New Series: Planning, Tracking, and Journaling – What is the Difference?

Hi friends – I am really excited to start a new series on a topic that is near and dear to my heart – planning. I have been a planner for many years and it is a really popular trend right now, but I see people posting about “planning” but it really looks like journaling or memory keeping to me, so I would love to dig a little deeper and talk about the different types of practices, because understanding these may help you be more successful in your planning, tracking, journaling and memory keeping.

If you’ve ever stood -overwhelmed- in a planner aisle or fallen into the rabbit hole of #planneraddict on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed something: people throw around the words planning, tracking, journaling, and memory keeping like they’re all the same thing. Spoiler alert—they’re not. And trying to force them all into one system is why some of us have three half-used planners sitting on a shelf collecting dust. I have found that having separate places and methods for each of these has really helped clean up my “planning” experience. So lets dig in and spend a few weeks looking a little deeper at these practices.

Here’s my definition:

• Planning is about the future—setting goals and intentions then mapping where you want to go. Setting schedules, routines and adding events to your calendar.
• Tracking is about the present and past—logging what’s actually happening. Keeping an eye on how the plan is implemented and movement toward successful routines and goals.
• Journaling is reflection—processing thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
• Memory keeping is storytelling—capturing the highlights you want to remember and possibly share.

They overlap, sure. But each one scratches a different itch. The point of this series is to help you sort them out so you can stop trying to “do it all” and start focusing on what actually serves you. No guilt. No pressure. Just tools you can pick up or put down as life demands.

We will talk specifically about having a faith planner/journal in the future, but each of these practices can be more than just organizational tools—they can also be ways of inviting God into your days. Whether you’re planning, tracking, journaling, or memory keeping, it’s about noticing His presence in both the big goals and the small, ordinary moments as well as setting aside specific time with Him in prayer and the Bible.