I’m a big fan of things that help you in your digital life, but I will admit that sometimes a traditional route can also be as helpful every once in a while. I found myself in such a situation last year. Now, to warn you, I am going to be talking about a non-digital product today….so just be warned…..
LEGAL MUMBOJUMBO: Please be advised that if you purchase this product based off of this post, I will receive nothing but the knowledge that I was able to help you along your way. Is everyone good with that? Sweet…ON WITH THE POST!
I was made aware of a product called a Mind Journal, which promised that it would give me exercises to run through to help kick start any journaling practice I may have. This came at a fortuitous time because while I had been journaling for over a year, the method that I had been doing had become a bit stale. I needed something to help me figure out what and where I should go next.
1) Journaling is important – Previous to the pandemic; I didn’t journal that much. It wasn’t that helpful when I did, and I didn’t like what I was writing. Once everyone was locked down in March of 2020, I made the decision to start journaling every day. Since we’ve gone in and out of lockdown a few times, it has allowed me some time to air out my thoughts on whatever was going on during any particular day. I called it “Clearing out the cobwebs” of my brain. While clearing out any random thoughts that would distract me is good, I wanted something better, or more, out of my journaling practice.
2) I didn’t know what I didn’t know – When I started journaling, I had no idea how to do it properly. I had since learned (much to my relief) that there IS no way to do it “Properly.” This means that any way you want to journal is good for you. The problem for me was that there are a variety of different journaling practices that you can do, and I didn’t know where to start. I know a few people who do bullet journaling, but there are many types of practices that you CAN do, but I still wasn’t sure what I should be doing. I decided to go with the Mind Journal because, in the ads for it, it talked about a variety of different exercises that you can do to really flush out anything you want to say. They make you go from some of the basic activities to more thought-provoking ones. Some of the stuff that I was able to get out of the Mind Journal was worth it.
3) Applying what I’ve learned – I am still a technologist, and as a technologist, I never intended to stay with a paper journalling practice. I did what we all should do when we don’t have answers, go to those who know. In this case, I would have to go to those who had an established journalling practice, and it really paid off. I was able to take some of the practices that they did in the mind journal and built my own year-long journal. Because it’s me, and because I love a good technological angle, I have made up my entire year in a PDF document, which I have been able to upload to my remarkable. This will allow me to do my journalling anywhere and everywhere with ease.
I’m a big fan of journaling because it allows you to get any and all of your thoughts out. If you’re not entirely sure where to start, the Mind Journal can be a great place. While I typically wouldn’t support an analog over a digital solution to a problem, but in this case, I think that Mind Journal would actually be an excellent way to go.
Do you journal?
Let me know in the comments section below. If you like this blog post and want to see more, you can follow me on Social Media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @jasonlovefiles) or Subscribe to my blog to get new content delivered directly to your mailbox.