lifestyle – Page 2 – Keeping it creative

intentional living, journalling, lifestyle, mindset, Planning and journaling, reflective journalling, self care, Setting goals and intentions

Why I’m ditching The Five Minute Journal and what I’m trying now

Posted on Jun 26, 2025Jun 26, 2025 by Laura

Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative

For the past couple of years now, I’ve been using The Five Minute Journal consistently as a way of recording what I’m grateful for, thinking about how to make my day as good as possible, selecting a positive affirmation and making a note of the main highlights each evening. There are so many positives about this journalling system, which, as the name suggests, can be filled in very quickly using the prompts given. So, you might wonder why I’ve made the decision to stop using it? Today, I’m going to be sharing my main reasons and also talking about what I’ve started using instead.

Why I’m no longer using The Five Minute Journal

As you can see in the photo above, I’ve worked my way through four of The Five Minute Journals lasting six months each. I’ve mainly enjoyed using this guided journal with daily prompts, but a few months ago, I started to think about trying something else. This was mainly because I felt like my practise was getting a bit stale and repetitive and wanted something that I would really look forward to filling in twice a day. Here’s some of the things which have made me fall out of love with it:

The Gratitude section – I found this first bit really difficult to fill in when half asleep in the early morning. I would have preferred to list what I was thankful for in the evening so I could draw from things which had happened during my day.

The ‘What would make today great?’ section – I liked coming up with things that would make a difference to my day but I also felt like I wanted to explain why and the journal did not allow enough space for this. I think I would have preferred it if the section was a little more flexible so that you could maybe write one thing and provide an explanation or 2 or 3 things without going into detail.

The Daily Affirmation section – I liked choosing an affirmation for the day but I did sometimes struggle with coming up with one and had to resort to looking on the Internet for ideas which kind of made the process take a lot longer than five minutes.

Highlights Of The Day section – I continued to enjoy writing my highlights and often found myself writing a fourth one. I would have liked a bit more room to write in more detail for this part but, this would have taken longer than five minutes to complete if it was longer.

What did I learn today? section – For this part, the idea was to write something that the day had taught you about yourself or your situation, so, for example you could write ‘scrolling the news on my phone makes me feel sad’ or ‘sometimes when I feel hungry, I’m actually thirsty and should try drinking water before turning to a snack’. Often, I found this difficult and would end up writing something general that I’d learnt that day such as a new piece of knowledge or some advice that I’d come across. However, I felt that these ‘learnings’ were not really what the section was getting at. I felt like this became a drag and something I dreaded trying to fill in which isn’t how I wanted to feel as filling in the journal is meant to be a positive experience.

Weekly Challenges – these were something I looked forward to, but, I didn’t always have time on the particular day it was presented on and I often ended up forgetting about it when really, it would have been better to do it on an alternative date. Also, I think I would have preferred it if there was a menu of options at the back of the book and you could choose one which suited you at that time.

Despite me not wanting to purchase another ‘The Five Minute Journal’, what I didn’t want to do was abandon journalling altogether. And, luckily, I found an alternative journal in a garden centre whilst I was visiting family. My new journal is beautiful to look at, great to write in (much better quality paper) and allows more flexibility with what you can write about. I create a morning and evening entry and I would say it takes me no longer than ten minutes in the morning and no longer than fifteen in the evening. It’s helped me to fall in love with journalling again and I’m really enjoying filling it in. It also has an extra little prompt each day which changes regularly and, every now and then, it has something different on the next page which you can choose to fill in at some point during your day.

My New Journal

Below, is the journal that I’ve just started using partway through this month. I picked it up at Easter time and was really looking forward to getting going with it. I’ve also photographed some pages to give you an idea about the morning and evening prompts and also some of the extra challenges that are dotted throughout the book. You’ll also see that it has some gorgeous illustrations too which definitely adds to the appeal!

