How To: Memory Keeping In Your Bullet Journal

Hello Planning Mashers!

Today we’ll be exploring memory keeping in your Bullet Journal, which is probably my favorite thing to do – I’m so excited!

So get ready and let’s create a memory journal together.

Your life is happening right now, and it’s never going to be the same. Not to say it’ll be worse – it’ll just be different.

But! Will you remember all the wonders of life as it is now? I found myself a while ago realizing that I probably won’t remember most of the things that happen.

First of all – I have the memory of a goldfish and probably can’t even remember what I had for breakfast yesterday.

And secondly – because our brains are wired in a way that we tend to give more memory space to negative things. So, looking back, you might end up remembering only the least pleasant moments.

That’s why I decided to start adding more memory-keeping elements to my Bullet Journal and eventually, ended up having an entirely separate journal for that.

Before we dive into the post, I just wanted to mention that I have several memory-keeping YouTube videos which I’ll add at the end of the post, so if you wanna see my process – scroll down!

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Why Create Memory-Keeping Pages

If you’re a part of our Patreon family (join for as little as 1$!), you’re probably there every Sunday when I do a live Plan With Me and set up yet another memory page in my journal.

I noticed that every week as I sit down to create, I’m a bit lost – I don’t remember any special things, or anything particularly good. Just the same routine and lots of work.

But it all changes as we go because I force myself to remember what are some things that happened, and what are some beautiful moments I experienced.

Just like that, I put these moments on paper and they are an official part of my story now; they’re there to remind me how good and wonderful things were, even when it was hard and nerve-wracking (thank you CORONAVIRUS!).

This is probably the most important reason. Memory pages help me to see my life in a more positive way, to be more appreciative of what I have in life.

In turn, all of this leads to me being generally a happier and more grateful person. And this has a positive impact on every area of my life!

I also love how memory pages allow you to travel back in time.

Every time I look at my old pages, I relive those beautiful memories, and it brings a smile to my face.

Finally, it’s also a great way to keep track of your life milestones and see actually just how far you went. Sometimes, it feels like nothing you do really matters much and doesn’t help to develop or reach your goals faster. 

But look back at your memory pages, and they’ll remind you about your journey and how much all your little efforts paid off.

So I wouldn’t say they are must-have, but I definitely recommend them as page ideas for beginners.

Memory-keeping pages are also great as small notebook ideas, so you can finally put all your journal collection to use

How To Keep Memories In Your Bullet Journal

First of all, your Bullet Journal is already a memory-keeping journal! Your mood tracker, gratitude log, or even your daily to-do list… they will bring lots of memories.

When I look back on my August 2019 pages, all the to-do lists remind me how difficult it was to pack up and leave the country after 8 years there, but also how exciting it was to start a new adventure here in Bolivia.

You get what I’m saying.

Daily/Weekly Log

You can of course also add little bits of memories to your daily entries.

I still do it occasionally – if something big happens you’ll see me adding extra caps text to my daily boxes.

Alternatively, you can also add separate memory boxes to your weekly setups and keep your memories there.

Monthly Memory Page

This has been my absolute favorite spread to create in my Bullet Journal.

Every month I sit down and review the month, trying to remember all the beautiful moments it brought to my life.

I usually fo a LIVE plan with me on Instagram for my monthly memory pages, so be sure to follow and join me next time, or maybe check out the recording on my IGTV.

Yearly Memory Page

Usually, for my yearly review, I try to be a bit more detailed and add more things than just memories. You can check my post How To Create A Yearly Review In Your Bullet Journal.

But still, there could be no review without some memory keeping.

I always find it so difficult to put the entire year on paper, but I find that it’s easier now that I know I have my monthly pages with more detailed memory keeping.

Memory Keeping Collections

You can also create a separate collection for memory keeping. 

Just have a few empty pages where you’ll randomly write when something good happens.

Or, do like I did in 2019 and create a year in pictures spread, where I added one picture for each month of the year. It was a lot of fun but a pro tip here – be sure you leave more than just two pages for your photos!

Memory Keeping Journal

Finally, you can always bring your memory keeping to a whole new level and create a separate journal.

