My theme for the April A to Z blogging challenge is productivity for creative people.
I used to keep an ongoing journal, and I recently started journaling again by writing “morning pages” as described by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way. Basically, she recommends that you write three pages by hand first thing each morning.
In the beginning, I pretty much hated this. It felt like one more thing I had to do each day. But after about two months, it became a useful part of my routine. Sometimes I vent. Sometimes I daydream on the page about my work-in-progress until I can barely wait to work on it. Sometimes I think of ideas that get transcribed onto my to do list. It’s like a mini-brain-dump on the page. I like using a cheap spiral-bound notebook (rather than a nice journal) so I don’t feel pressure to record anything "important."
(As an aside, some people use Bullet Journals which is more of a way to track tasks and goals than it is a free-form writing journal. I have yet to experiment with this, but you can learn more about it at Bullet Journal--Getting Started. )
These two articles link journaling to productivity: The #1 Productivity Tool You Aren't Using and Start this Simple Habit to Rocket Your Productivity: Journaling.) I do think it helps me have a certain positive mindset to start the day and increases my focus for the creative work ahead.
In the beginning, I pretty much hated this. It felt like one more thing I had to do each day. But after about two months, it became a useful part of my routine. Sometimes I vent. Sometimes I daydream on the page about my work-in-progress until I can barely wait to work on it. Sometimes I think of ideas that get transcribed onto my to do list. It’s like a mini-brain-dump on the page. I like using a cheap spiral-bound notebook (rather than a nice journal) so I don’t feel pressure to record anything "important."
(As an aside, some people use Bullet Journals which is more of a way to track tasks and goals than it is a free-form writing journal. I have yet to experiment with this, but you can learn more about it at Bullet Journal--Getting Started. )
These two articles link journaling to productivity: The #1 Productivity Tool You Aren't Using and Start this Simple Habit to Rocket Your Productivity: Journaling.) I do think it helps me have a certain positive mindset to start the day and increases my focus for the creative work ahead.
Have you ever kept a journal? Do you keep one now? If so, how do you find it helpful?
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