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Welcome to Documented, where I share work notes, life lessons, and travel diaries—and journaling, of course!

In this post, I’m sharing about my love for media, and how that became a part of my journaling practice, and eventually, an idea that sparked the development of my new class.

If you love TV, films, books, and music, keep reading 📺

As someone who documents her life and travels regularly, I often gravitate towards writing about not just my day, but also what I've watched, read, or listened to (okay, mostly what I've watched).

I don’t remember exactly when this journaling habit picked up, but my love for media has been ongoing for a decade now.

When I was working on my second book (about journaling), my book team members were all in their thirties and forties (I was in my early twenties). Over dinner, they started discussing films by John Hughes (Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club) and Nora Ephron (You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally…)—directors I had not known of, and of course, the frequent mention of Wes Anderson, as his film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, was making waves around that time.

It was then that I found myself deep in the trenches of films I never thought I would discover: coming-of-age stories, visually engaging worlds, and narratives that felt strangely familiar. From indie darlings like Submarine to cult classics like Juno1 and (500) Days of Summer, I lived in my film bubble and kept myself busy with my book deadline with a film constantly playing in the background.

Years and several flights later, my library of watched films has grown, and I always looked forward to boarding a plane knowing there would be a new collection of movies waiting for me. Looking back, I’m not sure watching from a tiny seatback screen was ideal, but I found a strange kind of comfort in long-haul flights through films.

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Time traveling through film

During the pandemic, like most of us, I was glued to the TV (well, in my case, my monitor) and finally decided to watch Mad Men. Around the same time, The Queen’s Gambit had just aired on Netflix, and I guess you could say I time-traveled to the sixties in 2020.

I’ve always had a fondness for Mad Men as someone with an Advertising degree, and I obviously have a soft spot for anything set in New York, so I was immediately drawn in.

This was also my first attempt at documenting what I watched because I wanted to remember more than just the films and shows themselves. I wanted to remember how much I enjoyed the experience of watching them:

A few years later, I moved to Berlin. It was the beginning of spring, and since I had a lot of time on my hands, I did two things: I watched a lot of films in the cinema (it was a five minute walk from where I lived at that time), and I decided to start a media journal.

A media what?

A media journal is a personal space where you track, reflect on, and creatively document the media you consume.

It does more than simply logging what you’ve watched or read. It’s a way to capture your thoughts, emotions, and inspirations, helping you better understand what resonates with you and why. In a way, it is a form of memory-keeping.

For a while, I kept up with a dedicated media journal (I used a Hobonichi Plain Notebook, A6 size). After all, I did have so much time on my hands, and loved playing around with stationery, fountain pen inks, and printers that would suit my journaling practice.

Spoiler alert: I didn’t finish it!

Halfway through the journal, it started getting chunky and increasingly difficult to write in. I had a very specific layout for where I pasted photos, so you can imagine how awkward the whole thing became. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the most ergonomic system. Oops.

Instead, I resorted to dedicating pages in my journals to track my media consumption, as I think it coincides a lot with specific seasons and/or the mundanity of my daily life. Like yes, of course I am rewatching The Bear after my trip to Chicago. No brainer.

Downsizing and Experimenting

Over the years, I kept watching (more) films and TV shows, and for a while, shared essays and reviews here on Substack, before I renamed it to Documented (previously Scene Selection2). While I love writing essays, I found it too tiring to write about media that way. I’d leave it to the pros3 for my regular fix of video essays, and I’m just happy to share a sentence or two about what I watched and how I found it.

I resorted back to my analog ways, and while I have recorded media diligently, it was never in one place. I experimented on formats to see how frequent I would document in a specific period of time.

I tried using a passport size, and eventually, an A5 size (I used Everyday Explorers Co’s Quarter Journal—the perfect layout!). Eventually, I also filled my TRAVELER’s notebook inserts with the occasional media update.

a page about the Berlinale film festival last February

In the spirit of downsizing (I mean this size wise, not by number of notebooks), I assigned my MD A7 notebook to be my hyperfixation log. I haven’t found a proper name for it, but my obsession with Heated Rivalry at the start of the year led me to start this fun, little (ha!) journaling practice.

Because of its compact size, I’ve been updating it as frequently as I can. Setting small rules (like using fewer stickers or stationery) has definitely helped simplify the process, and with the limited space, I don’t spend hours updating every piece of media I track, which leaves more room for writing and reviewing.

My media journaling practice may have evolved over time, but one thing’s for sure: I’ll always be chatty about what I’m currently watching, and I’d love to hear your recommendations, whether it’s films, TV shows, books, music, or even podcasts.

And before you ask if I’m on Letterboxd... yes, of course I am. Revealing my favorites below…tell me yours?

How My Love for Media Turned Into a Journaling Practice