Since I was a kid, I have loved the idea of keeping a journal. I would imagine great adventurers with distressed leather jackets, fedoras, and whips searching for the Holy Grail. With them, they would carry a treasure that in my eyes maybe even rivaled the Grail itself: an old, leather bound, handwritten journal that looked ready to burst at the seems with detailed pictures, maps, lessons learned, tidbits picked up along the way, riddles, and any other piece of information that would help them claim their prize.
It may be silly, but my mouth would literally water when I saw that Grail Diary. I wondered what it would be like to hold it in my hand. I wondered what amazing things I would learn as I poured through its pages. There, in that little book, was a person’s entire life’s work. It was their passion, their devotion, their guide, and their teacher. To know that, unless that book was destroyed, the information could live on forever is a pretty amazing thing to me. I honestly didn’t really realize this until just now as I sit here writing, but I think seeing that journal was one of my initial inspirations that made me want to be a writer.
When I got a little older, I actually tried to start keeping a journal of my own. I’d fill it with angsty songs chock full of teenage heartbreak and imagine that I could be the next Kurt Cobain. Or I’d draw pictures and imagine that my art would one day rival Leonardo Da Vinci.
I’d fill it with quotes that made me feel inspired or make my first attempts at inspirational writing. But even with all that, I never really stuck to it. After college, I pretty much gave it up. That was until I discovered the Tracker school.
Before I ever went to my first class there, I knew from reading his books that Tom Brown Jr. was a voracious scribe. He would literally journal everything. So, when I went to my first class at his school, I told myself that I would do the same. In that first week alone, I ended up taking ninety-eight pages of notes, drawings, and my own thoughts as I went through that amazing experience.
As I continued to go to his school, I kept at my journaling. I’d buy a different moleskin for every class I’d take with him. Of course, I now realize how ridiculous that is since I have journal after journal, some only a quarter full. Honestly, I think I enjoyed collecting journals more than I actually enjoyed journaling. Heck, I eventually even ended up learning how to make my own!
But when I finally had to leave the school and head back to my normal life, I left the idea of keeping a journal behind. What was the point? My life was boring, so there wasn’t really anything to journal. It wasn’t until pretty recently that I realized how false that statement really is. Through journaling, your life can become an adventure! You can become an explorer of your surroundings! Better yet, you can become an explorer of your inner self! When you think about it, is there any greater adventure out there?
REASONS TO KEEP A JOURNAL
In preparation to write this entry, I brainstormed a list of reasons as to why journaling is important. Here’s my top ten:
Clear Your Mind! (Information Dump)
I don’t know about you, but my mind tends to run about a mile a minute. I often times have trouble sleeping because of it. Pretty much at all times, I’m living partially in the moment, partially in my worries and fears, partially in my plans for the future, and partially in my own made up fantasy world. It’s nice to get all that info out of my head sometimes and onto a piece of paper so I can leave it behind for a little while and pick it back up when I’m ready.
Brainstorming
Hey, I just used my journal to brainstorm this blog post.
Develop a Plan
Take some time and research a project you might have before starting it. Plot it out before and consider what issues you might come across along the way.
Recognize Your Thought Patterns
If you actually journal your feelings on a regular basis, you’ll see some interesting patterns in your thinking process. Is there something you need to let go of?
Witness Your Growth
This is especially good for working out!
So You Don’t Forget Stuff
You’d be amazed at how much you learn in a day if you actually recorded it all.
To Help You Better Emphasize with Others
If you’re having an issue with someone, take some time and try to get into their heads. I think if we took more time to try and understand other people’s actions, there’d be a lot less violence in this world.
To Get Practice Writing
If you want to be a successful writer, you absolutely must write EVERY DAY.
Record Those Extra Special Experiences
Going on a trip? Write about it!
Hold Yourself Accountable
Trying to lose weight? Keep a food journal!
There are probably about a thousand more reasons for keeping a journal so don’t just stop at my top ten! Use a journal and brainstorm your own ideas!
Types of Journals
Here’s a list of the various types of journals that I’ve found success with using and my own process as to how I go about each one:
The Daily Notebook (The Information Dump)
This is probably my favorite kind. I love carrying around a little notebook to record all the interesting things I learn or think about throughout my day. I’ll use this for anything that comes up on a daily basis, such as grocery lists, things that people recommend I check out, lists of books that I plan to read next, vocabulary words that I want to know the meaning of, ideas for teaching and creative writing, or places to put the information I learn while listening to a podcast or reading a book. This one is the end all be all of information. But I only just recently discovered an amazing blog post from author, Tim Ferriss, about how to organize a journal that has made this practice even more successful.
