No more excuses: I’m too tired, I’m not a writer, it’s boring, I don’t want to.  Whether or not you enjoy writing, travel journaling allows you to experience your trip on a deeper level—and remember it later.  That being said, it can be tricky to simply begin the habit.  Here are 3 tips to travel journal like a pro:

1. Don’t be perfect

Your travel journal probably isn’t intended for publication so quit worrying about making it neat, clean and pristine.  It’s okay to scribble things out.  It’s okay if you don’t have perfect grammar (which gives this grammar brat some anxiety to even say!).  But at the end of the day, your travel journal is yours—raw as it is.  Eventually you may consider going back to edit and to form your thoughts into a complete story like I did for my stay in a French castle.   I brought a leather journal for my summer in France, which provided the sturdiness I needed for all the travel I did.

2. Share stories

Listing off what you did for the day is a place to start, but it shouldn’t be the end.  Include your emotions, inside jokes, conversations, frustrations.  When writing about my night at the museums, I could’ve just listed the museums I’ve visited and the pieces of art I saw.  But instead, I included my thoughts, lessons and highlights.

3. Collect items throughout the day

A travel journal should be more than just pen and paper.  Get creative by including little pieces you acquire throughout the day like brochures, receipts and newspapers.  This helps tell your story in a bigger, more accurate way, and it also makes it fun to look back through.  I packed my Eiffel Tower scissors, which allowed me to include fun itty bitties and are darling themselves.

Like these tips but want to dig a little deeper?  Try my Travel Thoughts Journal, a 12-day guided journaling experience for deeper, meaningful adventures.

Travel journaling is an investment time and energy-wise, but it forces you to reflect on your experiences so that these memories live much longer than just your one-week vacation.