I just had a light bulb moment... I think I personally need to buy small journals so I fill them faster, therefore getting a new one more often, AND feeling accomplished! 10 months later: Another thing I've discovered helps my brain is leaving more white space between everything than I was used to leaving, so that it doesn't look as cluttered to my brain. I was raised to not waste things, and while I still believe that, I feel like there's a happy medium... Just enough white space to calm my brain, but no more wasting half finished notebooks! A notebook I tried off Amazon, and loved, is the brand Dingbats. A variety of colours to choose from, and a really nice size!
I also sometimes paste in magazine cutouts from junk magazines or garden magazines I get from my parents and that helps take up space create a pleasant flip through when I don’t have energy for words. But my brain also finds th e process of just taping things in kind of soothing in of itself so that probably helps for me. (Sometimes I also print out small pictures of characters or moments from tv shows, but printer ink is expensive so I feel guilty about borrowing the printer for that lol.)
@@estherfriesen2175 I'm so glad, I hope it works for you! I'm definitely still feeling out variations and different methods, but part of the journey is the pleasure of experimentation right?
My favourite active processing method is to just walk for like an hour or two. Sometimes I pace at home and take notes of my thoughts, but that's optional.
Pacing is SUCH a great tool for processing!! This is why sometimes mindlessly doing chores and walking a bunch in my home while just thinking is such a good active processing tool for myself!
I was gunna say pacing and taking a voice note. I like to have pretend conversations with my therapist. my phone automatically transcribes my voice note and I can listen back at 3x speed so it's easy to refresh myself before I go to therapy session.
@@TheDisellI think you just changed my life 🤯 I pace while maladaptive daydreaming but recording myself talking might at the very least help me minimize it. So thank you!
ADHDer here. I appreciate the "follow the dopamine" advice. I used to get so frustrated with myself for not being consistent with journaling until I gave myself permission not to do it every day, or even very often. A journal is filled when I run out of pages, regardless of how many years it spans!
Absolutely, I also have ADHD and I've found a lot of peace after doing the exact same of what you did , I used to buy a lot of journals and never fill any of them and then I said f*CK it , I'll journal when I feel like it, I don't care how much time it'll take to fill one, and since then I've filled many of them, not as fast as a normal person but in a way that goes with the nature of my brain.
That’s so true. I have been journaling since I was 14 years old, then in over 20 years I have continued even if I use one twice a year, some journals have taken me a couple of years because I revisit them a few times a year. Others, lately last one year and I do it when I am overwhelmed and when I feel like it. Without pressure!
This changed the game for me after reading The Bullet Journal Method book! For the first time I was given permission to go months without adding an entry and not feel guilty. Currently have a journal with around 2-years of entries and still a third of the pages available… and I’m okay with that! 😊
You know, I’ve been trying therapy for over a decade and I’ve never quite understood what I’m doing or why except ‘it’s meant to help’. Literally no one - not even any of my therapists or other mental health professionals- has ever explained it. We so often recommend to people to see a therapist if they’re struggling but not tell them the point behind it. THANK YOU for explaining the purpose of these things cause holy crap that changes how I see it completely.
I'm glad to see such a comment about therapy. I was in one for 2 years until one day my therapist asked me why am I even still visiting her, whether it was just to dump my depression and thoughts or to solve some problem? If the second option, then what problem did I want to solve? And I had no idea what I wanted, what problem should be solved. I started stressing out, made up some quick answers because I couldn't really process my emotions and thoughts. She saw that and insisted I tell her what I think. And I didn't know. Soon I quit our meetings , feeling guilty for being so stupid, slow and useless. Honestly I've never heard anyone talking about such issues and it makes me feel less of a weirdo. Luckily, I have friends patient enough to listen when I spam them with information. Often times I end up not needing their input, it just makes my head clearer and they know it.
The number of therapists I’ve seen who I’ve just told deep things to in the first session and they’ve responded with some form of ‘wow you’re so open about this!’ And it always confused me - wasn’t that the point? But then after a while it started to feel like I wasn’t getting any further than that point and was just treading water and would quit cause it wasn’t helping anymore. Every time I started a new therapist I would try and explain this along with why CBT hadn’t helped in the past. And always I got some form of ‘what do you want from this?’ Type question in response. I don’t know what I want from it because I don’t know what I can get from it! I don’t know why I’m here! People said see someone if you have mental health issues so I am! I never knew what to actually say to them but knew I clearly couldn’t say THAT. 😬
Something that works for me: take your journal with you everywhere! And I mean EVERYWHERE. You'd be surprised how many things are worth writing down in just your day to day life. Treat your journal sort of like your phone, in the sense that it's something you need with you everywhere and you use it for everything. Another tip: Don't use multiple journals at once. Stick to one and use it for anything. Remember to have fun with it! It's not a chore so don't make it one
Ive def talked about something while in the moment im like Id like to journal about this then later.. forgetten what it was. I now write little notes to wright on my front cover for prompts later
That's what I do with a sketchbook that I use throughout the year, and it's helped me fill out about 3 of them. I have a modified bujo yearly in the beginning portions (for planning and notes/lists) and the rest of it's for brain dumping sketches/artwork, ideas, thumbnails, journal entries/micro-journaling, and anything. ^^
Wow, I've only just realised why I find emotional conversations hard to process- I literally need to actively process each component... which takes ages!!!
Same here! I have to write down each element of the conversation, reread said element and break it down further, and after 5+ pages of writing, I find my clarity. But maaaan does it take work!
omg... this info about active processing HITS ME SO HARD right now. i've told people again and again, my whole life, "i can't think without writing it down" or "dang, i really really need to write again, so i know what i'm thinking and what's going on." i got strange looks and felt alienated, felt so strange, that i stopped writing my thoughts down as a tween (sfter yesrs of diaries), just to enter a limbo in which i am to this day - feeling like life lives me, not me living life.
