I’ve been journaling for a long time.  I started as a teenager, mostly because I love notebooks.  I don’t know why, but I’ve always just loved them.  I love the feeling of holding a notebook in my hands and opening it to see all the blank pages.  I want to buy one even if I don’t need one at the moment.  It’s the same with sketchbooks.  I’ve got like 10 of them.  

I’ve discovered over the years that journaling is partly responsible for enhancing my creative abilities.  I think it’s the act of clearing the mind so deeper more creative thoughts can emerge.  Also, it helps with keeping track of insights, because they are so easily forgotten.  

Here are the types of journaling I do:

1.  Stream of Consciousness – Also known as the brain dump, in which you write whatever is on your mind at the moment.  This is super useful for clearing out your mind of all the crap that’s accumulated.  Also, it’s great for figuring out how you really feel about something, or solving a problem you may be having.  It’s also really helpful for dealing with anger in particular or negative emotions if and when they come up.

2.  Sketch journal – I’m not sure if this really counts as a journal but I’m going to say it does, for me anyway.  This is my ‘crap’ sketchbook in which I basically draw daily or as close to daily as I can.  It’s pure practice and no one sees most of it.  This is responsible for most of my drawing progress.

3. Daily planner – I count this as a journal because it has my daily to do lists in it and I write down insights I may have during the day.  This book keeps me sane and organized.  Writing down goals is very effective for me and I love that feeling of crossing an item off my list. 

4.  Sentence a Day – I’ve just started this and ordered a special 10 year journal specifically for this.  It’s where you write a small amount ( sentence or more ) every day.  I can’t believe I only recently heard of this and haven’t been doing it my whole life.  I could have a ton of sentences by now.  I love how quick and simple this is and I know I can commit to this daily.  

5.  Smart Phone Journal – I really like this one because it’s usually with me, right on my phone.  I type ( or speech to text which is super convenient) instead of just mindlessly checking social media.  It gives me something positive to do on my phone when I reach for it to distract myself.  I don’t use my phone very often, but always have it with me and this one does come in handy when you are stuck somewhere with nothing to do.

6. Common Place Journal – This one is probably the best one on here and the one that is the most life changing.  I first heard about it on Actualized.org here and instantly loved the idea!  I use OneNote like he suggested and it works great.  I really love OneNote, I can’t believe more people don’t use it.  It’s gotten a bit crazy because I have everything in there, my music, my art ideas, personal development stuff, plans for the future, book summaries / insights.  I back it up on a regular basis. There’s so much you can do with this, as a creative especially.

So I do quite a bit of writing, I guess.  It’s funny, I never really thought about it until now, typing up this article.  I really like to write.  And I also like writing music and poetry.  Hopefully this is inspiring and encourages you to write and express yourself, in whichever way you choose.  You never know where it will lead you!