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| Jessie and Scott Allen and their four (4) children: left-to-right: Jens, Addison, Elizabeth, and Thomas. |
Today I am proud and honored to feature my younger sister—Jessie Ruth (née Jensen) Allen—and highlight her remarkable journaling journey and other personal record-keeping accomplishments over the past 30 years.
Jessie is the most extensive, expansive, prolific, and impressive personal record keeper (Journaler) I have ever met or personally known. She is, in fact, the only person on the planet with whom I am personally acquainted who has out-matched both my Dad's and my own considerable energy and output as journalers.
It is not an easy feat to match either Rex Buckley or Jordan Rex when it comes to journaling.
Yet Jessie has managed to surpass us both!
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| Jessie with her 31 bound journal volumes (right) and multiple family scrapbooks (left). |
If ever there was a "Little SAL Engine that Could"—someone who doggedly and indomitably persists and never stops trekking triumphantly down the track of one's most positive goals and productive intentions, it is my sister Jess.
In addition to her accomplishments as a diarist and scrapbooker, Jessie's character is as upright and unimpeachable as anyone I have ever known. She lives her life honestly, authentically, ambitiously, energetically, lovingly, sincerely, productively, and void of guile. In fact, I have met few—if any—persons on the planet who better animate or more holistically exemplify Self-Action Leadership than Jess does.
Indeed, Jessie is, in many ways, a poster child for SAL; and I am continually in awe of all that she accomplishes—and all that she is.
She is a truly extraordinary human being and self-action leader, and I am honored to be one of her five older brothers and six older siblings. I am further honored to be her friend.
For all these reasons—and more—I rejoice in highlighting the uniquely remarkable life achievements and journaling accomplishments and proclivities of my younger sister in this week's blog article.
I hope that you will be as inspired as I am by her life and family, as well as by her nonpareil journaling, scrapbooking, and other record-keeping practices and habits.
In the process, I invite you to not get discouraged by the fact that YOU—like me—will likely never be able to compete with the mind-blowing track-record you are about to read about.
Rather, I invite you to take to heart—and apply—the sage counsel of Jessie herself, as follows:
"My advice to others as they strive to keep their own personal life records is to avoid pressuring yourself to copy my approach—or anyone else's for that matter—or overwhelm yourself by trying to do too much, too quickly.
"Journal writing and personal memory-keeping is not a competition, and its creation will be unique to each person and/or couple/family. So I encourage everyone to simply begin where you currently are, which includes beginners who are just starting out. From there, just take it a step-at-a-time and try to have fun with and enjoy the process as you go along.
"Then, as you press forward, remember that something is always better than nothing. In other words, you will never regret whatever efforts you do make to record your personal history.
"Lastly, remember that just because I've done a lot of journal writing and personal record keeping doesn't mean that it is always easy, or that I always enjoy doing it. Don't get me wrong; sometimes I love it, and I enjoy some aspects far more than others. But other times it is like many other things in life: it's tedious—a grind I must consciously push through to complete.
"However, I never regret exercising the discipline to produce. And I promise that you will similarly be grateful for—and cherish—whatever time and effort you invest in getting results in this important area of your life. After all, you never know just who you might positively impact and influence down the road because of what you have taken time to create for your posterity and other loved ones."
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| A brightly smiling JRJ with his newborn sister, another JRJ! |
In saying this, I openly confess that I did not always feel so warm and kindly toward my little sister.
Perhaps it was the proximity of our ages compared to our other five, much older siblings. Or maybe it was the conflict caused by a mixture of both the similarities and differences of our respective personalities. Obviously, youthful puerility and juvenile jejunity on both our parts further exacerbated our often strained relationship.
Whatever the case may have been, Jessie and I spent a lot of time together growing up—and the truth is that we often bickered and tangled in the process. I must bear the brunt of responsibility for this disharmony in our past relationship. Too often I would gleefully (wickedly) obtain my jollies from taunting, teasing, or otherwise getting a rise out of my little sister.
Suffice it to say, I all too often failed to be as kindly and caring toward Jessie as I should have been.
As an adult, I have sincerely regretted this fact and have formally apologized to her in recent years—apologies she has graciously accepted, while generously forgiving me for any erstwhile treatment that was less-than-loving.
What a kind, noble, magnanimous, and righteous soul she is!
As adults, our relationship has markedly improved; and I am so glad of it.