I have journaled inconsistently (without guilt) for 11ish years. Originally, it was just nice to have something to brain dump into on hand at all times. But for the last 5 years, I’ve used my own modified version of the bullet journal system, and my journal has become invaluable. Like when I walk out the door my checklist is “wallet, phone, keys, journal”. I use it for everything. A big thing that’s helped me is not forcing myself to change over each year. I buy sorta expensive journals (bc they’re pretty. hello dopamine), and something about leaving the end blank makes me feel wasteful. I continue with a journal regardless of the new year. I mark new years with a colorful page edge, and just continue on until the last page. There’s something satisfying to me about a full journal. Even if it took me 2 years to get there. This was a great video. It feels good to know that I’m sorta implementing a lot of the advice on my own. I hadn’t considered adding gamification to my journal, and I think I’ll add a bucket list for 2024. 😊
Is there any chance you’d go into detail about your process? I’m also really inconsistent and I find it impossible to keep up the habit but it’s so useful when I do! Bullet journaling stressed me out I’m looking for less time consuming methods
@@goblindude4242 Sounds like you're talking abut the "pretty" bullet journals you see all over the web. Have you looked at Ryder Carroll's *original* BuJo concept? If so, and the "setup" is the time-consuming/stressful part, have you tried modifying it? When I've used that system I rarely do any of the setup ahead of time except to maybe leave a blank page where I might want it later. I'd put a tiny 1mo calendar at the start of a month (to see what day any given date was) and only list upcoming events (no 'number a line for each day of the month') and I'd write out "weekly spreads" as I came to them, just with the day/date with a couple of lines left for each, mostly for prioritizing -e.g. "what days is it not going to rain so I know those are the days I can do laundry (bc In line-dry)" Dailies would just be the day/date and a rolling list of things I wanted to accomplish. No setup, just as I came to them, using as much space as I needed (because No Setup!). I did do the "re-write uncompleted tasks in the next day's list" bc this was how I kept Important but Not Urgent from falling too far off my radar. I'd get tired of re-writing the same things and would either eventually do it or decide it wasn't all that important after all and cross it off the list. I guarantee just about anything that *required* much setup would not be something I'd ever stick with!
@@0Thesaly0 Yeah, I have a similar modified bujo set-up as well for a sketchbook I use throughout the year (except it's just a yearly calendar in the beginning pages where I either do all my organization, or just use to checkmark how many days have passed, and use the rest of the sketchbook to just brain-dump/sketch/draw anything without a set-up). Having something I carry around, but also not pressured to fill out every day, helps with my executive dysfunction. ^^
Speaking out loud helps so much even simply talking to yourself. I also love to say the word "stop" oud loud when I notice I'm stuck with something even if it's just my mind not shutting up. And then I'll say something like "Okay, what are we going to do now.." and basically just verbalize my thoughts.
Less than 3 minutes in & I had to pause cause I started crying. The amount of shame I have been made to feel because of my inability to passively process information... and it has a name😭. Thank you Hayley💕✨️
I sent the link to this video to my mom with almost the exact same comment. Less than three minutes in and it already feels like life-changing, experience-affirming insight.
Same! At just over 3 minutes I had to pause the video because I realized I'd started tuning out the new info to fully process this concept. Came to the comments to see I'm not alone! It's perspective changing!
I'm still unclear with the difference. Both people ended up moving the kettle. The ADHDer has to stick with the thing they are trying to do originally when they burn themselves, because if we stop to move the kettle and get a bandaid, it will be 45min to 2 hours later when we think to wonder, "why did I walk past the stove?"
As someone with very little support from people, I record myself talking things out.. with myself, all the time. It's helped me work things out when I was too overwhelmed to write, or had no one to talk to and really needed a shoulder. And you can build a lot of confidence being there for yourself, not *needing* anyone. It's been so helpful for someone like me.
@@cassettetape7643 tbh the first couple times I did it was truly out of necessity. I needed somewhere to vent/process some things I didn't want to share with my very limited circle. After that, I was craving it. I'd go on my work breaks to sit in my car and talk to the one person who would ACTUALLY listen to me. I highly recommend counseling if you can do it, though. Having feedback from someone who's a neutral in your life always helps a lot. Just never underestimate your own friendship or power.
i think for me, the keys were: adjusting my expectations, having multiple journals, and leaving room for inconsistency. Journaling is often discussed as something you have to do literally every day forever, and that's just not something that's realistic for everyone (or at least not right out of the gate). Eventually i had a breakthrough and realized there is no "wrong" way to journal, and that I may never have a perfect, every day, established practice and that's perfectly fine. I don't journal every day. sometimes i go days or even weeks in between, but i do keep finding my way back to it. it's been about a year, but even using it inconsistently, i've seen real benefits and now unconciously find myself reaching for my journal when i'm feeling upset and overwhelmed. I also gave up on the idea of having some pristine, organized system that reads like a nice little linear story. My journal is for me and the ACT of journaling is the important bit. So I journal all over the place - I have a physical journal, as well as a "written" one on a tablet, AND one in a google doc. plus i've journalled in other random notebooks when they were close at hand. you could journal on loose paper and then burn it every day if that's what works for you. it's not the "record" that is the key, it's the act of writing and processing. Maybe one day I'll have a regular every day journaling practice, maybe not. either way, any amount of actively processing my feelings is better than nothing. plus i'm on track to totally fill a notebook for the first time in my life (about 3/4 of the way there!)
Honestly though, for a couple years I did the personal podcast and it really does help empty my thoughts for the now, but I never revisited those recordings (at least 1hr each). I did do physical journaling to coordinate the things I learn each day, and re-read them every once in a while to see if I can add on anything. But in the end the method I’ve found works best for me is having a personal discord server where I can categorize anything, search anything, hashtag anything I need to recall or get off my mind. I’ve heard Notion can work similarly but having that extra app for one thing hasn’t really worked as a replacement when I can use my server AND contact my friends there.
omg this is genius! i’ve always loved using discord to rant to friends and then looking up messages after and somehow i never thought of using it as a personal journal! im gonna try this and keep u updated on how it goes ❤
This feels exactly like what Ryder Carroll intended the Bullet Journal to be except neurotypicals have taken it and made it so much more rigid and high effort 🙈 Super helpful ideas for my practice, thank you!
Great video. I do journal every evening, so of like a brain dump. I make my journal fun in that I decorate the pages with colorful stickers - a floral element in the lower corner, a small box to right in the date, and a larger box for my gratitude list. I have been doing it for about 4 years and it works for me. Your ideas are great too and I may try some of them.
