I’ll be 54 in 2023 since I was born in 1969. When I divide the number of days in a year by my age (365÷54), I get 6.759, which means I could write about each year of my life for about a week. My son who is turning 18 would end up with about three weeks for each year of his life. By now, I think you get the idea.

Your entries could be fictional or nonfictional.

I enjoyed reading the Nobel Prize winning writer Gϋnter Grass‘ My Century, an overview of the twentieth century created in a modernist style with varying narrators and styles. A story is told for each year of the century.

I propose one could write a similar view of the years of one’s own life. I’d start with 1969.

For the first day you write about each year, I’m suggesting you make the entry an overview of what you can remember about that year, what you can remember being told about that year by older members of your family, and with any remaining space recall or gather information about that year. Consider looking at a Wikipedia entry for that year, or searching the Internet for trends in fashion, food, or vehicles. Look up what movies, television shows, books, and games were popular that year. Find out what was happening in sports.

For the remaining days you write about each year, which would be five or six days for me, recall stories you remember from that year about yourself or other members of your family.

If you don’t recall enough about your personal life, consider filling each day with nonfictional articles about what ever interests you from that day, or write a fictional story about a character set during that year.

Your journal will create a unique portrait of the time period you have lived so far.