Lately, I’ve found myself wrestling with the feeling that time is moving faster than I can keep track of. Add to that a disquieting sense that days, months, and even years seem to blur together. There’s no halting time — countless anecdotes and pop culture references attest to this (not to mention science).
But I’ve been in search of a way to be more present in my daily life so that rapid-fire time passing slows even a little bit. I’ve found a solution in a product and practice that I’m convinced is one of the best purchases (and decisions) I’ve made in a while: A five-year journal . Each daily page is divided into five short sections for you to fill in on that date for the next five years.
When you reach that date again the following year, you revisit the day’s previous entries — and see what you were up to that day, rediscovering forgotten moments and reflecting on how your life has changed since. When I was looking for the right five-year journal to invest in for myself, I explored a multitude of options. I was struck by the reviews I read: People wrote that their five-year journal helped them stay sane amidst difficult life changes and served as a respite, that it helped them recognize their growth year-to-year, and that it actually helped time slow down.
I’ve absolutely found that to be the case for myself: Writing just a few lines a day has helped me appreciate the small moments in my life, helped set each day apart from the last and encouraged me to.