Imagine stumbling upon a treasure trove of thoughts, emotions, and forgotten dreams, written in your own hand, a forgotten journal from decades past. Each page, a window into a younger self, brimming with raw emotions and unfiltered aspirations. “Hello old friend” opens one page of a mildew stanched journal I found in the garage of the house I grew up in. The entry was from ‘91, not sure where I was physically at that time, from the writing I see where I was mentally. Having not yet graduated from university and it being post Loma Prieta, I can deduce I was living in northern California at the time. It appears as if I was attempting to be a poet, most of the entries lead to that conclusion, and at one point I even ask “am I a poet? Can I write?” Reading my writings opened a floodgate of memories and reflections. It was a poignant reminder of how far I've journeyed.
A few more pages in the entry mentions that ‘years have passed since my last entry.’ I am sure I have many unfinished sketchbooks, note pads, journals on my shelves, under my bed and in storage somewhere, one day, and hopefully soon I will have a chance to read through them and perhaps compile them into a book. It was interesting to see that in 1991 I was contemplating some deep existential issues, questioning my purpose in life, struggles I had with moral discissions, and an overall sense of struggle and melancholy. Perhaps the long pauses between entries, days, weeks, months and even years, had to do with my turning to journaling to make sense of the thoughts in my head, the emotions I was feeling, and a yearning to connect with something higher. A few days after reading this, I was on the phone with a young friend of mine, Christian, I shared with him the power of reading something from 32 years that I had written and encouraged him to begin journaling consistently. He is aware of my journaling regularly for the last six years, so this conversation impacted him. He often jokes with me that he is going to steal my journals and publish them, good luck, I can’t even read my handwriting.
Oh, how I wish I had continued writing in this journal, the entries as so raw, the emotion so palatable, why did I put it down and what did I pick up instead. This snapshot into a younger me, priceless.
Fast forward to late 2016, again, looking deeply at life and my existence, looking to write a new chapter of my life, I put pen to paper. How would I organize it this time? Through some internet search or perhaps a podcast I came across “The Five-Minute Journal.” Somewhere I read that we shouldn’t just turn to journaling during times of crises or longing but rather, we should right every day and express gratitude. "The Five-Minute Journal" is a gratitude journal designed to enhance happiness and well-being through a structured and easy-to-follow format. This journal encourages users to spend just five minutes each day focusing on positive aspects of their life, thereby fostering a habit of gratitude and reflection. The concept of the Five-Minute Journal is based on positive psychology research, emphasizing the importance of gratitude and its impact on mental health. It was created by Intelligent Change. Studies have shown that journaling, especially focused on positive affect and gratitude, can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, improve well-being, and help individuals understand themselves more deeply. As someone who is always up for a challenge and so stranger to self-reflection, and perhaps one who wasn’t as grateful as they should have been, I went online and ordered it.
January 31, 2017 I began using it, the journal is designed for a duration of six months, with undated entries to provide flexibility for the users. Each page is structured with morning and evening reflection prompts, an inspirational quote, and weekly challenges. The morning routine in the journal involves acknowledging what you're grateful for, identifying what would make your day great, and positive thinking through daily affirmations. The evening routine focuses on reflecting on the day's highlights and positive experiences, along with lessons learned and knowledge gained.
I would love to say that I was immediately successful in keeping the journal, that wasn’t the case. Getting into a morning habit was easy, remembering to make my entries at the end of the day proved to be more challenging. This simple yet powerful practice, and the structure and hardbound pages upon which to scribble has changed the way I approach my days since.
Nearing the end of those six-months of journaling I began looking for my next format for journaling. As much as I loved this style, I longed to write more than just a few minutes a day. That is when I discovered the “Bullet Journal” developed by Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer. Carroll created this method as a tool to help with his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In a YouTube video I watched on his method I was immediately drawn to his concept of keeping everything in one place, in an organized fashion, and an index to boot.
This seemed like the perfect answer to the countless peace’s of paper, backs of envelopes, note pads I had cluttering my life. With Carroll’s technique I could file everything away, shelve it, and retrieve if needed. If you go on YouTube and google The Bullet Journal, often abbreviated as BuJo, you will find videos where people go to artistic highs designing their “BuJo.” I gave that a whirl, it wasn’t for me, I spent more time trying to figure out the best stencils, pens and washi tape to use, fun as it was, it distracted from the writing that I wanted to do in the new format.
So, I dropped some of the BuJo stuff that wasn’t for me, kept the basic premise, especially the Leuchttrum 1917 bullet notebook. What continues to be in my journals is a monthly log, weekly spread and my daily writings. I combined the practices of The Five Minute Journal and Bullet Journal, using the left page for gratitude and the right for Morning Pages. The concept of "Morning Pages" for those not familiar, originates from Julia Cameron's book "The Artist's Way". In her book, Morning Pages are described as three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing done first thing in the morning. This practice is not about creating high art or even traditional "writing"; it's more about allowing anything and everything that crosses your mind to flow onto the page, and it's meant for your eyes only. This method is used as a tool to foster creativity and personal development. Since it’s for my eyes only, I’m not creating high art, I am free to misspell words, have poor grammar, go off on tangents, vent, confide and question. I love this practice.
It's now December of 2023 and I am nearing completion of my twenty-fourth journal, with the five-minute as number one. Though my BuJo evolves, I have maintained using the left page for gratitude and the right for Morning Pages. I love having the monthly and weekly spreads in there as well for bullets of what I did during those days, I even track my finances on the monthly spread. Having an index also allows me to quickly find entries, events etc.
Journaling has been transformative for me, starting my days with gratitude is one of the most powerful practices I have incorporated into my life. Often, I will tell someone “You were in my gratitude journal today,” and just be present with the energy of that moment of intimacy. Most people don’t know how to react, and that’s great, for me, I’m personally thanking them for their contributions to my life, sharing that what the said or did impact me enough to warrant me writing about it, it’s a lovely practice.
Looking back on the old journal I mentioned in the beginning, I wish I had not only put the date but where I was at that time. My current practice includes the date, time and place, and day of the week. This may not seem that important at the time of entry, but going back it helps with my memory.
I encourage you to find a journaling practice that works for you not only navigate but to document your journey. I hope you will incorporate gratitude into your routine and have fun exploring the depths of your consciousness. Check out The Five-minute Journal, Bullet Journaling and Morning Pages and see if they resonate.
