Make notes regarding the events in your life you want to present in your timeline. It isn't feasible or necessary to include every event in your life. The day you were born is the obvious starting point. Think of other events in your life that are important or shaped who you are. Look for events in your life relevant to the purpose of your timeline. If you're writing an autobiography, these events will be the events you'll cover in your book. The timeline, once completed, should boil down the main events of your life.
Use a ruler to draw a straight horizontal line across the bottom of a sheet of paper in landscape mode. The horizontal line should be about 5 inches from the bottom edge of the paper. Draw vertical lines between the horizontal line and the bottom edge of the paper. Spacing of these lines will depend upon the information you put on the timeline. Depending upon the length of your timeline, you can combine several sheets of paper.
Write down the dates and events of your timeline on a separate sheet of paper. The date, followed by a hyphen and a two or three line synopsis of the event will be all your need. Example: "September 29, 1961 -- Born at Get Well Hospital, Saint Louis, Missouri at 6 a.m." This will give you a text-based version of your timeline. Other events to include might be significant schools you attended, jobs you've held and significant time spent with special people.
Write the date of each event above the horizontal line on your visual timeline. The event synopsis goes below the horizontal line. Separate the events with vertical lines. Adjust the spacing of the vertical lines so longer events have more space. This will allow you to gauge the length of certain events in context with the rest of your life.
Add color to your timeline using color pencils. Shading the events between the vertical lines in different colors is a good way to visually identify periods in your life. Red might represent angry times, blue might indicate peaceful. The colors you use depends upon the significance you place upon the colors.