Getting started
The most important thing in keeping a day diary is to get started. You can record it on anything — if it's handy it's fine. Just keep track of it, keep it with you and keep writing.
What to write
Your day diary should include as much as possible. Sleepless nights, diaper changes, the high-powered client lunch, carpools, romantic dates – everything is relevant and everything matters. Deep thoughts and seemingly meaningless details are all a part of what goes into making our 24/7 lives. Write volumes or brief notes. Your words from your heart are what matters. There is no wrong way to chronicle your day.
How to write it
There are just a few guidelines that you should follow:
- Pick the 24-hour period for one calendar date (ex.,midnight to midnight for March 27, 2007).
- When you make an entry, note the hours and minutes when you are writing. For example, you might make entries at 6:30 a.m., 8:42 a.m, 12:15 p.m., 4:35 p.m, 7:20 p.m and 11:52 p.m.
- You can make as many or as few entries in the 24-hour period as you like. You can also write as much or as little as you like in each entry.
- When you are done, submit your day diary to our community of 24/7 women.
Still need help? Read the day diaries already submitted by women like you.
Creating community
Day diaries are meant to be shared, swapped and celebrated as a means of appreciating the great diversity and community in the lives of American women. Use your experience of creating a day diary to connect with your mothers, sisters, co-workers and friends. Read the day diaries of women across the country. Be sure to check out Joni Cole's collection of day diary books, entitled This Day in the Life. And look for Joni's newest book, This Day in the Life of Working Women, due out in 2008.
Read Hines’s complete entry >>