Final words…

Any regular practice in life can sometimes get a little boring and become hard to maintain interest in, so it can really help to shake things up every now and then. I’m interested to know if other journallers have ditched a particular form of journalling and tried something new. Sometimes change can be scary but often, it can also be invigorating too. I would love to hear what you think of my new journal and if it appeals to you too so let me know in the comments.

creativity, journalling, lifestyle, memory keeping, Planning and journaling, reflective journalling, TN journaling, Traveler's Notebook, Traveler's Notebook Spreads

How I journal about my holidays: creative ways to record travel adventures

Posted on Jun 13, 2025Jun 20, 2025 by Laura

(N.B. image heavy post this time)

Last month, we spent a lovely week in Faro, the capital of the Algarve region of Portugal. Whilst I usually do a double page traveler’s notebook spread each month, documenting the main highlights, when we go on holiday somewhere new, I will dedicate a whole notebook to the trip which includes journalling, lots of photographs, ephemera and general momentoes which can be stuck in. Today, I’m sharing how I prepare for my journal before I go and whilst away and I’m also including examples of double page spreads showing the different creative ways I document my holiday.

What I do prior to and whilst I’m away

So, let’s start with my preparations so that working on and completing my journal is much easier when I get back home. These are key to ensuring I have all the information and need and key details that I might otherwise have forgotten.

Before I head off on my holiday

Before I go, I make the journal itself. I create a TN wide size insert choosing colours, patterns or images on the scrapbooking paper which suit my coming trip. So, for example, this time, I opted for a bright and cheerful flamingo, flower and leaf themed paper from the Paradise Crush collection of 12×12 papers (200gsm heavyweight cardstock even though referred to as paper). This was because I had read that there are flamingoes to be seen in the lagoon (Ria Formosa). I love selecting the cover paper myself and then hand-stitching blank white paper for the inside. I choose quite thin white paper so the journal doesn’t get so thick that it won’t close properly when I add to my pages.

Shortly before travel, I add a small notebook to my handbag and make sure I have a pen too. This is useful for writing details during my holiday so I don’t forget things when I return. Just a word of warning if you’re going on a flight though – be sure to select your pen carefully as the liquid ink in my V5 Pilot Hi-Tecpoint pen must have expanded whilst in the air and when I got it out to write with on arrival the pen came apart and I got covered in ink! Luckily, it was just my hands that got ink all over them, not my clothes.

The final thing I take with me is something to store ephemera (collectable bits and pieces) in. This time, I took a popper wallet and it came in very useful for keeping papers flat. I do wish I’d opted for a slightly bigger folder though as I had some bigger things that I had to fold up to ensure they fit.

During my holiday

Notetaking Throughout the holiday, I make notes and reflect on my day. This is easy to do in the little notebook I mentioned earlier which comes with me wherever I go. This could include the name of a place we visited, my menu choices in a restaurant or cafe, timings of events during the day, a funny anecdote or how I felt in a particular place.

Taking photographs I take lots and lots of photographs whilst we’re away – better to have too many than not enough, right? However, for me, it’s not just about taking photos of each other and things my husband and I see or do, it’s also very much an aide memoire of various elements of our trip too. For example, when in Faro and on our day trips, I took photos of menus from the various eateries we went to, a screenshot of the weather for the week, close up shots of cocktail descriptions, shop fronts where I made my souvenir purchases and screenshots of locations of places we planned to go later on in the week. Also, talking of photos, I took my selfie stick so that we could take shots of the pair of us together rather than having to ask other tourists to take them for us.

Collecting ephemera In the traditional sense of memory keeping journalling, ephemera usually refers to stickers and die cut paper and card images which can be glue or stuck into the journal pages. However, for me, it means anything and everything which could be stuck in as a memory of our holiday. On our trip to Portugal, I collected and saved business cards for cafes and restaurants, maps picked up at the Tourist Information places, leaflets such as the one advertising our boat trip so I could cut out letters for titles, small images or bits of information, receipts from shops and eateries, paper tickets (e.g. entry to the cathedral and for our train ride to Albufeira), samples from paper bags we were given to house our souvenirs in and even the cup cover for our glasses in our hotel room. Some of the things I didn’t end up using but at least I was well prepared with paper goodies I did want to add. I also only used parts of my items sometimes, so, for example, I trimmed a large map down to fit on a double page spread and I cut the logo from a business card of a place called Veganbox we ate in a few times.

