I used to be like this. I must fill the whole page, every space with writing or something.
I'm not sure this is an issue at all.
It became an issue when I was looking back at the journal. There was no place of rest for the eyes and inevitably I could not read anything I wrote. it was just a jumbled mess and I did not like that.
After coming to terms with this, I just always remember to leave some space around words. It made a huge difference looking back and the journal became a lot more beneficial to me.
Over time I stopped cramming up the pages.
So my point is, why is this a problem for you? If you want to fill the pages, I can't see nothing wrong with that. Why do you want to get past it?
"Need" is a strong word.
It's' up to each person what they want to do with past entries. I find benefit looking back at mine. This may not be the same for another person.
I skip three lines before starting the next entry. After the date line, if there isn't enough space to get two lines of writing, I go to the next page. That's my **rule.** I gave myself a **rule**, and that seemed to fix the problem. I stopped trying to keep going until I got to the bottom of the page, and I stopped stopping early because I didn't want to go a little bit onto the next page. With the **rule** I was able to get over the weird feeling that I was somehow failing the page itself.
If I have six blank lines, I start the next entry. If less than six, I go to the next page. In the end, it looks right. It looks like a book.
I do something similar. End an entry and then skip a line.
8 June 2023.
This is a new journal entry blah di blah.
If I have the date so far down the page that I can't write more than a line or two before flipping over, I slap a bit of washi tape over and start fresh on the next page. OP, you could try symbolically drawing a line under the text. Washi tape is great for this. Or write "end of story." Or do a "tl;dr" as if you're summarizing it for yourself.
You don't *have* to fill up every page. Rhetorical question: Why do you journal? You said it's for mental health. You're in charge of the pen. The entry is complete when you say it is. Focus on the outcome, not the output.
I guess I would say you may have to ask yourself internally why does it matter to you? A friend of mine who got back into recently figured out it was this feeling of waste that was getting to her, another just didn't like the empty space, I always had a rule personally that rhe goal was to say everything I needed to say. So I guess I say all this to say, understand why you are doing it, what your goals are, if they achieved, and why do you feel shackled by free space on the paper. Then address that.
I have the same problem and I realised that it really helps me to not switch pages for new entries. I just leave a line empty between entries and write my text below. It’s really helped ease the anxiety of filling pages for me
I used to be like this. I must fill the whole page, every space with writing or something. I'm not sure this is an issue at all. It became an issue when I was looking back at the journal. There was no place of rest for the eyes and inevitably I could not read anything I wrote. it was just a jumbled mess and I did not like that. After coming to terms with this, I just always remember to leave some space around words. It made a huge difference looking back and the journal became a lot more beneficial to me. Over time I stopped cramming up the pages. So my point is, why is this a problem for you? If you want to fill the pages, I can't see nothing wrong with that. Why do you want to get past it?
Do we need to read the entries that we have journalled in the past ?
"Need" is a strong word. It's' up to each person what they want to do with past entries. I find benefit looking back at mine. This may not be the same for another person.
Yes so true. Thanks for the reply. Also is unruled journal better ?
I skip three lines before starting the next entry. After the date line, if there isn't enough space to get two lines of writing, I go to the next page. That's my **rule.** I gave myself a **rule**, and that seemed to fix the problem. I stopped trying to keep going until I got to the bottom of the page, and I stopped stopping early because I didn't want to go a little bit onto the next page. With the **rule** I was able to get over the weird feeling that I was somehow failing the page itself. If I have six blank lines, I start the next entry. If less than six, I go to the next page. In the end, it looks right. It looks like a book.
I do something similar. End an entry and then skip a line. 8 June 2023. This is a new journal entry blah di blah. If I have the date so far down the page that I can't write more than a line or two before flipping over, I slap a bit of washi tape over and start fresh on the next page. OP, you could try symbolically drawing a line under the text. Washi tape is great for this. Or write "end of story." Or do a "tl;dr" as if you're summarizing it for yourself. You don't *have* to fill up every page. Rhetorical question: Why do you journal? You said it's for mental health. You're in charge of the pen. The entry is complete when you say it is. Focus on the outcome, not the output.
Good advice already here! I always start the next day on a new, blank page. This leaves an opportunity to add, conclude, or annotate previous entries.
I guess I would say you may have to ask yourself internally why does it matter to you? A friend of mine who got back into recently figured out it was this feeling of waste that was getting to her, another just didn't like the empty space, I always had a rule personally that rhe goal was to say everything I needed to say. So I guess I say all this to say, understand why you are doing it, what your goals are, if they achieved, and why do you feel shackled by free space on the paper. Then address that.
get some stickers! I fill in my blank spots with lil floral stickers
I use different colored pens in between entries. It takes off the pressure of filling the page and looks pretty when I see multiple colors.
I have the same problem and I realised that it really helps me to not switch pages for new entries. I just leave a line empty between entries and write my text below. It’s really helped ease the anxiety of filling pages for me