I’ve mentioned in a few posts (yes, I know that I only actually have a few posts), and I thought I’d post a little bit on how I record things. Not that my process is good, but it works for me. Or, at least it works better than not having a system in place. I’m unproductive regardless, but I’m most certainly more productive when I have my little notebooks close at hand.
I want to post this because it’s something I think about a lot. And let’s face it, this is my blog. I promise more pictures of children are coming soon. But for now… Paper and pen.
I’ll discuss my past Journaling – how I define it, and why I’ve done it. I’ll discuss what I now do and why it helps, and I’ll talk a little bit on my attempts at digital journaling.
I’m writing this because I’m a journaling enthusiast. I know there are entire blogs and websites and yahoo groups dedicated to this, but I wanted to put my thoughts in because I’ve come to realize that the more information on a topic I want to learn about is available, the more I get to spend time thinking about it. This is good and bad, but I appreciate those who have put things out there for my benefit.

My plan is to split this into 3 sections: Why I Journal, Digital vs. Analog Journaling, and My Current System of Journaling. Yes. I have a system.

PAST JOURNALS
I started journaling back in 1993. I have written more days than not. But there have been months I didn’t write, and days where I have written several pages. It just depends on many factors. I write less now that there are 4 children 2 dogs and a cat in the picture, and there is always far more that I want to record.
I started journaling just because I enjoy writing. I like to write stories, and just wanted to write about myself for myself. I wanted to remember events. I wanted to think through problems and I find I tend to so it better on paper. I like to be able to go back and read through how enjoyable an event is and to realize how stupid I can be.
As far as the media I used in the beginning, it was just a plain Mead notebook and a pilot pen. Nothing special or fancy. It did the job perfectly well, and now that 20 years has passed, it is just as legible as it was back then. Sure, things can get ruined and wet. Ink can smear. But I have done what I can to protect them. I am currently writing in my 23rd book, and I have them all.
As time progressed, I moved from really stupid random thoughts to more about my day to day life. My journaling went from a sort of free writing about nothing in particular (think Seinfeld but without the humor or laugh tracks) to a more organized approach. For that I can thank a book by Bob Greene called Be True to Your School. In it Bob, now a journalist (or at least when he wrote the book) discovered his journal from the 1960s. He wrote every day of the year, just a snippet of his day. And it was entertaining to see it unfold. His discovery of the Beatles, girls, searching for a college, right there. So I started doing something similar. Most of it was pretty mundane at the time. But now I can look back and reminisce about my life as a fry cook and how shallow my thoughts were. My summer of 1993 was a summer of me failing repeatedly to break up with my girlfriend, hanging out in the parking lot after working at McD’s and anxieties and excitement about leaving home at age 17 for college. Basic stuff. But at the same time… part of what made me who I am.
I remember who I hung out with.
I can look with fondness.
I can look with pity.
I can look with a better accuracy than most. Because I recorded it.

I recorded many things over the years. It is so great to look back to when I first met my wife and see how I described her. Joys of friends, the pain of college, and everything else. I’ve recorded every great camping spot. Good food. People to avoid. Gifts I’ve gotten. Maps of discoveries. I don’t draw, but I have had children draw pictures in them. I’ve recorded sermon notes and meeting notes. Quotes from my children and my triumphs and failures.

My media progressed as I went along. I moved from wire bound notebooks to journals from Barnes and Noble made especially for journaling. And I’ve tried out several of those. I’ve gotten kind of particular about the notebooks I buy, and really have spent a lot of time writing about the topic. I don’t particularly have a preference toward lined or blank paper. I write smaller on blank paper, and more clearly on lined paper. I think my next favorite thing may be graph paper, but I haven’t quite tried that out yet.

I think that enough for the moment. Next I’m going to write about digital versus analog journaling. The good and bad of both.