Let me come with a suggestion - Junk Journals. Why? Because with a regular Journal often (for me) create the demand "oh I haven't done this in a while" and you feel bad about it. All those empty pages just remind you of another failure. So you get another journal to try again because all normies claim it is good and they can do it so why can't you. BUT, with junk journals you don't have empty pages! You have tags, tuck spots, flip outs, pockets, art and more. That makes it easier to not get stuck in the mindset that consistently means daily. It doesn't! Just as in the video consistently just means you dump when you feel like it. And sometimes it can just be to write down a quote that you liked, and it doesn't have to be profound it can be funny, it can be something you strive for it can be a quote you hate or just anything. And to show how you feel like something and you don't feel like writing it down,, the doodle. Pull out a tag or create a new tag and doodle a bit to get stuff out or to calm your mind or whatever you need whenever. Another thing why I LOVE junk journals is all the different textures. Pages are different, there can be lace, ripped fabric, thick paper, thin paper, old paper, new paper, dyed paper, charms, tassles, and beads. It is amazing! You can cheaply make one by altering a book no one wants or get one at goodwill and do a good deed in the process. Use what you have. You don't have to get a ton of supply to get started either. Sure, the temptation is there to buy everything junk journal or scrapbooking related at times. But often the best bits are free. Need to throw out your favorite shirt? Why not rip it into strips and put it on the edge of some pages? You can glue it, sew it, staple it, keep it straight, wrinkle it, and so on, and it creates a sensory input. It is soft and familiar and comforting and also give the journal a new look. So you don't have to write something like a diary when you journal, some days you just have the need to vent your head. Some days you just touch the pages. Play with the tuckspots. Maybe print out a screenshot from your phone and put in a pocket or stick to a page. You don't have to glue it in. You can use stickers to hold it in place, a paperclip, a staple, sew a few stitches. In short - junk journals take away the need to do it daily and it gives a creative outlet in so many ways and you also have the sensory thing. A junk journal is often always changing. One tag gets removed and you put in two others, you doodle in one place then stick a paper ontop to write something else on. A junk journal is perfect for random thoughts, can be part of a song lyric, can be a quote, random thoughts, information that you like or hate, anything that gets your mind going. And you can leave it for a year and then come back to it. It is gonna still serve a purpose of being special. It's not like the other books you might have. The difference in the pages encourages randomness and if you want to write a lot then maybe do it in letter form and put it in a pocket or put it in an envelope that you put in a pocket, glue to a page or clip it in with something. The only limit is your imagination, and the more you do it, the more ideas you will get. And it will not just be a place to empty your brain or to vent your thoughts, it will also be a place to let ut all your creativity even if you think that you don't have any. Rip pages, fold pages, hide notes in it. . . Can you tell I love junk journals?? 😅😂 I can write and talk about junk journals forever and ever. So I'll stop now and just say, go forward and play and let your pain or chaos out on paper
What I do in my journal is to take note of the things that I think might work for my adhd, it's like an adhd journal, also write down plans and projects, and stuff like that, all things that are adhd friendly, it's like a second brain
This is not a second brain. It's my brain. I'm completly fucked with out my journal. All the stuff I have to remember is in their. All my plans, dates, To-Dos, etc. I couldn't function without writing everything down and having a central place to put it, helps me so much. I case I forget something I can look in my journal and I will find it in there (somewhere).
This video is so cool. I've been journaling for YEARS now and I couldn't imagine how other people go without it because it feels so necessary for me. Turns out it's been my main and lowest-barrier form of active processing this whole time, and other people just get that from different things
A big reason why journaling works for me is because I also use it as a creative outlet. But That caused me to a huge collection of pens, stickers, washi tape, papers, stamps etc. 🥴 I already had a ton in the first year of journaling. (So that's a problem for me 😬) Also I like to "challenge" myself where I be like "I do this certain amount of days without skipping" I also really like the feeling of a "new" full side. Because of all the stickers or different kind of textures I add I really like to watch back at them, maybe even feel them and then I remember that I have to journal again because it's fun. (Stickers out of wood or fell/fabric, or thin ribbons that feel different.) But designing the pages is time consuming, that's a problem also sometimes it causes a feeling of burnout, because I think too much about color or sticker or what ever. That's why I might stop doing journaling for a while sometimes. I also use mine for everything. Shopping lists, mood tracker, feelings, goals, random thoughts, favorite movies, tier lists, special interests or what so ever. What ever stucks in my head and makes fun.
I’ve had this same problem! I think because I’ve seen such beautiful art spreads online, I start comparing mine to theirs and I get overwhelmed with the time and energy of making my page “look pretty” and then I’m not journaling at all. But boy do I love looking back on those journals and feeling all the textures. I never even thought about them as being sensory related!
Ooo this sounds nice! I have a digital journal app, i use it for various things. I havent used it for everyday things, just for games and stories and meeting minutes. 😂 I should try to customize it with personal art and templates~
Your habit of time with your friend for active processing is so wholesome and wonderful. I hope I can cultivate relationships like this for myself in the future ♥️ such a lovely, cozy and healing idea.
Every second of this video was a mind blow for me... because i have been trying and failing to journal since 2019.. and it's only at exactly the last five minute of 2023 that I remember led I have a journal...it's March 2024 and I haven't dropped Journaling. Apparently because I was doing exactly what you suggested! I was using the journal for EVERYTHING . Poems, book reviews, funny moments, stress dumping, jokes, to do list even writing full on scenes from my WIP in it. I keep a color code and glued in the most random things, doodles on bills, dried tree leaves, feathers, stickers and tickets with memories.
Something that helped me get over the "but I need to have it set up perfect!" (Which has always been an obstacle for me) was to get a refillable planner. It's got month calendar pages and plain pages, and I can move the pages around or change my system if it isn't working
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you repeating the steps at the end of the video because before I even realized I had forgotten everything you said 😭
OMG, the personal podcast idea is fantastic. I've never thought about journaling that way, but I think it would be absolutely perfect for the way I like to work and how I feel about the time I have.
I am SO glad this video showed up in my Recommended feed! I've done some of these techniques before, but the connections that I've made while taking notes (hi, I have ADHD and I write everything down because SURPRISE - it helps me process! haha) literally led me to an epiphany. I just turned 40 this year and have been journaling honestly for most of my life, especially throughout the past 5-10 years. Lately I've been feeling down on myself because I haven't been journaling as regularly as I was previously, and even my gratitude journaling has taken a backseat. BUT when you specified that therapy and journaling are both forms of active processing, I had a lightbulb moment: I've been journaling less this year because I've been attending my therapy sessions more frequently AND with more regularity! It makes SO much sense. Thank you for putting this video together. I subcribed when Zuko made his appearance in the video (I love his little socks! 🙂), and added the All Notifications option as well. I'll definitely be going back through some of your older videos. Happy New Year to you and yours!