The Info Dump
This is part of my morning routine. Before I start trying to write, I take about five minutes and just get what’s jumping around in my head onto paper. Well, in my case, it’s not actually paper. I’ve personally found the most success with this one by typing it instead of hand writing it. If I’ve got something I’m fretting over, I tend to think faster than my hand can keep up.
The Workout Journal
My friends over at Crossfit Asheville got me in the habit of this one. If you really want to see some gains in your strength and fitness, it’s important to record where you’ve been and where you’re going. A good workout journal should have it all. Reps, rounds, types of exercises, weight used, distance gone, times, dates, warm ups, and probably even your own thoughts on how you’re feeling before and after each workout.
The Food Journal
I just recently did an elimination diet to try and figure out what foods don’t agree with my system. To keep a journal like this, try and write down everything you eat or drink throughout the day and what times you do it. Try and record any effects whether they be positive or negative you experience throughout the day.
The Creative Endeavor Journal
Like I said earlier, I live part of my life in a fantasy world at all times. I love creating stories, and I tend to get ideas for them at extremely random times. Because of this, I tend to put my creative endeavors into three different places. First, I put any random ideas I have into my daily notebook, then I’ll transcribe those ideas into my actual Creative Endeavor Journal. It’s here that I’ll fully flush out scenes, outline stories, describe settings, create background stories for my characters, or write pieces of dialogue or interesting phrases that I plan to use at a later date. I then take that information and put it on Scrivener. That way, I have all the information in an easy to find place when I start actually writing a story.
What Kind of Journal Should You Get?
There are all kinds of specialty journals out there. So if you have something very specific in mind, and you don’t want to create your own system, then take a look around. You should also probably consider whether you want drawing paper, lined paper, graph paper, or a mix of all three. Honestly though, it doesn’t matter! Just get something you feel like you’ll be inspired to use. Whether it’s a cheap composition book that you pick up at the drug store, a moleskin, or a handmade one that you found in your travels, just get one and start writing! You’ll be amazed at what you learn about yourself!
- Interested in learning to make a handmade journal your self? This is where I learned to make them.
- Have some tips and pointers for journaling that you’d like to share? Comment below!
It may be silly, but my mouth would literally water when I saw that Grail Diary. I wondered what it would be like to hold it in my hand. I wondered what amazing things I would learn as I poured through its pages. There, in that little book, was a person’s entire life’s work. It was their passion, their devotion, their guide, and their teacher. To know that, unless that book was destroyed, the information could live on forever is a pretty amazing thing to me. I honestly didn’t really realize this until just now as I sit here writing, but I think seeing that journal was one of my initial inspirations that made me want to be a writer.
When I got a little older, I actually tried to start keeping a journal of my own. I’d fill it with angsty songs chock full of teenage heartbreak and imagine that I could be the next Kurt Cobain. Or I’d draw pictures and imagine that my art would one day rival Leonardo Da Vinci.
I’d fill it with quotes that made me feel inspired or make my first attempts at inspirational writing. But even with all that, I never really stuck to it. After college, I pretty much gave it up. That was until I discovered the Tracker school.
Before I ever went to my first class there, I knew from reading his books that Tom Brown Jr. was a voracious scribe. He would literally journal everything. So, when I went to my first class at his school, I told myself that I would do the same. In that first week alone, I ended up taking ninety-eight pages of notes, drawings, and my own thoughts as I went through that amazing experience.
As I continued to go to his school, I kept at my journaling. I’d buy a different moleskin for every class I’d take with him. Of course, I now realize how ridiculous that is since I have journal after journal, some only a quarter full. Honestly, I think I enjoyed collecting journals more than I actually enjoyed journaling. Heck, I eventually even ended up learning how to make my own!
But when I finally had to leave the school and head back to my normal life, I left the idea of keeping a journal behind. What was the point? My life was boring, so there wasn’t really anything to journal. It wasn’t until pretty recently that I realized how false that statement really is. Through journaling, your life can become an adventure! You can become an explorer of your surroundings! Better yet, you can become an explorer of your inner self! When you think about it, is there any greater adventure out there?
