Hi hello, new to the comm! I'm curious, as we head into the final two months of the year, does anyone have any journaling takeaways or lessons that 2026 taught them about their system(s), things that they're implementing now or taking into the new year? 

Something that I learned this year was about size. I use a rings system for my planning and a bound notebook for my journaling. I had a pocket size Filofax which worked wonderfully during the part of the summer where I was only taking one class and running one D&D campaign. Now, with three classes, an internship, running two D&D campaigns and being in a third, plus various end of year due dates and deadlines, I found myself needing to move up to personal, which seems to be a great fit! I still value portability, so I need to have something that won't take up too much space in my bag. But I've greatly enjoyed playing around with rings planners over this year, and figuring out what makes them work for me. 

Also about planners, I learned I really do just need everything in one place. I'd experimented with a school planner vs. a personal/everything else planner and that...simply wasn't working for me. (A major perk of the rings system: the modality of adding or subtracting sections and pages as necessary!)

Another thing I learned, obvious as it may be, is that journaling doesn't have to be an every day thing. Part of this revelation was helped by going through old journals and seeing just how much of an interwoven cluster mess they all are, with large chunks of time missing between entries. And, when I switched to an undated book, I realized the structure of a dated book, for the purposes of journaling, adds that pressure back on. I'm having much more fun and using my journal more when I no longer feel tied to the date or daily entry format. I still date my pages, for my own reference, but it's not nearly as pressure-inducing for me. Which is good! Journaling should not be stressful. 

What other ah-ha moments did anyone else have this year? Curious to know!

19x Transformers IDW, 7x Scarlet Witch, 6x Transformers: Prime, 5x Angel's Egg, 2x Kill Six Billion Demons, 2x Thousand Hells: The Underworld Heists, 1x The Adventures of Prince Achmed, 1x The Power Fantasy, 1x Transformers: Worst Bot Ever, 1x Wonder Woman over here.

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Disney/anime/misc cartoons: Cinderella, Frozen, Alice In Wonderland, The Aristocats, Sleeping Beauty, Kiki's Delivery Service, Sailor Moon, Your Name, Daria
Movies: Return to Oz, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Hamnet, Catherine Called Birdy, Army of Darkness, Firebird, My Policeman, Velvet Goldmine, The History of Sound, All Of Us Strangers, Elsinore, Benjamin, Hamlet (Andrew Scott)
TV:Loki, Vikings, Sherlock
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