I call it my “commonplace book”. I have a notebook - I use a Rollbahn note M size; spring-bound, but if you see them in your bookstores, check them out! I love that they have cute covers, and 5 plastic pockets in each notebook, regardless of size (Diary versions have a monthly view and 12 pockets!) - where I write in my story ideas, to do lists, meeting minutes, task instructions, important dates, recipes, pretty much everything! I keep that on my person at all times, just to dump ideas and passing thoughts in, so I don’t overload my brain too much.
What I've done for myself with journaling in the past few years has altered my life. In 2017 I began a project where I had one designated journal for that entire year. It would be a collection kind of like a time capsule. I would collect fancy stickers/wrappers on drinks, and I would infodump on my latest hyper fixations. I filled it with playlists, drawings, ideas, and even printed images of actors or singers I liked during that year. It's fun to look back on and it's nice to have nearby for ideas that are constantly coming and going. I would highly recommend trying it out. You never know what you'll discover about yourself.
I love journaling right when I wake up, started journaling on iPad because I was accumulating so many notebooks it became expensive and a pain to organize it. When I feel the need to process a feeling or something that happened, I go straight to writing. It keeps me from over sharing my life away with people who don’t want to hear it.
Found the duck. It was fun, thanks. On a more serious note, I have only just found you, only recently finding that actually in the mix of comorbid brain development issues I have that ADHD is one the bigger and more driving issues. You along with HealthyGamer, Caren McGill and Jessica McCabe are helping me take it more seriously. Now to only get the others in my life to do the same thing.
I relate to every youtube video you do. I have not been assessed yet as too expensive but after getting therapy and the therapist hinting that I too might have ADHD and after getting my daughter assessed and diagnoised with ADHD and autism, I have been getting insights and "a-ha" moments with my challenges and struggles that I have had for years and don't feel like I am useless/stupid/lazy etc. I am now on the journey of creating life to manage my burnouts, mental health meltdowns etc and finding your videos very helpful. Journalling is one thing I have been struggling with especailly writing as my thoughts are so fast and all important of course that I get overwelmed trying to remember them and end up writing nothing so the personal podcast is great idea and i have been thinking of this way for a while. thanks again
Collaging really helped me stay focused on one notebook. If I don't feel like writing an actual entry but I want to keep up my habit, I'll open to a random page and make a collage. Same thing with writing down song lyrics or quotes from a book I'm reading. I like my actual entries to be in order but my other tidbits can be on any random page I want which helps me not get bored or feel boxed in.
I've been journalling for nearly 6 years now, which started out of a crisis situation and after long enough I just kept the habit going 😊 at the moment I have a suuuuuuuper cute journal, sage green with a lovely hare on the front page, and I fill a page nearly every day, sometimes more if there is a need to do more processing. This one is a thick one, which makes me so happy, as it's lasting me so long. I always write first thing in the morning or sometimes last thing at night. For years I used to collect notebooks and never do anything with them, but now I've filled all of mine, I am so proud ❤
i have literally done every single one of the different ways you described already! it's just that i never knew i NEEDED this. yes, it felt great and gave me some structure in my life - but did i realise doing this so rarely was the reason why i felt so stuck and passive?! nope. you just did that for me. thank you. now i just need to learn how to consistently do it. following your advice :)
I've been doing "podcasts" (without the casting part) for the past year, verbally braindumping on a topic (usually processing my ND-ness) into an app on my phone. I've never really considered it on par with journaling, though, most likely due to its auditory nature and the fact I can't stand my recorded voice enough to listen to it again, let alone share it. BUT, thank you for validating that process! Also, thank you so, so much for your "I'm proud of you" sign-off. I feel too many of us have all too often heard those words, if at all, only in related to some external achievement, not all the internal work we do (often daily). Thank you! I'm proud of the work you do on yourself and to help build us all up, too!
I love junk journaling and started making my own journals. They are all full of visuals, lists,plans for past weeks, goals and also tactile due textiles. Ive been at it since 2017, its been a lifeline for sure
Notebooks and bullet journaling are a huge special interests I have, which is probably why I've been (bullet-)journaling for the last 6 years, but I have had a diary basically since I know how to write. It has helped me so much in so many different ways and adding creativity every month still makes it feel exciting for me. Having one notebook for everything is so freeing and helpful. But now, hearing you talk about why adhd brains do something, I understand, that it's not for everyone - cause you know, when you love something you want convince everyone else to love it too 😂🤦🏻♀️ I also found it fascinating to see that I had phases way before I had a clue that I have adhd, where I sat in my car, taking a break from long drives back home, recording my own personal podcasts talking about the 🦆 in my life 😅 thanks for your amazing work, it has already helped me so much since I discovered you last week ❤
I have slowly filled up a handful of journals over the years. I stopped making rules about them except for I'm not allowed to start a new journal until I fill up the old one. I sometimes goes months or weeks between journaling but still have filled them up because if I ever need a brain dump of any kind that is where I go.
I’m an autistic ADHDer and I have journaled since 2015. Since 2020 I’ve been in autistic burnout and not journaling consistently which made me feel like my days were just slipping through my fingers. Now, though, I am recognizing burnout for what it is. I’m teaching myself to journal on my iPad because it feels less overwhelming while I’m trying to climb out of burnout. I want to go back to paper journals eventually, but for now I’m happy to be writing again!
Just going though diagnosis and I don't usually comment. But wow, just found you and watched two videos. You made me feel more understood in minutes than I have been most of my life. I wanted you to know that. Thank you x
Really love the flexibility of journaling mentioned here, I love writing my thoughts when overwhelmed, the computer is much faster but when life gets really chaotic, I always go back to pen and paper but it's always so intimidating to keep the concept of doing it daily. Very validating to do it when you need it. Structured journaling with pages and prompts end up overwhelming me and I don't ever pick it up
first of all your son is ADORABLE! I love his little socks and mittens. secondly I’m sooooo grateful I’ve found your channel. I’ve only watched a handful of videos but I already feel like I’ve added more tools to my toolbox to help me so THANK YOU🎉
I love (basic) bullet journaling, I'm on year 3. and it can be very minimalistic and to the point or a creative outlet. it can be just to do and remember dates but also write out my thoughts and feelings.
active & passive processing are new terms for me, thank you for explaining why I have to talk to myself to make sense out of the cacophony of noise in my head!! enlightening stuff :)
going for a walk and thinking out loud (where noone can hear me) is my favourite way to process things. pro tip: when im not able to walk in a quiet spot, i put in air pods so people around me will assume im on the phone with someone. for thoughts that need further processing/ that i want to really internalize or remember, i write them down in my everything journal. that can take the form of essays, mindmaps or diagrams i draw for visualization. my everything journal also functions as a diary for emotional processing, a notebook for poems or the occasional grocery list and budget plan. i also have a physical calendar for appointments and to do lists. that's my system and it's worked pretty well for me so far!
