My Journal Ecosystem

“People who keep journals have life twice.” – Jessamyn West

I have been journaling almost daily for a little over a decade. It started as a way to keep all my creative writing ideas. In eighth grade I would scribble pages and pages while in class, I did not want to miss a single idea. Writing in a physical notebook was always the most effective way for me to process ideas, I needed to work it all out on paper, or it just wasn’t going to happen. I began journaling in earnest while in high school. My desire to understand myself and the world around me pushed me to process my interpersonal relationships on paper.

Journaling can be an effective tool. It’s been scientifically proven that writing something down helps your brain to process information differently than just ruminating. It combines movement and thought, marrying them into a tool your brain can use to unload mental weight. When you hold onto unprocessed emotions, or you circle the same though processes over and over, it takes up mental space and energy. I know when I haven’t journaled in a couple of days, I feel backed up and distracted. I hold onto things, experiences from my daily life, frustrations, and thoughts that stick around longer than I want them to. But writing them down offloads them from my mind and onto paper; it’s like clearing up space on your computer’s local drive by uploading it onto an external drive. Your brain can close all the tabs it’s been keeping open.

In the post that follows you’ll see me use the terms “journal” and “notebook”. These are not interchangeable within my ecosystem. I use journals for personal thoughts and internal reflection. I use notebooks for external information and research. One focuses on myself and the other focuses on information I’m gathering and notetaking.

“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see, and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” — Joan Didion

From bottom to top: Morning pages journal, Main journal, Creative writing journal, Language learning notebook, Sketchbook, Commonplace/ catch all, and mini

Main Journal

I use this journal to process events, thoughts, and feelings. This is my go-to journal if I have something I need to work through or if there’s something I need to get out of my head and onto paper. This is for the messy, emotional thoughts that take up space in my mind and body. This is what people traditionally think of when they think of journaling. I have found using a journal extremely effective in my personal growth. I bring it with me everywhere, always alongside the book I’m currently reading.

I used to use my main journal for everything, and I would use color coded tabs for all the different subjects. I would use it to process emotions, to make lists, to write creatively, and to take notes. But each of those things takes up a lot of space and I would finish my journals in only a couple of months. I would go through journal after journal and had to hunt down something I wrote down a month ago. I began to naturally separate subject matter and purpose, spreading everything out more evenly so I wasn’t burning through them so quickly.

Morning Pages journal

I adopted the practice of morning pages from when I did The Artist’s Way, a guided self-help book/ course for creatives and artists. I was in a bit of a rut, and I figured at the very least it would help me get back into the swing of my creative practice. Morning pages are stream of consciousness writing. You put pen to paper and don’t stop writing until you’re done. I set a timer for twenty to thirty minutes every morning and write until the time is up. The purpose of morning pages is to flow, just get writing and see what comes out. It is low stakes, since no one is ever supposed to read them, not even you. There is no intention with your pages, you just want to show up and see what happens.

I found this extremely helpful when I noticed myself judging my writing as I was writing. Nothing will halt the creative process faster than harsh judgment or criticism as something is being born. Morning pages is like exposure therapy for those who are trying not to judge their writing before it’s even written. You have to write faster than your inner critic can read, that’s why you can’t think of what you will write. Just write it. And don’t read it. If you don’t know what to write, then write “I don’t know what to write”. Keep doing that until something else comes out. And trust me, it will. It always does.

There is nothing more satisfying than filling one of those pages.

Creative Writing journal

My creative writing journal is where new ideas live. I use it to plan and takes notes for anything I’m working on. I organize plot points and potential scenes, which helps to keep track of all the moving project parts. I have a long-term project that I’ve been working on, and this journal helps me keep all my ducks in a row. I will inevitably forget something important I wrote five chapters ago, but I can quickly reference it if it’s in my journal.

If I have a new book, short story, or poem idea, it goes in this journal.

