I’ve never been successful at keeping a daily journal because it feels overwhelming for me to recount situations experienced throughout a specific day. Maybe I’m doing it wrong? Maybe I should journal in the morning or journal more about my thoughts than events. I’ll add it to my ever-growing list of ways to better myself, I guess. In the meantime I came up with the idea to start keeping, what I like to call, a 5 Senses Journal. It’s an easy way for me to reflect on the pieces of my day that directly affected me most and highlight the details I care to remember when I look back at my journal. I think through the most memorable five senses I experienced that day and make notes of the situation.

How to Create Your 5 Senses Journal in 4 Steps:

1. Pick a Journal You Love

Seems simple enough, right? It should be – you’re creating something for yourself to enjoy. I always find it satisfies my soul to pick up a fresh journal, a funky designed cover encompassing blank pages waiting for my thoughts. Pick a journal that speaks to you because it’ll live next to your bedside and likely be what you see before you go to bed and when you wake up.

2. Make it Yours

I always find the inner flap of new, fresh journal to feel kind of awkward – do I write: “Property of Caitlin” to pay homage to my childhood journals? Maybe, for old time’s sake. But now I find it refreshing to tape or glue in a special photograph or quote. The quote that currently sits in my journal is: “The trouble is, you think you have time.” – Buddha. This quote reminds me everyday that life is short, and do what I need to do NOW, because life moves quickly and will be over before I know it.

3. Reflect on Your 5 Senses

I always think through my senses in this order: See, Hear, Taste, Touch, Smell. Reflecting on your senses also feels like a way to thank your body for allowing you to notice the simple pleasures of daily life.

4. Write What Comes to Mind, Keep it Simple

The main point of this journal is to keep it simple. Note the first things that come to mind when you’re thinking through your senses, don’t over think it.

Here’s a sample of an average entry:

• See – the puddle in the street that became a wave when the taxi drove through it.
• Hear – listening to Runaround Sue on subway this morning
• Taste – spicy Sriracha on my avocado toast.
• Touch – the foot massage I gave myself in my bath – I chose the wrong shoes to wear today.
• Smell – the fresh basil I sprinkled on my homemade pizza as soon as it came out of the oven. The heat of the pizza always makes the oils in the basil smell so fragrant.

I sometimes wonder why I keep a journal of the arguably mundane details of my day, but it keeps me feeling connected to myself and I love that part of it. Some nights I flip back and my observations make me laugh, they humble me and at the end of the day, no matter what happened – it makes me feel human like everyone else.