Travel journals are something that you may have decided to do for an upcoming holiday trip, or for a long-term set of trips you plan for the year. The problem with travel journals is deciding how you want to keep one and maintaining a routine of keeping one. If you really want to make a travel journal work for you, here are some tips that can help.
Plan Out Your Trips
It may sound simple to plan your trips, but planning them out can help your travel journal entries. For example, you may know you are going to Rome. You may have the travel journal for the trip. What you do not have is an agenda that can help you plan out the journal itself. Sit down and map out the cities, sites, and even events you will be visiting on the trip. Set aside sections of your travel journal for those entries. It ensures you have enough room in the journal and gives you sections that are just waiting to be filled.
Use Prompts Designed for Each Trip
Write out prompts for each area, event, or the trip as a whole. By writing prompts for each day or event you give yourself something to answer. You give yourself the chance to reflect on what you have seen in a more concentrated and specific manner. You can also make prompts that push you to go to areas that you would not visit normally. For example, a prompt suggesting what the local cafe and best coffee house are like could lead you to go to an area less traveled.
Create and Decorate Pages Specific to the Trip
Consider decorating pages and making them more creative. You can use photos, stickers, and anything you would like to make the pages jump out. The idea of a travel journal is to record your personal journal. Try making the journal as personal as possible visually as well.
Set Goals for Your End Result Journal
One way to really push through and keep up with your travel journal is to set an end goal for your journal. This can be a final thoughts section. You can also go with pictures from each area of your trip and making captions for them. You may even want to make sure you take a picture when you arrive back at your home to put at the end, which will help you move through the journal to the end of the trip.
By incorporating these tips, you can make a travel journal work for you. You can make it into an ideal memory to look back in later in life as well.
I used to make travel journals as a child but hadn’t thought of making one as an adult – thanks for the tips!