Speed Bumps on the Journal Journey
What works for you?
California Hwy 46, crossing central California east to west, can be desolate, boring, endless, broken only by the welcome relief of the fast food and gas stop cluster known as Kettleman City. However, for a few brief weeks in mid-March, Hwy 46 turns into one of the most beautiful drives in the state with a predictably breath-taking super bloom of California Poppies and bright wild flowers. The above image is homage to one of those spring drives.
And, what’s this image got to do with journaling?
(maybe it’s just the time of the year)
2024 began with the harvesting some of my old journals carried around for far too long. This image came out of the journal for 2017 and seemed perfect for 2024 since the word chosen for this year is BEAUTY. I love the first weeks of the new year as a threshold time to reflect on the lessons of the past year as well as the promise of renewal for the one to come. Now with the first quarter of this new year complete, I’m reviewing my reviewing.
Journaling seems to have reached a similar status as meditation. Everyone thinks it’s important, and everyone has their own way of doing it, even though a whole lot of folks only sorta do it, and I’m one of them. I started journaling in fear when I was 9 (writing in code in my little diary with a key which I knew wouldn’t keep my mother from reading it so I wrote in code … then not being able to read my own code, I gave up the whole idea.)
Following that fearful start were decades of basically not journaling and then years of trying everything … and being dissatisfied with the results (more accurately, the non-results.) In my mid-50s, I decided to “get serious” about my life and about journaling. I found a plain, black sketch book that appealed to me and for about 20 years, I started a new book each year and decorated the covers with my word of the year. Three samples:
Creating these journals and the covers made me happy … and they always started off brilliantly, combining collage images with writings and mindmaps about new ideas and projects. However, each of these journals ultimately remained mostly blank pages. Something just wasn’t working.
I’ve carted these heavy, empty-page journals around for many moves and am now determined to lighten my load, harvesting what’s still useful, reflecting on the lessons of the times, and recovering all those beautiful blank pages and passing them along to my local elementary school (with a lot of excess, no longer used art supplies.) I hope to make a few teachers happy.
Gradually, slowly, as I tried dozens of different formats and prompt systems, clarity began to appear as I realized that I wanted … needed … structure and freedom … something that fit my unbridled curiosity, too many ideas, and are-they- projects-or-passing-fancies way of thinking.
Beyond the restrictive structure of bullet journals with their goals and to do lists as well as the terror of the blank page journals or the intimidation of the artsy, creative journals, there had to be a journal home that inspired and encouraged me to fill the pages, something that fit my style of making sense of the world and deciding what to do and what to let fall away.
In the process of trying to find this balance, I published two gratitude journals and experimented with dozens of different journal structures and untold numbers of prompts, questions and page formats. There are hundreds of journals on the market, many are brilliant and beautiful. The perfect one, though, is the one that will be used regularly. The beginning of this year had me still trying different options, looking for that perfect fit.
(Rather than try to highlight the hundreds of studies and articles about the benefits of journaling, I had CHAD (ChatGPT) summarize the benefits which are at the end of this post. Most of us don’t need to know that it’s an important practice … we need to know how to make it a practice.)
Finally, an answer appears.
Criteria. My life works better … my thinking is sharper and more creative when I regularly reflect on my life and my decisions. Choosing projects to work on has always been a challenge so several years ago I honed my criteria into a decision quadrant which has helped me avoid chasing too many wild hares. A major requirement for a “journal” is to help me stay, at least somewhat, in my own lane.
Thinking and rethinking: my brain is a sponge … it soaks up a lot of stuff and almost immediately turns loose of most of it. I need to pin information and thoughts to the page in order to be able to come back to rethink and harvest insights. Recognizing this need to come back and rethink revealed the need for open space … room to add new thoughts as they emerged and scratch out misdirections when they inevitably showed up.
Mapping and modeling: mindmapping changed my life and the way I make sense of whatever I’m thinking about. Journal pages need to fit mapping, making visual models, reiterating over time.
What I’ve been searching for is a pen-and-paper system for handling curiosity, incoming information, ideas and the front-end of projects.
Needs to be: easily portable, durable, with quality paper that doesn’t bleed through, quadrant-lined pages to make mapping and modeling easier.
Both/And Life Lesson … Suddenly, I realized I needed two “journals” … a diary for the feeling side of my life and a notebook for the thinking part of me.
For the past several weeks, I’ve been using this new system of diary and notebook and it seems to be working. These inexpensive spiral bound, plastic-covered notebooks from amazon are perfect for me and also available in letter-size.
Would love to hear what works for you on your journal/notebook journey.
From ChatGPT:
Yes, there is evidence to suggest that journaling can have various benefits for individuals. While the extent of these benefits may vary from person to person, some common advantages include:
Emotional Well-being: Journaling can be a therapeutic outlet for expressing and processing emotions. It provides a safe space to explore and understand one's feelings, leading to improved emotional well-being.
Stress Reduction: Regular journaling has been linked to reduced stress levels. Writing about stressful events and emotions may help individuals cope with challenges and manage stress more effectively.
Clarity and Self-Reflection: Journaling encourages self-reflection, helping individuals gain clarity on their thoughts, values, and goals. It provides an opportunity to explore personal insights and perspectives.
Goal Setting and Achievement: Writing down goals and aspirations in a journal can increase motivation and commitment. Regularly reviewing progress and accomplishments can contribute to a sense of achievement.
Problem Solving: Journaling can be a tool for problem-solving. Writing about challenges and brainstorming potential solutions on paper can lead to increased clarity and creative problem-solving.
Improved Communication Skills: For some, journaling can be a way to practice and enhance communication skills. It allows individuals to articulate their thoughts and feelings, potentially leading to better interpersonal communication.
Enhanced Memory and Learning: The act of writing can aid in memory retention and cognitive processing. Journaling about experiences and lessons learned may contribute to improved learning and memory.
Increased Gratitude: Keeping a gratitude journal, where individuals write about things they are thankful for, has been associated with increased feelings of positivity and well-being.
Health Benefits: Some studies suggest that expressive writing in a journal may have physical health benefits, such as improved immune function and reduced blood pressure.
It's important to note that the benefits of journaling can vary depending on the individual's preferences and the specific approach to journaling. Some people may find value in daily reflection, while others may benefit from occasional journaling during particularly challenging times. Additionally, the act of journaling itself is a personal and subjective experience, and what works for one person may not work for another.
Just finished reading your journaling journey Joyce and it sounds similar to mine with mine though being far sketchier than yours. As I sit here in my recliner with my sweet dog lying next to me I can see the notebook I used as a journal while my husband was so sick and his final days on this earth. I’ve also kept journals or notes when I travel. Otherwise, I’m a complete goof when it comes down to a daily routine of expressing how my life has gone on a certain day. Last year I made a major change in my life but I was far too busy to write anything down about it and now that it’s pretty much over and my lifestyle has settled into a new routine, I keep asking myself why mess with writing about it.
I’m finding though that I do spend A LOT of time writing responses on Substack to you and several others who I follow or subscribe to. Actually, my paid subscriptions are out of control but they’re either informative or entertaining; both of which are my “food for thought”. See what I’ve done here?
Now, my coffee has worked its way through my system so I’m going to leave you with this:
“Take every chance you get in life, because some things only happen once.”
Oh, this is a ball thrown right across the strike zone! The answer for journals is the same answer you get from a physical trainer, to "What exercise is good for me?" It's the one you will do. What journaling is good for me? It's the one you will do.