Between the two of us, we currently parent seven (7) children ranging from ages 13-on-down-to-7, which makes for a delightful and adorable bushelful of cousin-peers who have more fun than a barrel of monkeys when they get together.
Jessie and her husband, Scott, and their four (4) children live in central Utah; we live in South Florida. As such, we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, so it is always an extra special blessing and joy when our families do get together, usually out West in the summertime.
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| The Magnificent 7 Cousins all together in Flowell, Utah Summer 2026 |
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| Jess and me helping plant our family garden in Monticello. Summer 1984 |
We also spent a lot of time jumping on the trampoline either together or with siblings, cousins, and/or friends.
Lastly, we watched a lot of television together. Our favorite shows were: The Cosby Show, Saturday morning cartoons, and the weekday cartoon and/or sitcom lineups that aired after school and then later in the evening on Friday nights (TGIF).
Although I was two-years and two-months older than Jessie, we were only one grade apart. This was because I had been held back from kindergarten for an extra year and did not begin my formal schooling until I was six-years-old. Jessie, on the other hand, had tested into kindergarten early and enrolled as a four-year-old. This proximity in our grades created an inevitable closeness by association, if not always by warm feelings.
Growing up, Jessie discovered she had talents in academics, art, and athletics.
She loved artistic endeavors, got good grades in school, and was a talented athlete. In high school, she made the varsity basketball team as a freshman and also competed on varsity cross-country and track teams throughout her high school career at Monticello High School in our hometown in Utah.
After graduating from MHS in 1999, Jess attended Brigham Young University-Hawaii and then BYU-Provo, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 2003.
Following in the footsteps of both her grandmothers and her Aunt Nedra (who lived across the street from us in Monticello and is like a second mother to us both)—Jessie became a full-time elementary school teacher after completing her university studies.
She taught grade school from 2004-2011 in northern Utah. In 2006 she returned to Brigham Young University to earn her master's degree in education, which she finished in 2009—all while continuing to teach full-time in the classroom.
An unusually organized and detailed-oriented educator, Jessie thrived in her role as classroom teacher and received formal recognition for her noticeable abilities and impressive achievements.
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| Excellence in Teaching Award Alpine School District Utah County, Utah 2011 |
Two more children—sons Jens and Thomas—were born in 2014 and 2016, while the Allen's were living in Washington.
In 2017, the Allen's relocated to Fillmore, Utah, where Scott landed a new PT job in his home county. Then, in 2018, a little sister—Elizabeth—joined their crew as the family caboose.
After the birth of Addison in 2012, Jessie opted not to return to her previous career as a full-time classroom teacher. Instead, she traded it in for another full-time educator's position: a stay-at-home mom.
As a stay-at-home dad myself, I am continually in awe of Jess's action, organization, and productivity as a parent—all of which far exceeds and outshines my own parental performance. Indeed, I truly cannot compete with her in this department of life. If Jess is an A-plus parent—and she is—then I register in at about a B-minus at best!
Nevertheless, as Jess herself points out, such endeavors are not a competition. The important thing as parents is that we each sincerely do our imperfect best, which I can honestly say that I do. Nevertheless, when I see all that Jess accomplishes in her household and the lives of her children, I am aware of my many shortcomings and am extremely respectful and admiring of her work.
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| A cover of one of Jessie's bound journal volumes. |
These beginnings were largely scant, token efforts that would precede Jess's far more prolific journaling labors to come in the mid-later 1990s.
Looking back, Jess attributes one particular New Year's Eve as a major turning point in her journaling journey.
The year was 1996 and she recalls spending 3-4 hours catching up on her journals while everyone else was doing something fun to celebrate the incoming new year.
Jess remembers feeling extra determined to begin the new year—1997—by being totally caught up in her journal. From that point on, her habit became increasingly cemented in her character and personality, and she has not stopped writing in a daily diary ever since.
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| Jess's journal volume for 2025. |
Over the years—and particularly once she began having children—Jessie added several additional practices to her retinue of record-keeping routines. From compiling yearly family scrapbooks and photo-albums to creating booklets and folders full of relevant personal and family data, letters, and photos for each child. She is saving much of this valuable content to present to each of her four children as a surprise gift when they eventually leave home.
Suffice it to say, journaling, personal record-keeping, and family history production is more than just a hobby or practice for Jess.
