I have a journaling problem. The problem is that I can’t seem to stick with journaling. I have dozens and dozens of blank and unopened journals and notebooks of all different shapes and sizes. I buy them with the best of intentions, but for one reason or another, I can’t bring myself to start. Sometimes, it’s that I don’t want to ruin a perfect blank (or lined or dotted) page with harebrained ideas, random todo lists, or goofy ramblings about my life that nobody is going to care about. But here’s the thing: there are lots of different reasons to journal and ultimately not one of them are for anyone but you. While I’m not one for resolutions (New Year’s or otherwise), I’ve set a goal for myself to start keeping a regular journal. And if calling it a journal is a hangup for you (as it has been for me), maybe you can take a cue from philosopher and theologian Parker Settecase and call it a Commonplace Book. If that doesn’t feel quite right, Parker also has a terrific notebook system that helps you capture and organize all of your best thoughts and ideas into a pocket notebook catch all and then transfer the best of them into a Good Idea Compendium. Or you could add some illustrations like Danny Gregory, who was inspired by a zine called Moonlight Chronicles that he found in the basement of a Tower Records. I don’t know that how you do it is as important as that you do it. What works and doesn’t work for you will likely change as time goes on, but you (and I’m talking to myself here) will never know any of it until you (again, still talking to me) just start. Write it down and let the rest sort itself out.
LINKS
I did this for 800 days and it changed my life
The ULTIMATE guide to keeping a Journal (2024)
Write with two notebooks, changing your life forever
How this pocket notebook changed my life.
5 Ways to Journal (And Why You Should)
Just forwarded this to my son. He's trying to get started.
I've been writing thoughts and quotes and ideas and shopping lists in 'Notes' for the past bit. I suspect this will be as far as I get. It actually feels like a bit of an achievement at this late stage. :-)
I keep a handful of different journals, but here's a daily system I started this year in case it helps anyone:
Each day, I keep track of the 4 things I want to have done: move a creative project forward to completion, learn something, have a worthwhile experience, spend quality time with family. For each day, I tally up my day's experiences in terms of these 4 buckets. (If I spend a lot of time at work, but it satisfies none of the buckets, it doesn't go in. I only record what I've decided is important.) The whole process at the end of the day takes about 4 minutes.
At the end of the week, I count all the tallies in all of the buckets and take a look. This allows me to see how I actually spent my time, compared against how I'd actually like to have spent it. I consistently come to these conclusions:
1. I get done more than I think, considering everything going on in the day to day. I need to be less hard on myself.
2. That said, still a lot of room for improvement. I could be a lot more judicious with my time. I just shouldn't be a tyrant to myself.
3. A day putting one tally in each bucket feels a lot more full than putting four tallies into one.