REASONS TO KEEP A JOURNAL
In preparation to write this entry, I brainstormed a list of reasons as to why journaling is important. Here’s my top ten:
Clear Your Mind! (Information Dump)
I don’t know about you, but my mind tends to run about a mile a minute. I often times have trouble sleeping because of it. Pretty much at all times, I’m living partially in the moment, partially in my worries and fears, partially in my plans for the future, and partially in my own made up fantasy world. It’s nice to get all that info out of my head sometimes and onto a piece of paper so I can leave it behind for a little while and pick it back up when I’m ready.
Brainstorming
Hey, I just used my journal to brainstorm this blog post.
Develop a Plan
Take some time and research a project you might have before starting it. Plot it out before and consider what issues you might come across along the way.
Recognize Your Thought Patterns
If you actually journal your feelings on a regular basis, you’ll see some interesting patterns in your thinking process. Is there something you need to let go of?
Witness Your Growth
This is especially good for working out!
So You Don’t Forget Stuff
You’d be amazed at how much you learn in a day if you actually recorded it all.
To Help You Better Emphasize with Others
If you’re having an issue with someone, take some time and try to get into their heads. I think if we took more time to try and understand other people’s actions, there’d be a lot less violence in this world.
To Get Practice Writing
If you want to be a successful writer, you absolutely must write EVERY DAY.
Record Those Extra Special Experiences
Going on a trip? Write about it!
Hold Yourself Accountable
Trying to lose weight? Keep a food journal!
There are probably about a thousand more reasons for keeping a journal so don’t just stop at my top ten! Use a journal and brainstorm your own ideas!
Types of Journals
Here’s a list of the various types of journals that I’ve found success with using and my own process as to how I go about each one:
The Daily Notebook (The Information Dump)
This is probably my favorite kind. I love carrying around a little notebook to record all the interesting things I learn or think about throughout my day. I’ll use this for anything that comes up on a daily basis, such as grocery lists, things that people recommend I check out, lists of books that I plan to read next, vocabulary words that I want to know the meaning of, ideas for teaching and creative writing, or places to put the information I learn while listening to a podcast or reading a book. This one is the end all be all of information. But I only just recently discovered an amazing blog post from author, Tim Ferriss, about how to organize a journal that has made this practice even more successful.
The Info Dump
This is part of my morning routine. Before I start trying to write, I take about five minutes and just get what’s jumping around in my head onto paper. Well, in my case, it’s not actually paper. I’ve personally found the most success with this one by typing it instead of hand writing it. If I’ve got something I’m fretting over, I tend to think faster than my hand can keep up.
The Workout Journal
My friends over at Crossfit Asheville got me in the habit of this one. If you really want to see some gains in your strength and fitness, it’s important to record where you’ve been and where you’re going. A good workout journal should have it all. Reps, rounds, types of exercises, weight used, distance gone, times, dates, warm ups, and probably even your own thoughts on how you’re feeling before and after each workout.
The Food Journal
I just recently did an elimination diet to try and figure out what foods don’t agree with my system. To keep a journal like this, try and write down everything you eat or drink throughout the day and what times you do it. Try and record any effects whether they be positive or negative you experience throughout the day.
The Creative Endeavor Journal
Like I said earlier, I live part of my life in a fantasy world at all times. I love creating stories, and I tend to get ideas for them at extremely random times. Because of this, I tend to put my creative endeavors into three different places. First, I put any random ideas I have into my daily notebook, then I’ll transcribe those ideas into my actual Creative Endeavor Journal. It’s here that I’ll fully flush out scenes, outline stories, describe settings, create background stories for my characters, or write pieces of dialogue or interesting phrases that I plan to use at a later date. I then take that information and put it on Scrivener. That way, I have all the information in an easy to find place when I start actually writing a story.
What Kind of Journal Should You Get?
There are all kinds of specialty journals out there. So if you have something very specific in mind, and you don’t want to create your own system, then take a look around. You should also probably consider whether you want drawing paper, lined paper, graph paper, or a mix of all three. Honestly though, it doesn’t matter! Just get something you feel like you’ll be inspired to use. Whether it’s a cheap composition book that you pick up at the drug store, a moleskin, or a handmade one that you found in your travels, just get one and start writing! You’ll be amazed at what you learn about yourself!
- Interested in learning to make a handmade journal your self? This is where I learned to make them.
- Have some tips and pointers for journaling that you’d like to share? Comment below!