8. Suppose you had not used a planner or journal this year. How do you think your life would be different?

Journaling– or at the least, carrying a notebook with me at all times– has been so important to me since I was a kid. I haven't really gone in-depth about it (oh, I should!), but this whole thing started with some 4th grade required reading:

Some of our homework was to write about what was going all around us. While nothing interesting was happening at my house, I still completed the assignment by talking about the landscape, how quiet it was, and how many stray cats I befriended that day.

And can you say, cultural phenomenon? Probably thanks to the Nickelodeon movie, based on this book. We saw the likes of Amelia's Notebook and junk journaling. It was en vogue to rock the black-and-white composition books no one thought to do anything fun with before. It taught a lot of kids that writing can be fun, and added to self-expression with decorating and doodling.

It influenced a few of our careers and hobbies, too. How many of us became columnists? Artists? Hyperaware of the truths to yourself? Do you know about the different systems of journaling (bullet, commonplace, etc)? How big is your sticker collection?

But my biggest takeaway was memory. Here's all I do with my bright yellow journal:

• jot down ideas
• write about...
  • my day
  • rough drafts/outlines
  • poetry
• note-taking
• rough scheduling/planning
• keeping track of stuff
• contact info
• small keepsakes
• ???
• PLACEHOLDER (misc. scratchpad)

I have a calendar and (several) note-taking apps on my phone; I do a lot of typing and list-making (why waste paper when you need to do a grocery list at least once a week?). But if I want to remember something, it helps me to physically write it down. Something about the act of it cements it into my mind. Holding a pen feels more concrete than sliding my thumb across a screen.

Keeping it short, my "system" is

• physical
  • scrapbook (for the stickers and flyers!)
  • project book (stays near desk)
  • journal
  • calendar/planner (stays stationary; on the desk)
• digital/mobile
  • journaling, blogging
  • mobile notepad for mobile lists (Shopping lists, etc)
  • larger note-taking app for larger works (blog drafts, private journal, etc)
  • calendar
  • bookmarks
  • kanban planner (do-doing-done-dropped)

That seems like a lot– especially when transferring things. But without this system, it would be chaos. I'd have no idea what's going on, who to reach out to, what thoughts I had, lack of emotional regulation, and no reference for knowledge gaps. And the older I get, the more I realize that my recall isn't the best.

I feel like I wouldn't be as creative, either. I'd be so stressed and too overwhelmed to be so.