I clicked this video because I have struggled journaling a LOT. Issues with people reading past journals on top of ADHD issues... Thank you, this should help! I did want to comment that I totally checked the description specifically for the duck... kudos to you for actually putting it there! :) *subscribing due to the follow through*
Respecfully, when you said "I see them fill out their notebook so I want to fill out my note book" I rolled my eyes and chuckled at how MUCH I FEEL ATTACKED. Thank you. Omg.
Have a friend write a prompt on every page. You can only flip to a new one once you completed the last one. Use a foldback clamp to keep the pages you're not supposed to see yet closed.
When I feel bad or unmotivated I go outside, I sit there with music or smth and I only go inside when i feel like I can go back to real life. I think that’s meditating but idk I just go to my own little world and come back when the real world doesn’t seam so bad.
Hi Haylee, I must thank you for reaching out to me and many others with the idea of Passive and Active processing.. as a person I have been severely punished repeatedly by my peers for making the same mistakes again and again- because they never understood why I kept doing this: and neither did I. I couldn't for the life of me grasp why I kept making the same mistakes again and again until today. I cannot explain the feeling I feel at this moment.. Many hugs.. thank you so so much.
Wow, this is fascinating. I kept journals for years and cut back because I read back through them and was appalled at how often I repeated an 'insight.' This concept of active/passive processing (which I'm coming across for the first time here) makes me see my repetitiveness in a new light. Of course it makes sense I would come up with the same insights over and over, because I've been processing similar issues over and over. The other thing that made my jaw drop was the mention of mind maps. I've been mind mapping for decades! They help me so much to work things out.
Love this video! I've started a new bullet journal a few months ago and I've been using it a LOT. I had kept 3 bullet journals a few years ago when I was in Highschool, and they were quite different from what I do now. It's soo cool to look back at how I used to journal (lots of art and "fancy bullet journal spreads") and compare it to how I journal now (mainly just writing or a few doodles, a simple calender I draw at the beginning (or mid) of a new month, and then I just use the following pages whenever I feel like it)
Just found your channel and this is insane and so helpful. Recently been diagnosed with adhd and wow, I've always said I journaled my whole life because I love going back and rereading old entries (I have some from when I was 8 that are very fun to revisit). But really it's been active processing this whole time. Talking out loud is so helpful too, though my partner never knows if I'm talking to her or to myself, lol. I didn't know there was a term for needing to see or hear your thoughts in a physical sense outside your brain to really understand them. Thanks so much
Wow. I didn‘t realize until just now how much of that I already do for active processing. I‘ve always felt guilty for needing to talk so much (because I always felt like I had too many thoughts to keep them all inside) but it turns out that it‘s actually a tool. This is kinda mindblowing, honestly. Mindmapping has also always been CRUCIAL in my life. Whenever I‘m filled to the brim with feelings and thoughts up to the point that I can‘t even articulate any of them anymore, I unload all of it onto a page and find their patterns and connections and all the little things that trouble me somehow. The personal podcast thing is also something I‘ve done more than one time though mostly secretly because it always felt so silly to talk to myself just because 🙈 I guess I‘ll have to reframe that. I‘ve personally been using some sort of journal for years, too, though it‘s mostly lists and sketches. I also keep a diary that I write in irregularly but I can‘t imagine merging the two because my brain likes things in their order and place 🙈😂 but both have been valuable and helpful in their own ways. And regarding the journal (that I like to call my planner) - my personal recommendation is to really customize it to your needs. Mine started out as an actual bullet journal including all kinds of trackers that I didn‘t actually need and those look nothing like the ones that I‘ve been using the past few years. Make use of the space in ways that help you and make you happy and create your own layouts instead of sticking to the ones you might see on social media. AND! It doesn‘t have to be pretty. It truly, truly doesn‘t. It only needs to serve you. Unless your journal being pretty is something that brings you a lot of joy, then by all means, go for it :)
Never thought about gamification and journaling together. I’ll maybe use my d20 and write up some prompts etc. I want to keep on track to improve my mental health. It sounds like a nice idea 😊
Llevo escribiendo 34 días seguidos por primera vez y sí, me está cambiando la vida. Y también soy de las personas que ha intentado miles de veces tener un planner de todas las formas y diseños posibles, digitales y análogos. Lo que ahora me ha funcionado es tener todo en un solo cuaderno. Me levanto, hago mi lista de lo que voy a hacer en el día(claridad) para ir tachando cada cosa (dopamina) y en la noche escribo (memoria). Lo recomiendo a todos, especialmente los que son dispersos, visuales, con mala memoria, con mil ideas, pensamientos y reflexiones en el día y a los que viven en el futuro, todos los días pensando en lo que no tienes o no has logrado. Esto me está devolviendo las felicidad simplemente porque estoy más presente. Es el mejor regalo que me he podido dar, el hábito de escribir. Empieza hoooyyy :)))
I bulletjournaled for a few years while in school because I did the set up of the pages in class to keep my hands busy so I could listen. Stopped once I started working. Instead of a neat bullet journal I now have a brain dump journal where things I need to get out of my head go. Sometimes it's things I need to remember. Sometimes it's things I never look at again. I buy ring bound journals so I can rip out pages. I switch over when the old one is full.
Thank you so much for sharing. I think this video might be one more piece of proof that I'm undiagnosed ADHD. I want to get better at journaling, and I think this will help. A couple weeks ago, I had to journal about an incident that day that I was angry about, using the entry as a way to let it go from my mind, otherwise I would play it over and over again in my head.
