Do you have half-filled journals tucked into book shelves and nooks around your house? I did. I tried to hide them because each time I saw them I heard them calling out to me. “Fill me up!” they would yell. In my head I would make all kinds of excuses.
“They’re too nice to not have a perfect entry.” Or “I didn’t do anything interesting today so I should waste a page.”
And then how are you supposed to start a journal? “Dear diary,” sounds middle-school girlish. And then you just try to write what you did and it sounds like you’re the most narcissistic person in the world. “I…, I…, I…”
Sure, I would start for a couple of days. Then you miss a couple. So I would either try to remember what I did those days or just start over.
But it always ended the same. No journaling. No recording of moments I know I’d like to remember or at least know where I could find them if I ever wanted to. “A life worth living,” Jim Rohn said, “is a life worth recording.” And I want to live a life worth living which meant I needed to figure out how I could document what I was doing.
And then I happened upon the idea of a logbook. I was reading Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. He detailed how he kept a logbook.1
It fit my style perfectly. Sketches and a couple of quick notes. Nothing in narrative form. Just quick little reminders of what happened. Enough to spark the memory. Why was I mad? Or laughing historically? Or crying?
Here’s how I use my logbook:
- I get the Moleskin daily planner. Each day has it’s own full page.
- I’ve started to write down what time I get up (in an effort to get up earlier) and how much I weigh that morning (the scale doesn’t lie).
- After my quiet time, I write down the best verse that I’d like to remember (but often don’t) throughout the day.
- After winding down the day I fill out the rest of the journal, sketching a quick picture of the activity and a couple of words of who I was with or what happened.
- I probably put in too much detail but it’s my logbook. You can record whatever you want in yours.
I’m finishing my second full year of the logbook. It’s the most consistent thing I’ve done the past 2 years. And it’s allowed me to track my other habits and see what adjustments I’d like to make in my morning routine, my diet, or work habits.
There’s no hiding how I spent my day—wisely or foolishly. It’s all laid out in front of me. So if you’ve ever tried to journal and failed, try again. Try a logbook.
Footnotes
- I strongly recommend Austin Kleon’s books, including Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work. Also check out his blog where you can also see an early post on his logbook titled, On Keeping a Logbook.
- Don’t think you can draw? Bull $#!+. Check out Dan Roam and his books as a great place to start.