I’m not a consistent journal keeper. I’ve started and stopped, using various methods, more times than I can count, but a year ago, I learned about a new idea from Emily P. Freeman’s podcast The Next Right Thing, which is working very well for me — quarterly reflections. I actually call them “Seasonal Reflections” because I generally do them at the end of each season, but I didn’t want you to think this had anything to do with nature study.

The general idea is that you reflect on one quarter of the year, and write a short record. For example, the last quarter was the winter quarter (December, January, and February,) so at the beginning of March, I looked back over those three months and wrote about that season. 

Emily P. Freeman organizes these reflections as “What I Learned” lists, but I do something slightly different. I took her ideas from episode 61: Look Back – How Reflection Can Help You Make Better Decisions and episode 84: A Beginner’s Guide to Self-Reflection and made a list of reflection questions and places to look for things to reflect on. Once I have reviewed those things, I write a little summary of each month.

Refreshing my Memory.

To refresh my memory, I look through my pictures, calendar, to-do list, books read, and recall the memorable current events of that season. My photographs are the most fruitful place to review because they include:

• Photos of milestones (this season, one of my daughters got her driver’s license.) 
• A record of how I spent my time (several nature walks and family gatherings, I painted my front door and did a lot of yard work while the Autumn weather stayed into December.) 
• Everyday things and significant events (we had a lot of snow this season, we helped my sister move, and Broke Neck, my favorite chicken, went missing for several days and then showed back up – I took a proof of life picture upon her return.) 
• There are always several screenshots of things I want to remember (a book someone told me about, quotes, and Bible verses.)

I usually start by making a list for each month on scratch paper. (It’s so funny what you remember, or more clearly, what you have forgotten, once you start looking back!) Then I group things and start writing. What did I spend my time on? What made me happy? What brought disappointment or sadness? What did I learn? What questions am I carrying around with me? I have a whole list of questions that I consider before writing a summary of each month. I end each month by completing the line: “These were the days of…” This again is an idea gotten from Emily. When you have reflected on and written a paragraph about a month, you will be surprised by how well you can wrap it up into a single thought. Lastly, I record a Bible verse or quote that had a lot of meaning for me that month.

Looking back to better look forward.

One thing that makes this such a great process is that, for the most part, things are behind me. For instance, if I had a big project or a big decision to make during the last season, or if we had sickness in the home or were on lockdown, I can write about it without being IN it. I have a better perspective when I am reflecting instead of responding. Of course, sometimes I’m holding something close, and it’s enough to know that this is something I’ve carried for some time now and will take it into the next season with me.

This practice has brought me through one of the most challenging years of my life, but I think it would be enjoyable for any season. It only requires me to set aside an hour every three months to look back, reflect, and consider what comes next. 

A Mother’s Diary

I wish I would have started this when my children were young. I can just imagine how wonderful it would be to look back over a few pages that sum up each season of my kids’ lives, including milestones, things they were working hard on, and things they needed to work on. Frankly, that is something I would enjoy reading now as one by one they fly the coop. But the practice of reflecting to better move forward may also have helped me to parent better in some areas. Charlotte Mason suggested keeping a Mother’s Diary, which of course, could be incorporated into this practice as well. She said:

Every mother, especially, should keep a diary in which to note the successive phases of her child’s physical, mental, and moral growth, with particular attention to the moral; so that parents may be enabled to make a timely forecast of their children’s character; to foster in them every germ of good, and by prompt precautions to suppress, or at least restrain, what is bad.” (Parents and Children pp. 105-6)

Get started right away. There is no need to wait. 

If you would like to join me in keeping a quarterly or seasonal journal, download the document I created, which includes the list of things I review and the questions I ask myself before writing my summaries. I also encourage you to listen to The Next Right Thing episodes mentioned above. It’s March, which means the winter season (December, January, and February) is behind us, so it’s a perfect time to get started.

“So you can move forward with a little more confidence,
a little more clarity & a lot more intention.”
— Emily P. Freeman