into the journal: karolína richterová
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This feature series examines how and why people journal, because no two practices are identical. Appreciating the journal as a sacred inner world for uninhibited wandering and wondering.
If you have a journaling practice that you’d like to share about here, email me at evapberezovsky(at)gmail(dot)com.
karolína richterová
Hi! I’m Karolína, based between the Czech Republic and Germany. I work as a multilingual communication specialist, with a focus on translation, copywriting in different languages, and implementing communication strategies.
Outside of work, I’m an avid reader (I love making personalized reading lists for friends!), but you’ll also find me knitting, running, playing tennis, or enjoying a quick game of dice.
If you’d like to connect, you can find me on Instagram and Substack.
origins
I began journalling as a child, some time after I first learned to write. At the beginning, I used small A6 notebooks to chronicle my days, and as a teenager, I moved on to larger formats.
The entries from my childhood were simple reflections on daily life. My very first journal was really just a collection of ordinary moments — mostly just a line about my day. I also experimented with different formats, like travel journals. I ended up throwing away many of the journals I kept during my early teens, but my more consistent collection begins around the age of 14, with a few surviving notebooks from my childhood.
language
English isn’t my first language, but I feel most drawn to “journal.” For me, a journal is dedicated to my thoughts, reflections, and inner world. Journals are where I go deep and where I really devote time to reflect and write.
“Notebook” feels much broader — it can hold anything. And my notebooks are more spontaneous. I carry one with me everywhere, filling it with random scribbles, ideas, snippets of conversations, and notes I might later expand on in my main journal.
To me, a “diary” (or in my terms, “planner”) is a calendar. I use one mostly for work. I have a bright red Filofax, which I call my “work book,” to house everything work and planning related.
routine
I love journalling in the mornings, as it sets a calm and grounded tone for the day. But I also enjoy reserving a Friday or Saturday evening for myself, sitting with a drink or a cup of tea, journalling, listening to music, and then reading. My favorite places to write are in my parents’ garden or out on the balcony. Or any table I can make cozy, preferably with a nice view.
For a long time, I kept one of those “one line a day” journals, but at some point, they started to feel bulky and impractical (for commuting and travel, which I do quite a lot of). At the end of last year, though, I found myself missing the simple routine of writing about my day. Not just to clear away brain fog and reflect more intentionally, but also as a way of keeping memories and having a record of my days — the ordinary and mundane. So since the beginning of 2025, I’ve returned to a consistent evening journalling practice. Every night, I write a few lines about my day along with some gratitudes.
As for my “main” journal, my routine is more spontaneous. Sometimes I write every day, and other times I might go weeks without opening it. In recent years, my priority has been to capture the beautiful and simple moments and reflect in a way that feels good to me.
purpose & evolution
During my teenage years, I only wrote when I was sad or when something not so nice was happening, so my journals quickly became a space for negativity. They started out as a place to self-regulate and understand myself.
Over time, however, I learned to write about the pleasant and mundane, too. I think the purpose of my journalling has evolved from being a private space for unjudged reflection to a place where I document my life in its entirety.
Now, I journal to capture, to reflect, to hold in memory, to untangle, to self-regulate, to document. I’ve always found the deepest joy in capturing and documenting. The practice I established for myself this year is about becoming more conscious of my days: what I do, how I feel, where my attention goes. It’s a way of looking inward, of training myself to remember what happened that day without relying on the crutch of my phone and my photo gallery.
rereading
Because I value my journals for memory keeping, I enjoy rereading to look back at different times in my life and flip through old spreads. It feels like returning to earlier versions of myself, having documented not just the big moments, but also small decisions, the day to day, the joys and the sorrows.
I also like looking back at my reflections because I keep learning from them. While I don’t reread very often, when I do, I enjoy going through what I wrote, highlighting parts that stand out, and noticing patterns or bigger-picture insights that emerge. That’s when I feel like I’m truly growing.
For certain aspects of my journalling, I also add little scraps and photos to make it more interactive. These are usually the spreads I revisit most often, along with my travel journals.
current journals
At the beginning of July, I promised myself I’d step away from the Notes app on my phone (which I used constantly in the past) and instead record everything in a physical notebook that I will always carry with me. Nevertheless, I have a variety of journals/notebooks I use regularly for different purposes:
Main journal: Long-form writing (i.e., stream of consciousness, problem solving, memory keeping, documenting my days and thoughts in detail). I love Leuchtturm.
Gratitude journal: Part of my nightly ritual, where I note down the things I’m grateful for.
Weekly memo: A place to capture everyday moments, paired with little scraps I collect along the way: tickets, photos, labels.
Everyday book: A Paper Republic journal that serves as my catch-all. It holds my everyday notebook, collected scraps, a few Post-it notes, and — most importantly — a sheet for playing Yatzy anywhere, anytime. When I travel, I also tuck my travel journal inside, along with tickets and mementos I want to keep.
Reading journal: A smaller Leuchtturm notebook for my thoughts on books I’ve read or quotes that stuck with me. Nothing fancy, just quick notes and scribbles that make it effective.
utensil of choice
It has always been a black ballpoint pen. My favourite is the BIC Round Stic. I also use the Pilot Frixion 0.5 in black, the Muji mechanical pencil, and the green Zebra Sarasa in 0.5.
a recent entry
Everyday notebook: 12.9.2025, about 20:30
Success does not necessarily equate to employment. It's mostly about how you live your life, day to day.
Travel notebook: 11.9.2025
I can’t seem to get enough of this, the endless blue sky, the lush green trees and bushes, and the calm expanse of the ocean stretching out before me. And the light, so different from the light we have at home. Every place we’ve visited has its own distinct scent; here it’s a near-endless freshness, mingled with the salt of the sea. We went north today, and I loved seeing the landscape change: from the Atlantic Ocean and its blue, green bushes and orange trees, through dry lands that resemble a steppe, to a vibrant city that smells like salt.
@evaberezovsky
evaberezovsky.com
evapberezovsky(at)gmail(dot)com
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thank you, Eva, for having me! it was such a pleasure🤎and your substack brings so much inspiration into my life