I think I used all of these and 9:40 My NEWEST Journal Hack seems very useful. I'm not sure who I'd do it with. Timezones mean I can't do a lot of programs and if I buy one I forget to do it. MY MORNING YOUR EVEENING can work though. I need a buddy. Anyone else? I have a banana-box-sized box to hold old journals. Not that the journals are full. My housemate keeps picking hot stuff up without oven gloves. He's giving me a minor case of PTSD. STOP HURTING YOURSELF, AIDON!
Of course I was intrigued by the little duck and couldn't contain myself for more than 2 second before I went looking for it and got myself into a coughing fit from laughing so much. Thank you, I needed that.
Haha first time reader. I’m 59rs old. I have 2 sons with different levels ADHD diagnosis. When you started talking about journeying I laughed. This has what I do all the time. I’m trying declutter my house, and am constantly findig 1/4 filled books I’ve written in and stopped. I have a collection over the last 2 yrs of Pretty covers hopping to inspire myself to get this muddle in my head. I am so overwhelmed atm.
Totally agree with your top tips. I have my bucket list upfront, gamification in my habit tracker, active processing in my monthly reviews etc. it’s not pretty, but it works for me. Just one book for everything, and if I’m unable to update for a day, I miss it
I recently started using the voice memo option in the new Apple Journal app and I actually love it so much. I don’t have to sit and think and write and sometimes the permanence of that makes me overthink. I can just open the app and think out loud and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done
So excited for the class! Hot tip. I added all the dates to my phone calendar with the subject of each lesson and the zoom link to remind and motivate me to go!
"A journal that has *everything* " -this is called a bullet journal! ❤️ I'm so glad it's worked for you. Only kind that has worked for me. On my 3rd. I've been struggling to use it lately, a lot of heavy stuff happened at the end of '23, and writing it all down was hard... BUT this video helped give me some ideas :)
Thank you, I have a collection of past journal attempts, most with 3 or 4 pages done, but in each case I tried to be regular and disciplined. That always worked out not so well, with me feeling like a failure and my self esteem taking ( another) hit. This year, after being diagnosed I feel like I now have the understanding and mental toolkit to accept myself, and finally, hopefully becoming a better me. So I will once again give journaling a try, thanks. Hmmmm , I may have watched this a few months ago, not sure, if I have sorry. Just take it as proof that a) I can and will forget lots of stuff and b) your content is doubly useful. Cheers
Follow the dopamine...wow! such great advice. fyi..im literally responding to you when you ask questions lol but ima try to incorporate some of the tips given here for my journal but not today. oh, i forgot to tell you, i applied your minimal daily routine today, it works. i feel accomplished because im getting things done at my own pace.
Thank you for sharing these insights! I've struggled to journal for years until recently. There were two things that got me back into it. First was that I bought a Traveler's Journal -- a leather-bound spine that can hold multiple smaller journals. They fill up quickly and I can categorize everything fast. The main thing was switching to small notebooks. Second was learning the phrase Commonplace Notebook. Other note-taking methods felt forced and wouldn't make sense to me. With a Commonplace Notebook, you create the space you need for your own thoughts. And I would consider everything you said in this video to fall under the Commonplace category.
This is an interesting interpretation (for the lack of a better word) of journaling. I kept a diary on and off for many years as a kid and teenager, but i usually only wrote about hard, negative feelings I needed to process and that over time made me think of journaling as a negative thing in my life. I felt as if I was keeping myself in the gutter by focusing on the negatives. I stopped journaling bc of that (and bc of that guilt of not remembering to write) for many years, until maybe 3 years ago I started writing things and events that happened during each day because I had trouble remembering what had happened on which day. That has now stayed with me as a log of sorts and every time I have something I want to process in my diary I can, but it's not the whole purpose. I don't carry the guilt of not writing either, because it's not "a diary" to me in my brain. It's just a notebook that I write each thing I did and can remember on each day, or the days I remember. I think it's given me a lot of peace of mind because I am writing in it consistently and I'm also preserving my memories and things that happened and my emotions. It's important to me bc I lose memories so easily.
OMG the color coordination system is absolutely genius. One of my biggest problems with keeping journals (I have attempted to start many over the years) is that I've never been able to establish any sort of structure in them. I'm one of those people that can be writing a story in my head one minute and jotting down a shopping list or venting out all of my frustrations the next. Looking through the few journals I've actually used in the past, I'm actually really embarrassed of them, because they just look like utter chaos. Lists of chores, snippets of stories I'll never get around to writing, instructions on how to do something that I need to remember. They're just all over the place; an utter train wreck of thought. Being able to color coordinate what is what so that I can see some structure out of what I'm documenting would be huge. Thank you so much for the idea!
You’re very normal - not chaotic at all! Normal can look like different things depending on the person. I personally think hyper organized journals are.. well.. not normal because my normal involves so much variety and opportunity but that, too, is someone else’s normal!
I kept commonplace books for my entire youth and teens not knowing what it was, and then i went into planning and hyper planning, then bullet journaling. It used to be my most foundational habit/discipline and my favorite hobby, until a few years ago i got mental physical adult autism/ptsd burnout like a beast ive still been crawling out one inch at a time... I've been struggling terribly with reinforcing or even just finding the best way for me to do journaling and commonplacing that accommodates me now; and your video just kind of clicked something in such an impactful way. I am always using my phone for allllll of the things but i cant find an app that i like for it, notion is too complicated and one note isnt enough, Evernote i havent been able to find the sweet spot 😭
the feeling of doing it when compelled too is a good note. I started on and off journaling in college main when I was really struggling with an emotion and just needed the help and space to express without judgement and now I am doing it daily. Some days aren't long some days are just half a page and some days I will fill up 3 pages but I think if I didn't start out using it when compelled I would not be journaling this much now.
I love this video. I just didn't understand journalling or how it could help me until you mentioned active processing and it clicked that I could use it to jog my brain. Suddenly it's all coming together. Thank you so much!❤
Great advice! I pre-decorate my journal pages with stickers and scraps of stuff (fun) and then I look at all the empty spaces I left for writing and I simply MUST fill it in. Much more inviting than a blank page. And I have an excuse to do arts and crafts because I know it's a gateway to active processing. Win-win.
I've always thought of my journal as a second brain, whatever thought I have about whatever topic I think of is in there, as well as short stories and poems. I find fun and it's way to express my feelings
I am a fast typer and never have the patience for writing physically so i found using a digital journal is perfect for me. i still procrastinate, but it gets done faster and seems like a less insurmountable task. I've done 10 years of journaling now!
