I recently finished my Ghosts of Planners Past series, where I went over the various planning systems that I’ve used over the years, their pros and cons and why they all generally failed. I’m now starting a new series of posts, also related to how I actually use my various pens and notebooks, but this time with a different emphasis: it will be more “how to” than “review” oriented.

What I talk about when I talk about journaling

Why do I journal? There are many reasons, and many kinds of journaling that I do, and so it is worth listing them down from the start to give you a rough idea of what I’m talking about when I’m talking about journaling.

• Journaling for mental clarity
• Journaling to empty my head from needless noise
• Journaling to work out choices
• Journaling to work out ideas
• Journaling to work through fear, anger, procrastination, self-doubt
• Journaling to let out steam in a safe place
• Journaling for self improvement
• Journaling to process the past
• Journaling to plan the future
• Journaling as reference and an external memory

These are all distinct kinds of journaling, but they are all tied together, and my plan is to address each kind in turn.

What this won’t be about

My journals aren’t works of art. There are zero decorations on the page because I find them distracting. Journals for me are practical tools for personal use only — not heirlooms to be shared with anyone, and not Instagram worthy in any way. If you enjoy decorating your journal pages, taking pictures of them and posting them on social media, that’s fine, of course. It’s just in no way the focus of this series. I’m only going to focus on the writing side of journaling, and not on your handwriting/calligraphy/drawing/decorating/designing skills. There are many other great sources for that, and I encourage you to go and find them if that interests you.

Now that we got all that out of the way, let’s dive in with the first actual post in the series: Journaling for Mental Clarity.