Why Journal Why

I picked up the habit of journaling mostly as a survival mechanism. If you’ve ever been locked into bad thinking loops like me, writing sometimes seems to help make the brain pretend that now the problem exists outside of it. Then I could trudge along the mud, still on all fours, surely, but at least there is a general sense of movement to somewhere in the vague direction of not here. It’s a way to keep my brain, if not my life, in check. I say habit, but a lot of times before at least August of this year I would forget about the journal for days and write in it any time I like, whether or not I had anything to say.

The reason I felt like I’m not using my journal for its fullest potential is because I read about people who religiously log everything that happens in their lives, like expenses, special events, what they did this so and so hour and I also read about people who closely track their emotional states through the same medium. It just felt a little weird for me to be tracking stuff like daily commuting expenses alongside life-changing realizations about something someone said when I was young. But at the same time, in all objectivity, they are both just stuff, and if both need to be tracked, how do you designate the weight to what deserves attention or not?

Journalling Rabbit Holes

That’s when I tried looking at other types of journals like the Bullet Journal and travel and lifestyle journals of artists (look at Abby Sy’s stuff and try not to feel inadequate) and got lost in the maze of scrapbooking and watercolors and weekly templates and monthly trackers and stuff.

Instead of being swayed, though, the advantage of being a bit older, I guess, is I already know what will work with me or not and most importantly, I know why I’m tracking these things in my life in the first place. So what I settled for was a mashup of Getting Things Done’s active system and BuJo with some trademark Macky weirdness thrown in.

I Do Me (So Well)

I do all of my planning the GTD way in a small gray planner, but everything else that happens during the day, whether it’s a work note, or something that caught my eye, or a new idea for a story, or something I felt while crossing the street (to be written afterwards ofc), all go into a single notebook. It’s my ultimate capture zone (okay, not ultimate, if I’m online I’ll use Evernote. okay na ba? ang strict mo).

I copied the BuJo style markups for stuff that I need to put into my planner during the weekly reviews (whether it’s a new action item, project, reference, etc.). The only extent of artistry I have been able to do on the fly is put stickers in random places and put cartoon dialogue balloons (ano na nga tawag don) beside snarky-looking owls. And also, yeah, my own handwriting.

This green notebook contains everything. The loose-leaf pages serve as scratch papers and worksheets and drawing boards for me. We are different folks but if you’re like me, who likes a physical reminder that I got everything captured in one place, then by all means do it like I do.

One surprise benefit of doing all this tracking is something I’ve never really been able to do since I stopped blogging. In my early twenties I used to blog so regularly all I needed to do to see what happened in a year was look at my blog archives. But life became much fuller in the recent years, and blogging now feels like some special occasion of sorts (which I promise to change soon), so this year is the first year in a long while when I’ve been able to really take a look at what happened.

Great Year for Me (While the World Burned, Basically)

I think I’m really reaping the benefit of good planning, as well, since I’ve been able to fulfill a lot of goals I’ve set for myself without realizing it. And, surprise, surprise, soooo many things. Some random highlights, because what else should I be doing on a year-end post but talk about myself, yeah?:

• Attended Clarion 2017 (where I wrote a record-high number of short stories in 5 weeks: i.e., 5 LOL), met great instructors and writing buddies from all over the world
• COMIC-CON 2017! (attended writing-related panels at kinilig nang bongga)
• Watched the Foo Fighters in Singapore
• Read 28 books/comics and tons of shorts (more than a hundred fo sho)
• Helped write a research paper for work that got good reviews
• Finished my Tagalog novel (finally)
• Finished bulk of my mother’s requirements for a change in her birth certificate (year-long project pala ito)
• Reworked my brother’s site template (PhilippineBartending.com)
• Cooked a lot of new shit (nabe, curry, pasta, veggie burgers, etc.)
• Did a Christmas storytelling and drawing workshop thing with resettlement kids in Nangka, Marikina
• Got a henna tattoo (at the U.P. Writers Night for some reason)
• Leveled up from 16 to 26 in PokemonGo (even got an Ex-raid pass and got Paul to catch me a Mewtwo)
• Got into fountain pens because of Clarion buds
• Organized a Christmas party for my high school buddies (but forgot to host the talent portion boo)
• Finally gaming (OverWatch, for one)
• Watched a lot of great TV like Mind Hunter, Stranger Things 2, Black Mirror, The Punisher. Thanks, Netflix!

How was your year, my dudes? For the curious, yes, grief still comes to visit at random (and sometimes expected) moments throughout the year, and it comes most vividly during the holiday season, so I guess it’s good that I get to assess my life realistically using my tools, than succumb to the feeling that absolutely nothing has been accomplished and that life sucks and that we all die in the end so what the fuck are we all doing here?

To try and have fun while we can, that’s what.

On that fantastically well-planned detour into the macabre, I say goodbye and may 2018 be the year when even more happy things happen for us. Love you, bye!