When will your next epiphany strike? What events will occur leading up to it? Ideas aren't ones for punctuality, they strike whenever they so choose. However, a journal's power comes from its ability to corral your daily jaunts, views, and feelings when an idea does occur. Since your journal is set up to receive your thoughts, capturing the moment will be a breeze.

Unloading Your Mental RAM

Returning to your journal daily means that you reap the investment of time you've put into choosing, setting up, customizing your journal. Leaving it at home is a detriment to your current, and future selves. Repeating the exercise each day will help you slowly gain trust in yourself, in your ideas, and in your journal. Soon the momentum will pick up and everything will flow like water. If we take a look at the mind as a computer, you'll quickly find the RAM consumed by stray thoughts. When you have the thought, "Turn in the expense reports by 4 pm," why impede the rest of your day by trying to latch onto it and subsequently repeat it over and over again? Your mind doesn't need to be tethered by which apples to get at the grocery store, or what time to pick up the kids. Your journal is reliable, and there to collect any and all of your thoughts.

As you settle into your journal, you'll also find your "idea muscle" trained up. Just with physical exercise, kicking off your journey can be plagued by perfectionism. Without a journal, when an idea strikes, it can be like trying to stop up a dam, leashing the idea until a more convenient time. However, instead of hitting pause, journaling lets those ideas flow and take shape organically.

Close At Hand

Stress, forgetfulness, and half-baked ideas are all eliminated by the intentionality of Brilliant Journaling. However, in order to reap the benefits of your journal, it must be on hand. In order to recognize long-term patterns and for growth, you need the largest data pool available. In other words, you simply cannot reflect on what isn't there.

When we chatted with Bill, an engineer, he mentioned that he is sure to keep his journal nearby. In fact, it lays on his work table and accompanies him to all his meetings. During his day, he refers back to it as a way to organize his internal thoughts and external goings-on of his business. He takes the slurry of abstract thoughts and funnels them through his pen, jotting them down word by word. He also writes down inputs, measurements, and results from various projects. As each project moves forward with a new phase, he is able to refer back to previous findings and performance. He also uses it to capture milestones and timetables for his small business. Instead of a weird mix of stray thoughts, journalling gives him an actionable plan. Having it close at hand throughout his workday also provides the freedom and open space for brainstorming and capturing new ideas whenever they strike.

Jackie, an interior designer, brings her journal everywhere with her. Moving through New York, she is sure to have it handy. Jackie is never quite sure when her vibrant and fast-paced city will proffer up inspiration. When a solution does present itself, she is able to write it down with ease without it bogging down the rest of her day. After taking notes during client meetings, she then escapes to a local coffee shop and uses it as a jumping off point for brainstorming. Jackie and Bill are always armed with their journal and are prepared to kindle any creative spark.

new ways to organize your journal

Trade In Perfectionism For A Safe Space For Your Ideas

Another aspect of capturing the moment is centered around intentionality. Setting aside time to pause, think, and write. Your appointment with your journal might kickoff with a particular workflow or even a meeting. Day or night, daily or weekly, the timing is up to you, as long as it happens regularly. Creating a regular journaling routine helps establish accountability and the routine will breath life into your ideas-making process simply by existing. Additionally, repeating the process will help overcome any unrealistic, perfectionist concerns that can stifle ideas. Soon, your journal will be filled with the thoughts and ideas that create the foundation for your next big thing. From packing lists for upcoming trips to lists and plans, your journal will serve as the nucleus of all things important to you.

The entrepreneur we chatted with earlier, Brian, begins his morning with his journal and a cup of coffee. Prior to checking his messages, outgoing orders, or spelunking into his email, he uses his journal to center himself and to craft his vision for the day. He uses it to track upcoming tasks, previous observations, schedule out upcoming events and create a list of priorities to guide his work. Daily, intentional journaling has increased his productivity, launched new ideas and it has allowed him the power to work with the purpose and strength needed to establish his brand. No idea is too small or not good enough to make it into the notebook.

After your journal has been set up, it will soon become central to your core values and ideas as a journaling pro. Brilliant Journaling has the power to pair freedom along with organization so that the moment can strike, and you can capture it with clarity. Being prepared is key, capture your great ideas so that they don't get lost in that busy shuffle we call life.