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Journaling is an invaluable tool for any creative. People have kept journals through extraordinary situations, as part of intuitive self-healing practices. We have to believe their journals was an essential part of what kept them from falling into despair, inaction.
Journals are outlets for the soul, the mind. Blank pages can be filled with words, sketches, drawings, collages or a combination of all. In this was is also a tool for self-expression, an act of self-assertion.
Creatives across history have taken the journal to new levels. Think about the journals kept by Leonardo Da Vinci, with its collection of innovative ideas, sketches of the human anatomy, art masterpieces, machines for warfare. Even his writing was disruptive.
We have bullet journals, travel journals, small leather journals, digital journals. The format, size, and use are as free as the creative spirit that uses it.
Remember: ideas, even great, world-building ideas are fleeting. Journals are idea-capturing devices.
5 simple steps to begin your creative journal:
1. Pick your format. Paper or digital, compact or large. Bullet or not? Find the format that fits your preferences. What will make you use it, love it, stick with it?
2. Stream of consciousness or Free writing. Start with what comes to you naturally. Once you open the blank page, let words and ideas flow. The action of pouring things out of you will feel liberating in itself. Even if you later change or implement a more structured format, keep a few pages for free writing every day.
3. List making. Every little detail of life, work and art cannot be left inside our mind. We run the risk of losing something very important and keeping unnecessary clutter.
4. The rule of many. Keep one, two, three or as many journals as you need.
5. Make it a habit. If journaling is new to your creative arsenal, start small. Pick a time to journal in the morning or before going to bed. Try a gratitude journal or list making first. If you’ve been journaling for a long time, try evolving your journal as a resource for capturing and curating ideas, improve your system.
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TCC
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