer of dust. So I’m trying out the Q&A a Day: 5-Year Journal. (My favorite solutions are the ones that involve buying cute things.)

This pocket-sized book looks much like the traditional 5-year diary, right down to the old-fashioned gilt-edged pages. There are 365 pages, and five sets of entries with blank years that you can fill in yourself. Whatever day of the year you choose to begin, just flip to that day, write in the current year, and you’re off! The questions range from silly to serious — some capture what you’re doing or thinking at that moment, while others require deeper thought about the past or future. By the time you’ve cycled through the entire diary, you’ll have several years’ worth of answers to the same questions, which should be pretty fascinating to compare and contrast.

Pros: The 4×6-inch size is quite compact (although it’s thicker than a typical paperback), so it’s easy to tuck into a backpack or suitcase and never miss a day. The brown-paper cover and antique lettering on the front, plus that fancy gilt edging, makes this a handsome, unisex journal that would make an impressive gift for anyone.

Cons: The small size is a drawback when it comes to the binding — the pages won’t lie flat, so it’s hard to reach the inner edge of the paper. The blank lines provided for writing are close together and don’t allow much room for in-depth answers. Then again, if you find yourself wanting to write more on a particular topic, you’ve got a perfect excuse to buy another blank book!

I’m sure there will be days when I don’t feel like answering a particular question, and inevitably I’ll miss some days or forget to take the book on a trip with me or something. But I don’t want to be too hard on myself and take away the fun of the project, either. If I skip a week and go back and fill it in later, so what? It will still be an evolving self-portrait in words, told over a period of years. I’m even looking forward to seeing the brand-new cover get some battle scars and scuff marks from its travels with me over the next half-decade. If you need some help getting back into journaling — or starting it for the first time — why not give the Q&A a Day book a try along with me?

Stephanie Perry
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