It really has become a way of life for her.
Interestingly enough, however, she does not always love every minute of this life practice. In her own words: "to be honest, I don't enjoy my daily journaling. I do it because I know I should and because I want the benefits of having these records in place. And the end result is always worth the effort, of course."
On the other hand, she commented that: "I do enjoy scrapbooking and other forms of memory-keeping. In fact, I LOVE assembling my scrapbooks and photo albums. I enjoy the process and the end results. Plus, my kids—and other family and friends—really enjoy looking through them when they are finished."
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| Jess's annual booklets prepared in advance as a future gift for her oldest daughter, Addie. She has done the same for her three other kids. |
As Spencer W. Kimball—President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when Jessie was born—has written:
"I urge all of the people of this Church to give serious attention to their family histories, to encourage their parents and grandparents to write their histories, and let no family go into eternity without having left their memoirs for their grandchildren, and their posterity. This is a duty and a responsibility." (Ensign, May 1978, page 4).
So, when exactly does Jessie accomplish all of these labor-intensive projects?
After all, it's not like she isn't already busy with a home, husband, four kids, several pets, church- and community-service responsibilities, and a part-time job at her kids' school.
The answer to this question is two-fold.
The first answer is: whenever she can. In other words, as a busy wife and mother, she accomplishes much of the work in those sundry moments when she has a few spare minutes or hours here-or-there.
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| Scrapbook chronicling Jess's month-long service trip to AFRICA in 2010. |
The second answer is that she strives to arise from bed early each morning—at 5:00 a.m.—so that she can have some quiet time to herself to pray, read and study the scriptures, and write in her journal before her husband and kids are awake.
Like many other highly productive and successful people, Jessie has deeply internalized the age-old wisdom of Benjamin Franklin, who counseled:
Rising early for purposes of planning, solitude, and worship activities is one of the SAL disciplines I personally admire most about my younger sister.
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| Hyrum W. and Gail C. Smith |
But boy do I respect those who can do it!
In this regard, Jess really is the poster-child for SAL principles and practice—even more so in many ways than I am. Her discipline for early mornings is a classic example of this!
My Uncle Hyrum and Aunt Gail—of FranklinCovey fame—also used to consistently arise at 5:00 in the morning to enjoy their own "Planning and Solitude" time.
They would refer to the hours between 5:00 and 8:00 in the morning as their "Magic 3 Hours," something that greatly enriched their personal lives, family relationships, and careers.
While this early-morning approach may not work for everyone—it certainly does not work for me—I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who is naturally-oriented to that enviable early-morning spryness.
If, on the other hand, you are not a morning person (like me) you will have to be extra creative and proactive in using the waking hours that you do have and fill them up with those activities and practices that are most important to YOU—such as personal record-keeping.
In interviewing Jess for this article, one of the things about which I was most curious was the BENEFITS she has noticed from her many journaling and other record-keeping efforts undertaken over the past several decades.
One such benefit involved a strengthened MEMORY, which manifests itself in a couple of different ways.
FIRST, Jess noted that she has, in general, a "better memory than a lot of folks when it comes to people and events."
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| Jess's daughter Elizabeth with JJ's daughter, Kara. July 2026 |
An additional benefit is the blessings these records provide—and will yet provide—to her children.
Said she:
"I think about how blessed I was to be able to go back and read our dad's journals. My kids now have that same opportunity to go back in time and see the world through the eyes of their mom the same way I could go back and see the world through my dad's eyes."
Jess further cites the benefit of not having to remember certain things, because "if it is written down, it's not going to be forgotten or lost along the wayside."
Lastly, she pointed out the fact that "I am leaving something to show for the life I've lived," which she values. This point brings us back full-circle to Anthony Robbins' famous quote about journaling a few articles ago.
Said he: If your life is worth living, it is worth recording.
"I have definitely encouraged my kids to do the same. It's actually something I've tried really hard to do, and my oldest (age 13) has gotten a solid start. On the other hand, I've also come to understand that ultimately they have to want it for themselves, so I try not to push too hard when I can see they aren't ready or don't yet have an authentic desire to be as gung-ho about it as I am. In the end, however, I do indeed hope that I will be able to have the same kind of influence on my kids that my dad had on me when it comes to these sorts of habits and practices, because they are so valuable."
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 536th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 318th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 535 FF Blog Articles
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