Creating my travel journal

It’s up to you how you do your journalling and the elements you include within the pages but here’s some ideas:

travel information including modes of transport and tickets
the weather whilst you’re away
places of special interest you visited
photos of the accommodation you stayed in
maps of the place you stayed and other areas that you visited
meals, snacks and drinks enjoyed plus related ephemera
photos of scenes, selfies, family, food and drinks enjoyed etc
souvenirs and why you chose them
information about any traditions of the place / country you went to
an explanation of something new that you learned whilst you were there
activities you did and what you did to relax

Supplies that I find useful and you might too:

roller glue – I use tonnes of this stuff and have two rollers – permanent (to ensure things stick really well and removeable (for when I might want to reposition elements on a page)
stickers – from a variety of larger and small businesses online (purchased from Amazon or businesses such as Papermaze, or Etsy to support small UK sellers), or made myself in Cricut Design Space and printed and cut
We R Memory Keepers 1,2,3 punch board – for making the mini envelopes I included
Washi tapes – I have collected so many of these over the years and use them in my memory keeping as well as my bullet journal planner
Die cuts – I didn’t use any this time but small ones of these are useful as decor on pages
Pens – biros or gel ink and possibly coloured pens for writing straight into the journal

I’ll let the photos of my pages do the talking now but if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with me.

Final words…

Times are certainly changing with creative journalling and memory keeping. A few years ago (maybe a few more!), everything used to be paper based, but now, many things that I would usually stick in to my journal, such as flight information, boarding passes, entry tickets to places and for excursions and so on are often completely digital. To make sure I can still include at least some of these, my husband has to screenshot the e-tickets on his phone and then forward the images to me in WhatsApp so I can print them off. It’s not the same, but at least it provides some sort of record and adds to the memories stored within my travel journals.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my travel journalling process and seeing photos of my actual pages. There’s quite a lot of work involved in the journals I produce, but you could cut down the time involved by just adding photos and short captions. You could also choose to draw elements of what you see and do on your travels and this would be another lovely way to make the process both creative and therapeutic too.

Thanks for reading and I hope I’ve inspired you to create your own travel journal to document holidays (A.K.A. vacations),

bullet journal, Bullet journaling, creativity, goal setting, intentional living, lifestyle, planner girl, planner lifestyle, Planning and journaling, Setting goals and intentions

My Summer 2025 Bucket List is good to go…

Posted on Jun 1, 2025Jun 1, 2025 by Laura

This is my second year of making seasonal bucket lists and, so far, I’ve managed to make them all quite different. I’ve been looking back at Summer 2024’s spread in my bullet journal and quite a few elements of it were related to our holiday in Wales. This year, however, we’ve had our main trip last month and we haven’t decided where we might go for my birthday in August yet. Today, I’m sharing my finished Summer 2025 bucket list spread in my current BuJo. I’m starting to work on the items already as I follow the meteorological times, beginning on June 1st and finishing on August 31st rather than the astronomical calendar. And, although we had a bit of rain earlier, it’s bright sunshine and blue sky out there now so it certainly feels like the summertime has arrived.

Creating my bucket list and turning it into a bright and colourful spread in my BuJo

Last year, I went into detail about how I develop my list and then turn it into a double page board in my bullet journal and you can read all about my process here. This time, as I’ve noticed there tends to be quite a bit of ink transferal, if I use lots of black, I opted for a lovely, bright pink for the bucket list items. It’s still really easy to read and hopefully, I won’t spend the season erasing smudges!

A couple of items that I chose are common to most of my bucket lists, such as doing a seasonal jigsaw and reading a book set in the particular season but the rest are all something new and different.

Final words…

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my Summer Bucket List spread and it has inspired you to create your own. You don’t necessarily have to make it a creative exercise – just writing one on plain paper and putting it up somewhere prominent such as on a cupboard in your kitchen will be enough to help you make the most of the season. You could even turn it into a family activity where you each contribute some ideas of seasonal favourites or things you’ve always wanted to try. And if you get a bit stuck, you can always turn to AI to generate ‘Fun things to do this Summer’ or your own show me phrase.

