How to start a list journal, with titles to try

To start a list journal, take any notebook, write a title such as "Things that went better than expected today" at the top of a page, and list items one per line until you run out. Date the page. Tomorrow, a new title.

A list journal is a diary for people who dislike diaries. No paragraphs, no catching up, no blank page staring back. Just a title and a column.

Things you need

• A notebook. Any notebook. The one in the drawer will do; it has been waiting for a purpose.
• A pen that does not skip. A skipping pen deserves a list of its own.
• Five minutes. Ten, if the list concerns people who interrupted you.
• A place to keep the notebook where you will see it and your houseguests will not.

How to begin, in order

• Write the date in the corner. Future you will want to know when you felt this strongly about soup.
• Write a title at the top. Make it specific; "Things I liked" is a shrug, "Things I liked about Tuesday" is a list.
• Write one item per line. A noun, a phrase, a very small sentence.
• Add a comment after an item only when it begs for one. The comment is where the wit lives.
• Stop when it stops. Three honest items beat twelve dutiful ones.
• Turn the page. Tomorrow deserves its own title.

Lists for the first week

• Monday: Things I can see from where I am sitting. A warm-up. The room will surprise you.
• Tuesday: Small things that went right. The bus, the toast, the email that needed no reply.
• Wednesday: Sounds I heard before lunch. Write them quickly, before they blur into noise.
• Thursday: Things I keep meaning to do. Writing them down does not do them, but it stops them circling.
• Friday: Things people said that I want to remember. Paraphrase is fine; nobody is taking minutes.
• Saturday: Foods I would happily eat again this week. Practical and joyful, a rare pairing.
• Sunday: Things that were better than I expected. The best list. Return to it often.

More titles to borrow

• Things that are better in the rain. Puddles, soup, staying in.
• Words I said out loud today that surprised me. Keep the page private.
• Rooms I remember from childhood, with one detail each. The wallpaper always comes back first.
• Things that took far longer than they should have. A list that writes itself.
• Excellent smells, ranked. Ranking is half the pleasure.
• Mistakes I am secretly glad I made. Nobody else needs the footnotes.
• Things that look best at seven in the morning. Even if you are rarely awake to see them.
• Small luxuries that cost almost nothing. Clean sheets lead most versions of this list.
• Opinions I have quietly changed. Write the old one too, for contrast.
• Promises I have made to houseplants. Honour at least one.
• People who were kind to me this month. Then, perhaps, a note to one of them.

Rules worth keeping

• Never apologise in a list journal. Skipped days are not a debt.
• Be specific. "Nice weather" is a forecast; "first cold morning, breath like a kettle" is a list item.
• Be a little unfair. A private list is not a review, and it is allowed opinions.
• Repeat titles. The same list a month apart shows you what changed.
• Number only when you mean to rank. Ranking is a pleasure; do it on purpose.
• Keep the comments to one line. Two lines is a diary sneaking back in.

Things that go wrong, and the fix

• The list feels dull. The title is too broad; narrow it to a day, a room or a person.
• You skip a week. Start again with "Things that happened while I was not writing".
• You run out of titles. Keep a list of titles at the back of the notebook. A list of lists is not cheating.
• It turns into a to-do list. Give chores their own page, so the journal stays a place for noticing.
• Every list sounds the same. Change the time of day you write; morning lists and evening lists are different creatures.
• Someone reads it. Ah. Next title: Places to hide a notebook.

Small pleasures of a full list journal

• Flipping back and finding a list you forgot you wrote.
• Discovering you have named the same bakery on four separate pages.
• A page that makes you laugh out loud, alone, on a train.
• Seeing a hard week from the other side, in tidy columns.
• Realising your handwriting improves when the subject is cake.

Good to know

You do not need to be a writer to keep a list journal. You only need to notice things and put them in a row.