For my memory journal, I chose a sparkly Archer and Olive notebook, just so it would reflect the sparkly memories I’m adding there.

I started my memory journal as a way of tracking what’s happening with the pandemic. Honestly, this is such a unique thing happening to us these days that I thought it would be very interesting to remember how things were.

Supplies For Memory-Keeping Journal

Before I share with you how to set up these memory pages (even when nothing is happening), I wanna share with you some of my favorite supplies I’m using for memory keeping.

As you know I decided to have a separate memory journal, and for that, I’m using an A5 Archer and Olive notebook. This notebook is incredibly pretty, and because the pages are so thick it means that I can go crazy and use any materials I want.

If you ever decide to get yourself an Archer and Olive notebook, you can use code MASHA10 to get 10% off your order!

For fineliners, I usually stick to Faber Castell Pitt Artist pens, since they are definitely my absolute favorites. They are on the expensive side, though, and there are many other brands of great fineliners. Be sure to check my post The Best Pens For Bullet Journaling.

I love making my memory pages bright and colorful and mostly for that, I’m using my Zebra Mildliners or Tombow Twin Tone markers.

Finally, I also love to use tons of stickers and washi. It’s a fun way to put into use all the stationery I buy, to experiment with things I don’t usually use in my day-to-day planning, and finally – to fill out empty space I might have on my pages during very slow days.

For washi, I’m crazy about Simply Gilded, and most of my collection is from them. You can see me going crazy with SImply Gilded washi and other stationery in my June Plan With Me.

You can also find some awesome washi tape on Amazon!

For stickers, I like using little shops from Etsy. They usually are very fun and creative, and it’s nice to be supporting small businesses like my own.

Other stickers I use are the ones I design for our Patreon. Every month I create a US Letter-sized sticker sheet with different themes each time.

If it sounds interesting – be sure to give it a look and see all the other awesome things I offer to my Patrons. You can join for as little as $1, and your support helps a lot for me to work on Masha Plans projects.

I also forgot that I sometimes use stamps as well. You can get stamps on Etsy or Amazon. Here I just want to recommend the ink I’m using – VersaMagic. They have tons of beautiful colors available and are pretty high quality.

How To Create Memory-Keeping Pages

Ok, I think the first argument you’ll have is “but nothing really happens with my life these days; what would I add to my memory pages?”

Believe me, nothing really happens to most of us these days with the pandemic. But it doesn’t mean that your life isn’t happening and isn’t full of cute little moments.

Think of mundane things you usually wouldn’t even take note of – a funny joke in the show you’ve been watching, how pretty the sunset was that one evening, a heart-to-heart conversation you had with your friends over Zoom, or how much you love your pet.

Really I start each page thinking omg nothing happened what should I add to my page, and yet every week I end up filling out the entire page.

Here are a few things you might ask yourself to get your memory going:

• What made you smile
• What are you thankful for
• What is your playlist right now
• What new movie/tv show did you watch
• Did you have any vivid dreams
• What have you been thinking about
• How was the weather
• What is something delicious you ate
• What words inspire you this week

Now hopefully, you have some ideas on what to add to your memory page, but how do you create one?

Well, this is where you let your imagination flow! memory pages are a great place to experiment with different materials and techniques.

You might want to use lettering and just add lots of beautiful words to your memory page.

Or maybe you’re a doodling type and want to doodle away all the wonderful things that happened.

Or maybe you’re like me and like to do everything together, as well as use other materials – stickers, washi tapes, stamps, and all that jazz.

I also really love to add photos to my memory pages. First of all – it allows me to give more use to my HP Sprocket, but most importantly – it brings the memories to life!

One photo speaks volumes, and this is exactly how I feel, so I always try to add any photos possible. My memory-keeping journal is a bit of a photo album!

It sounds a bit archaic, I guess, but we always take photos to preserve the memories but so rarely look back! Not in my memory journal, though, I look through these pages pretty often.

If you want to check out how I set up my memory-keeping pages – check the video below, where I created a friendship memory page in my journal.

Do you create memory pages in your Bullet Journal?

Let us know in the comments!

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And remember: Keep Bullet Journaling, and Don’t Be A Blob.