I would love to see your finished lists if you would like to share, so feel free to upload it to Instagram and tag me in your post with @ljdesignsne

Hope your Summer is great fun and you create lots of happy memories!

Blogging, crafting, intentional living, journalling, lifestyle, memory keeping, reflective journalling

Currently… Life update March 2025

Posted on Mar 20, 2025Mar 24, 2025 by Laura

It feels like it’s quite a while since I did a life update and with signs of spring emerging, including the sunshine which is currently streaming through my craft room window, I thought I’d do another one to share what’s going on for me right now. Before I start my next paragraph, I’m going to open a new window (on my computer rather than in my room as it’s still pretty chilly today) and look back at my last similar post to see how things have changed.

Currently reading…

…a family mystery called The Midnight Hour by Eve Chase. The book, which is mainly set in Notting Hill, London, swaps between two timelines – (one in the late 1990s and the other, the present day, twenty years later) and tells the story of Maggie and her little brother Kit. It’s the second book I’ve read by this author, and, although it’s not a total page turner like my usual murder mystery and police procedural books generally are, there are a few twists and turns and the storyline is holding my interest well. Unfortunately, it’s taking me a good while to finish any of my books at the moment as when I clamber into bed at around 10.30pm, I’m usually so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open to read a couple of chapters.

This year, I’ve got into audio books and although I haven’t purchased the above one on Audible, the next novel I have lined up was only £1.99 on Kindle and then £2.99 for the accompanying audiobook so good for my tight budget. Plus, it’s set in the USA, so I figured it would be nice to hear some of it read in an American accent. For my first audio book, Geneva by Richard Armitage, I read the whole thing on Kindle and then listened to the audiobook, whereas for my second read, I alternated between reading bits and listening to bits and I think I’ll probably do this for my next read too.

Currently loving…

…addictive word games. I’m a real fan of any kind of word game and a couple of months ago, I was introduced to Wordle and have loved playing ever since. The app, which I have on my mini tablet, features a web based word game where you are given six chances to guess a five letter word. Each time you guess a letter correctly, it turns yellow if it’s in the word but in the wrong location or green if it’s in the correct place within the word. There’s a daily puzzle which I enjoy doing straight after my breakfast to get my brain going and I also regularly compete against other players to be the first to get 25 points by guessing in as small a number of tries as possible. A good understanding of word patterns is put to use as you play and I find it great fun, particularly if I manage to guess the word within a couple of attempts.

Currently making…

…infusible ink projects to get more use out of my Cricut EasyPress 2. One of my goals for this year is to make a number of infusible ink and iron of projects using Cricut Design Space, my JoyXtra and my Easypress 2 medium. I’ve had a blank tote bag for a while now and also bought a set of 3 cosmetic bags in different sizes. I made a little bag for my niece last year but I wanted to do some designs for myself. This week, I’ve added a design to the tote bag using a gorgeous deep purple galaxy infusible ink paper. It didn’t turn out perfect as the ink didn’t completely transfer properly the first time, so I had to re-do it by trying to line the sheet up again, but it’s okay and I love the positivity of the sentiment.

I’m not sure that the photo shows off the colours and the sparkles too well but I experimented with hanging the bag in different locations and this was the best I could do without resorting to using my DSLR camera and Photoshop.

Currently working on…

… completing the initial chapter of my Marie Kondo Tidying Companion workbook. This was one of my goals for February but I didn’t realise how time consuming it would be. At the moment, I’m taking lots of photos of the storage we have upstairs and downstairs in out home, plus lots of snaps of the before of our home. My final task, when I’ve cropped and stuck in all of the photographs, is to pencil in a tidying timeline, set some intentions and record how I’m currently feeling about the process of decluttering my home.

