Joe's
Digital Garden

Five Line Journal

A five line journal is a daily journal arranged with a page for each day of the year and then divided into five sections. This allows the author to review what they were doing in the last, up-to, five years as they log their new entry.

Digitally, I've taken this concept into a text file. I add one H2 entry for each day in the year, and then beneath that an H3 entry for five years. Each entry I aim to be as close, but not over 60 words as possible. After five years, 109,000 words will be composed. A very heavy novel!

Like the paper version. There is a great benefit to being able to reflect on the past year and see what has passed, and what has changed.

Example:

November 10
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### 2020

Snow dusting the porch. The logs covered in frost as I bring them in for the
fire. It's chilly in the back office this night. I put on my Jazz playlist and
fall into the piano. Realize that none on the playlist are Americans: Tord
Gustavsen (Norwegian), Marcin Wasilewski (Polish), Avishai Cohen (Israeli),
Michel Camilo (Dominican Republic), and Hiromi (Japanese).

### 2021

550 miles. That is the distance between good coffee in West Texas. We camp
outside Sonora, TX on the first night. The start is slow, with many pit stops
and the realization that no town has coffee. Heading into the wind, we stopped
at Ozana, Fort Stockton, and El Paso making between 20 and 26 MPG. Camped at the
CDT.

### 2022

Idling about camp with the folks. We go out for a stroll. Make up dinner and
chat at length about our days. I give them a tour of the bathroom remodel, we
make a dinner of chicken and rice bake before settling down to watch _A Serious
Man_. I muck around catching up on my work obligations for the week.

### 2023


### 2024

November 11
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