You really got me with finding the duck in the description dude. Also, loved this video, it was extremely helpful! You taught me more about how I process (or don't) information and I'm definitely going to try out the "personal podcast" thing!
This was so helpful for me! I’ve always loved writing but have never been able to journal and never understood why - and you literally just explained all of it 😂🙌🏻 Thank you!
I have adhd and ocd, and have a high interest in DnD, so even though they’re a bit expensive, I love The Hero’s Journal. It’s full of pages to color and it’s undated, so I can engage with it on my own time. There’s a digital and physical version, and I’ve grown attached to the built-in story that surrounds the 7 different styles of boxes to fill in on each pair of pages.
I started a journal in 4th grade, then it sat untouched until 10th grade when I realized that I could journal only when I needed it! I didn't have these terms but this video was enlightening! I also love having switched to Bullet Journalling because it's one place with many purposes! There are ebys and flows so I could improve my practice but I also use my phone for notes (could probably work on the talking to people method though😅) Thank you for creating this video! I am an undiagnosed neurodivergent and my roommate was diagnosed as a kid, and this could be really helpful for us both!
I'm so glad RUclips suggested your video to me!! I'm AuDHD too, and I vibed with you so easily in this. I'm gonna check out more of your videos and see if maybe you can help me hack my weird neurodivergency.
I like to use my journals like a transcribed personal podcast because I love having physical journals but I also love video type formats so I include photos and drawings as if it was a RUclips video, it’s very helpful for me :)
I just had a light bulb moment... I think I personally need to buy small journals so I fill them faster, therefore getting a new one more often, AND feeling accomplished!
10 months later: Another thing I've discovered helps my brain is leaving more white space between everything than I was used to leaving, so that it doesn't look as cluttered to my brain. I was raised to not waste things, and while I still believe that, I feel like there's a happy medium... Just enough white space to calm my brain, but no more wasting half finished notebooks!
A notebook I tried off Amazon, and loved, is the brand Dingbats. A variety of colours to choose from, and a really nice size!
@@nony_mation Haha true, but my brain flashes "WASTE!!" at me in big red letters if I do that😆
Genius
I also sometimes paste in magazine cutouts from junk magazines or garden magazines I get from my parents and that helps take up space create a pleasant flip through when I don’t have energy for words. But my brain also finds th e process of just taping things in kind of soothing in of itself so that probably helps for me. (Sometimes I also print out small pictures of characters or moments from tv shows, but printer ink is expensive so I feel guilty about borrowing the printer for that lol.)
@@asteridshydrangea-jt2hf That's so cool, thank you, I got some ideas for myself from your comment:)
@@estherfriesen2175 I'm so glad, I hope it works for you! I'm definitely still feeling out variations and different methods, but part of the journey is the pleasure of experimentation right?
My favourite active processing method is to just walk for like an hour or two. Sometimes I pace at home and take notes of my thoughts, but that's optional.
Pacing is SUCH a great tool for processing!! This is why sometimes mindlessly doing chores and walking a bunch in my home while just thinking is such a good active processing tool for myself!
This is a brilliant idea. . . Especially since I fall on the hyperactivity spectrum
I was gunna say pacing and taking a voice note. I like to have pretend conversations with my therapist. my phone automatically transcribes my voice note and I can listen back at 3x speed so it's easy to refresh myself before I go to therapy session.
@@TheDisellI think you just changed my life 🤯
I pace while maladaptive daydreaming but recording myself talking might at the very least help me minimize it. So thank you!
I pace until I pass the tea kettle 😂
ADHDer here. I appreciate the "follow the dopamine" advice. I used to get so frustrated with myself for not being consistent with journaling until I gave myself permission not to do it every day, or even very often. A journal is filled when I run out of pages, regardless of how many years it spans!
Absolutely, I also have ADHD and I've found a lot of peace after doing the exact same of what you did , I used to buy a lot of journals and never fill any of them and then I said f*CK it , I'll journal when I feel like it, I don't care how much time it'll take to fill one, and since then I've filled many of them, not as fast as a normal person but in a way that goes with the nature of my brain.
That’s so true. I have been journaling since I was 14 years old, then in over 20 years I have continued even if I use one twice a year, some journals have taken me a couple of years because I revisit them a few times a year. Others, lately last one year and I do it when I am overwhelmed and when I feel like it. Without pressure!
This changed the game for me after reading The Bullet Journal Method book! For the first time I was given permission to go months without adding an entry and not feel guilty. Currently have a journal with around 2-years of entries and still a third of the pages available… and I’m okay with that! 😊
A stack of journals, each with 5 pages of entries! I feel SEEN! ❤
I have a pile of notebooks like that lol
I thought it was just meeeees 😂😢
I was about to post this and saw your comment. 😆
Yep.
Oops…. Me too
You know, I’ve been trying therapy for over a decade and I’ve never quite understood what I’m doing or why except ‘it’s meant to help’. Literally no one - not even any of my therapists or other mental health professionals- has ever explained it. We so often recommend to people to see a therapist if they’re struggling but not tell them the point behind it. THANK YOU for explaining the purpose of these things cause holy crap that changes how I see it completely.
I'm glad to see such a comment about therapy. I was in one for 2 years until one day my therapist asked me why am I even still visiting her, whether it was just to dump my depression and thoughts or to solve some problem? If the second option, then what problem did I want to solve? And I had no idea what I wanted, what problem should be solved. I started stressing out, made up some quick answers because I couldn't really process my emotions and thoughts. She saw that and insisted I tell her what I think. And I didn't know. Soon I quit our meetings , feeling guilty for being so stupid, slow and useless.
Honestly I've never heard anyone talking about such issues and it makes me feel less of a weirdo. Luckily, I have friends patient enough to listen when I spam them with information. Often times I end up not needing their input, it just makes my head clearer and they know it.
The number of therapists I’ve seen who I’ve just told deep things to in the first session and they’ve responded with some form of ‘wow you’re so open about this!’ And it always confused me - wasn’t that the point? But then after a while it started to feel like I wasn’t getting any further than that point and was just treading water and would quit cause it wasn’t helping anymore. Every time I started a new therapist I would try and explain this along with why CBT hadn’t helped in the past. And always I got some form of ‘what do you want from this?’ Type question in response. I don’t know what I want from it because I don’t know what I can get from it! I don’t know why I’m here! People said see someone if you have mental health issues so I am! I never knew what to actually say to them but knew I clearly couldn’t say THAT. 😬
@@JessietheSleepyKoalayou can say that though!