Currently planning…

…a big garden tidy up, setting seeds, chitting our seed potatoes ready for planting and adding some more spring colour to our beds. I put my back out doing some (supposedly helpful) stretches in bed last week and it’s just starting to get back to normal after having to take co-codamol regularly for a number of days. Next week, my husband and I are hoping to schedule in some time to do some gardening jobs including clearing up brown and shrivelled leaves from the beds, mowing the lawn (which disgustingly is currently covered in bird poo from visiting woodpigeons) and cutting back various dead bits of plants. The council will soon be starting brown garden waste bin collections so we want to make the most of our payment for this service. I also want to get some new primulas to add a bit more bright colour as some of ours got killed off last year (who knows why!).

Final words…

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my mini life update and it has inspired you to reflect on all of the things that you have going on right now. If you don’t have your own blog on which to share your “currently…” you could maybe try make a few notes in a journal under your own headings that you can look back on in the future to see how your life changes over time and with the seasons.

Wishing you a wonderful springtime,

bullet journal, Bullet journaling, creativity, goal setting, intentional living, lifestyle, planner girl, planner lifestyle, Planning and journaling, Setting goals and intentions

My Spring 2025 Bucket List

Posted on Mar 5, 2025 by Laura

Late last month, I sat down at my desk to create a list of ideas for what I want to do over the course of spring with a view to writing a bucket list for the season. When I’d finalised things, I set to work on a two page spread in my bullet journal which contains all of my planned activities, a sticker image or two to represent each one and some general springtime flowers. Today, I’m sharing the pages I created in the hope of inspiring you to make your own Spring bucket list. I’ll also discuss how I went about choosing what to include.

My finished Spring bucket list BuJo spread

How I went about choosing my bucket list items

I started the process of choosing my items by looking at my vision board for 2025. This helped me to focus in on things I want for the year and I picked out using my Cricut Easypress to create some projects and using the principles of Kaizen to discover why I haven’t made much progress with tidying and organising my craft room. You can see above how I added these to my bucket list.

I also thought about things that I wanted to achieve last year, but, for whatever reason, didn’t get around to or didn’t have much success with. In 2024, we bought a wide shallow pot to grow rainbow chard in. We planted seeds and grew some leaves but we didn’t really maintain them and also never used them in any recipes. For this reason, I’ve added homegrown chard to the bucket list and a picture of some nice colourful leaves to remind me of my intention.

Next, I considered creative pursuits that I want to do more of and remembered that I loved exploring with my watercolour paints. I hope to do more painting so I added ‘Do another watercolour exploration or two’ to my list. I’ve tried to keep it realistic and doable by only stating one or two activities this spring as I tend to add too many items and then struggle to get them all ticked off in the given time.

There are also a few activities on my list which I like to do every year or each season such as decorating our home, doing a seasonal jigsaw and collecting photos, ephemera, caption ideas and tip ins for my creative journalling. This year, I’ve bought a gorgeous Garden Allotment jigsaw puzzle which I couldn’t wait to get started on and have already made good progress with. I’ve also started to change our home decor to add spring related accents, including a few new ornaments which I purchased over the weekend. Towards the end of the season, we will be going on holiday to Portugal and, whilst there, I will be planning which aspects of the trip I wish to document in my journal so this has become part of my bucket list too.

Finally, I turned to Google and Pinterest to provide inspiration for other items to add to my list. I searched ‘Spring bucket list ideas for adults’ and selected some activities which appealed. I included some which I think would be fun to do such as baking bread and playing an outdoor game. I’ve already seen a frisbee in a National Trust shop which reminded me of my intention to do something I enjoyed as a child but I’m keeping my options open until the sunnier and warmer weather comes.

Final words…

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my spring bucket list as a creative double page spread in my bullet journal. If you haven’t yet had a go at writing a seasonal list, I thoroughly recommend it as a way of making sure you get the most out of the coming months. It’s also great fun creating decorative pages and looking at a colourful layout (especially with doodles or stickers) can help keep you motivated to try new things and revisit favourite activities.

Let me know in the comments if the idea of creating a bucket list appeals and feel free to add your Instagram or other details if you share yours on social media.