A Strong Journaling Practice

The slim teal notebook with 2023 Part II written on the top right corner of the cover has been my most recent journal.

And it has one blank page left.

It’s full of double-sided hand-written pages filled with journal entries from the beginning of April until the end of October. Filled with the mundane day-to-day of my life. Thoughts and reflections. Summaries of trips, work, and activities. I often use journaling to process questions, concerns, and interactions too.

For years, I would write the full date on each entry. Then none at all, but that made it harder to orient myself. Now I’m notating when the month changes or just the day of the week.

There is an identical notebook with blank lined pages ready to pick up Part III of 2023 and continue into 2024.

And this one. The one with a single blank page will be added to my collection of journals from the past 24 years.

That’s a lot of writing. That’s a lot of data.

Maybe 10 years ago now, I reread all my journals and did a rather deep analysis of patterns, themes, and insights from my life. I made notes and had a bit of a summary. That level of introspection of that many years was satisfying in a way. And it also acted as a catalyst for change. I’d have to check but I think soon after I started moving toward slowly starting a business and becoming self-employed.

One reason I feel I’ve been journaling so consistently for so many years is that it’s safe because it’s a conversation with myself. No one sees what I write and I don’t really judge myself while writing or when rereading. Not even when I did that deep dive.

The last pages of my current journal are a reflection of this year so far. The highlights and accomplishments. What’s working? What’s kind of working? What’s not working? The lowlights and challenges. The shifts I want to make and what I want to focus on next.

It’s a cadence of reflection that I find centering and anchoring. It acts as a pause point to take stock, notice the details, edit and subtract what might not fit, and reconnect with how I want to spend my time and follow my energy.

Building a Sharing Practice

The practice I’ve been working on building recently is the sharing one. Expanding the conversation to include more people, which often feels vulnerable.

Publishing essays, podcasts, writings, workshops, and offerings in places where other people can see, hear, and buy them. Sharing (ie. marketing and promoting) a thing I built that I believe others will find helpful. And asking them to join in.

One of the next things I’m sharing is a series of mini-workshops and coworking sessions I’m hosting on November 16th and 17th called the Strategy Sessions. It’s an experiment with how I might support solopreneurs and creatives looking to make dedicated time to do a reflection, strategy, and planning process I’ve been practicing for years.

Check it out.