I’ve seen various stories about people documenting their time under coronavirus lockdowns, using sketchbooks or journals. Here’s one example, a visual diary kept by a Scottish architect:

Prof Alan Dunlop has filled six A4-size sketchbooks since the start of restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

He has sketched scenes inside and outside the family home in the Queen Elizabeth Forest, near Aberfoyle.

“There are around 120 drawings in total, one or two for each day of the 10 weeks of our lockdown,” he said.

“I’ve been thinking about what I could do with the books, as far as I am aware no-one has produced a drawn diary chronicling the days of lockdown and isolation from almost the beginning in March to the easing of restrictions and end of isolation.”

Read more: Architect completes lockdown visual diary

I’m surprised Prof. Dumlop hadn’t heard of anyone else doing the same thing, but they are definitely out there! Here’s another, from writer and artist Gayle Kabaker:

I love being alone. The older I get, the more alone time I crave. I’m careful about who I say this to, because so many people are having a hard time social distancing, but I actually like many aspects of this simplified life with so few choices and a lot of time spent quietly in my studio. I am lucky to be married to a fellow artist who feels the same way. We are really good at giving each other plenty of time and space to be quiet and creative.

I’m actually shocked at how well we’ve gotten along these past four months. Granted, I have some sketchbook pages that I’d never show anyone, but that’s the beauty of a sketchbook/journal. You get a chance to get all that crap out onto paper.

After thinking about how she could connect more with other people during the crisis, Kabaker decided to offer outdoor, socially-distanced drawing lessons to kids in her neighborhood, in hopes to get them started with their own sketchbook habits.

Read more: Perspective | Sketching my way through crisis

And the New York Times published an article about how these kinds of journals and sketchbooks may be useful to historians:

As museum curators and archivists stare down one of the most daunting challenges of their careers — telling the story of the pandemic; followed by severe economic collapse and a nationwide social justice movement — they are imploring individuals across the country to preserve personal materials for posterity, and for possible inclusion in museum archives. It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort, they say.

The article included this image of a diary kept by Tanya Gibb, who came down with COVID-19 symptoms in early March:

Read more: This Year Will End Eventually. Document It While You Can.