Language Learning notebook

This one is fairly straight forward. I use this notebook to take notes and jot down vocabulary in my target language. I use it like I would for a language course. I make vocabulary lists, notes on grammar, and build practice sentences for myself. I am self-taught and I use this notebook to study. I mainly use a website called Mango Languages, a language learning tool that I get through my local library. I would highly recommend it, I’ve found it extremely helpful, and they have an extensive language library to choose from. My currently target language is modern Greek. I keep the Greek alphabet in the back so I can reference different letters and sounds while I try to translate sentences.

Also, if you have any language learning resources you would recommend, or anything specific for Greek, please leave a comment :)

Junk Journal/ Scrap Book

I started junk journaling last year and now I can’t seem to stop collecting little pieces of “trash” everywhere I go. I use it as a memory scrap book. My most recent spread was of my trip to Greece; I saved receipts (so many receipts), anything that had the name of where we were visiting on it, scraps of placemats from restaurants, and anything with an intriguing design.

So many things are digital, like boarding passes, concert tickets, and theater tickets. But I want to keep a physical copy of those things, to have a written record of “I went here and did this, and I loved it!”. So, when I have the opportunity to keep any kind of scraps from an experience, I jump on it. This journal is a low stress way to keep pieces of my life in one place. It’s a “junk” journal with scraps of things most people would consider garbage, but it’s fun to make it look pretty and personalized. If you like collage, scrapbooking, or hording, I would highly recommend starting a junk journal.

Art Journal/ Sketchbook

On the front of my sketchbook, I have a sticker that simply says, “Make it ugly”. This was a sketchbook I started after finding myself in a deeply anxious artistic block. I was stressed with work and life and all the things, and I hadn’t been able to use art as a therapeutic outlet like I normally would. I didn’t even want to try because I had fallen out of practice, and I knew I was rusty. I didn’t want to make something crappy and then feel like I wasn’t an artist anymore because it didn’t look good. I’m sure any artist who has experienced a block or a dry spell can relate.

So, after coming across a couple different “ugly sketchbooks” online I wanted to make one for myself. These sketchbooks are not for finished pieces. These pages are for creative experimentation and low stakes artwork. It’s for playing. And I had forgotten how much fun playing with your art could be. If I catch myself staring at the blank page with my art supplies spread out in front of me, I push myself to just take the first step and make a mark on the page. It can be a scribble with a crayon or a smear of ink. Anything. Whatever you do, do not give into the blank page paralysis.

These pages are meant for me to have fun and get back in touch with my playful artistic self. And when I make something that’s not “good”- whatever that means- I remind myself “That’s the whole point”. If I’ve made something ugly, I’ve succeeded in making something. Which is a win.

Commonplace book/ Catch-all

This is where everything else goes. It’s hard to believe there is anything else, but here we are. This is where I jot down quick notes, reminders, and lists. If I overhear anything that catches my attention (I am always listening- but don’t worry, not menacingly) I write it down. If I’m bored and want to doodle, it goes in here. I also use it to write down book titles to add to my TBR list. I typically use gridded, dotted, or blank paper for this notebook, just because lined paper can be restrictive when you’re trying to do so many things in the same place. But that restriction is appreciated in my main journal, since it helps to keep me focused and on task.

If I have an idea for an art piece, I’ll make notes for it in this book before I attempt it in my sketchbook. I have both a regular sized notebook and a mini, I use them both as my catch-all, just depends on if I want to stick it in my pocket or bring a whole notebook with me. This is my lowest expectation notebook in my ecosystem, the purpose is to be my mental junk drawer, which helps to keep all my other journals focused and tidy.

---

I had not realized how much I had to say about journaling until I started writing this post. Nor did I give my “ecosystem” much thought. I figured I just had a couple different books I used for a couple different things. But now that it’s all laid out, I have a pretty sprawling ecosystem. One in which I live quite happily.

Thanks for reading! Check out my Substack account here.