The minutes going by on tiptoe, finger to their lips.

For ten years I've journalled every day; what I did, and often why. Who I spoke to, and often what we talked about. What I saw. Things I learned. Places I went. I couldn't be without a notebook - I'm not sure about you?

I love notebooks and journals and it's interesting to see how my own notebook behaviour has changed in a very few years; six or seven years ago I was trying to understand how my small Thai gardens would relate to the path of the sun overhead; so the picture at the top of this column shows my jottings at the time.

My collection of Moleskine notebooks are my friends, my muse. my past, present, and future; they are my magic carpet, my escape capsule and my window through which I watch, to paraphrase Raymond Chandler, the minutes going by on tiptoe, finger to their lips.

I love my journals; the folded and stained pages, the varying ink colours, the variation in my writing, the bits and pieces inserted, the smoothness of the paper and the bent covers.

Of course now there are many ways to add sparkle to my journals.

First of all I use my laptop. And I include photographs. And I dictate thoughts and ideas. I take short movies - sometimes of me talking to the camera. Today my phone can do all this and more.

Why do I journal? In a sense my journal is my life and without it I sometimes wonder whether I would have any recollection of my life.

Journalling is a way for me to design my life. To record my life. To remember my life. And to share my life. And when I reflect on life I really wouldn't want to forget a single day - even days that seem awfully bad.

Life. Capture it using whatever tools work best for you.