I did (to some degree, it ended up going in circles) :)
Honestly it doesn't work for a LOT of people. If it's not for you spend the money on something more practical and constructive.
Something that works for me: take your journal with you everywhere! And I mean EVERYWHERE. You'd be surprised how many things are worth writing down in just your day to day life. Treat your journal sort of like your phone, in the sense that it's something you need with you everywhere and you use it for everything. Another tip: Don't use multiple journals at once. Stick to one and use it for anything. Remember to have fun with it! It's not a chore so don't make it one
Ive def talked about something while in the moment im like Id like to journal about this then later.. forgetten what it was. I now write little notes to wright on my front cover for prompts later
That's what I do with a sketchbook that I use throughout the year, and it's helped me fill out about 3 of them. I have a modified bujo yearly in the beginning portions (for planning and notes/lists) and the rest of it's for brain dumping sketches/artwork, ideas, thumbnails, journal entries/micro-journaling, and anything. ^^
Wow, I've only just realised why I find emotional conversations hard to process- I literally need to actively process each component... which takes ages!!!
Same here! I have to write down each element of the conversation, reread said element and break it down further, and after 5+ pages of writing, I find my clarity. But maaaan does it take work!
omg... this info about active processing HITS ME SO HARD right now.
i've told people again and again, my whole life, "i can't think without writing it down" or "dang, i really really need to write again, so i know what i'm thinking and what's going on." i got strange looks and felt alienated, felt so strange, that i stopped writing my thoughts down as a tween (sfter yesrs of diaries), just to enter a limbo in which i am to this day - feeling like life lives me, not me living life.
damn 😢 that last line hit me hard
I have journaled inconsistently (without guilt) for 11ish years. Originally, it was just nice to have something to brain dump into on hand at all times. But for the last 5 years, I’ve used my own modified version of the bullet journal system, and my journal has become invaluable. Like when I walk out the door my checklist is “wallet, phone, keys, journal”. I use it for everything.
A big thing that’s helped me is not forcing myself to change over each year. I buy sorta expensive journals (bc they’re pretty. hello dopamine), and something about leaving the end blank makes me feel wasteful. I continue with a journal regardless of the new year. I mark new years with a colorful page edge, and just continue on until the last page. There’s something satisfying to me about a full journal. Even if it took me 2 years to get there.
This was a great video. It feels good to know that I’m sorta implementing a lot of the advice on my own. I hadn’t considered adding gamification to my journal, and I think I’ll add a bucket list for 2024. 😊
Is there any chance you’d go into detail about your process? I’m also really inconsistent and I find it impossible to keep up the habit but it’s so useful when I do! Bullet journaling stressed me out I’m looking for less time consuming methods
@@goblindude4242 Sounds like you're talking abut the "pretty" bullet journals you see all over the web. Have you looked at Ryder Carroll's *original* BuJo concept? If so, and the "setup" is the time-consuming/stressful part, have you tried modifying it?
When I've used that system I rarely do any of the setup ahead of time except to maybe leave a blank page where I might want it later. I'd put a tiny 1mo calendar at the start of a month (to see what day any given date was) and only list upcoming events (no 'number a line for each day of the month') and I'd write out "weekly spreads" as I came to them, just with the day/date with a couple of lines left for each, mostly for prioritizing -e.g. "what days is it not going to rain so I know those are the days I can do laundry (bc In line-dry)"
Dailies would just be the day/date and a rolling list of things I wanted to accomplish. No setup, just as I came to them, using as much space as I needed (because No Setup!). I did do the "re-write uncompleted tasks in the next day's list" bc this was how I kept Important but Not Urgent from falling too far off my radar. I'd get tired of re-writing the same things and would either eventually do it or decide it wasn't all that important after all and cross it off the list.
I guarantee just about anything that *required* much setup would not be something I'd ever stick with!
@@0Thesaly0
Yeah, I have a similar modified bujo set-up as well for a sketchbook I use throughout the year (except it's just a yearly calendar in the beginning pages where I either do all my organization, or just use to checkmark how many days have passed, and use the rest of the sketchbook to just brain-dump/sketch/draw anything without a set-up). Having something I carry around, but also not pressured to fill out every day, helps with my executive dysfunction. ^^
Speaking out loud helps so much even simply talking to yourself. I also love to say the word "stop" oud loud when I notice I'm stuck with something even if it's just my mind not shutting up. And then I'll say something like "Okay, what are we going to do now.." and basically just verbalize my thoughts.
Less than 3 minutes in & I had to pause cause I started crying. The amount of shame I have been made to feel because of my inability to passively process information... and it has a name😭.
Thank you Hayley💕✨️
I sent the link to this video to my mom with almost the exact same comment. Less than three minutes in and it already feels like life-changing, experience-affirming insight.
Same! At just over 3 minutes I had to pause the video because I realized I'd started tuning out the new info to fully process this concept. Came to the comments to see I'm not alone! It's perspective changing!
"Passive processing" just blew my mind. I'll be 47 in two weeks and had no idea this was a thing. 🤯
I'm still unclear with the difference. Both people ended up moving the kettle. The ADHDer has to stick with the thing they are trying to do originally when they burn themselves, because if we stop to move the kettle and get a bandaid, it will be 45min to 2 hours later when we think to wonder, "why did I walk past the stove?"
Loved the way you explained this. It’s so important to have neurodivergent focussed advice available to the public.
As someone with very little support from people, I record myself talking things out.. with myself, all the time. It's helped me work things out when I was too overwhelmed to write, or had no one to talk to and really needed a shoulder. And you can build a lot of confidence being there for yourself, not *needing* anyone. It's been so helpful for someone like me.
this is encouraging to me bc I have no friends; but that doesn't mean I can't show up for my self, myself ^_^
I always mean to record the conversations I have with myself but I never remember to. Do you have any tricks you used to help yourself remember?
@@cassettetape7643 tbh the first couple times I did it was truly out of necessity. I needed somewhere to vent/process some things I didn't want to share with my very limited circle. After that, I was craving it. I'd go on my work breaks to sit in my car and talk to the one person who would ACTUALLY listen to me. I highly recommend counseling if you can do it, though. Having feedback from someone who's a neutral in your life always helps a lot. Just never underestimate your own friendship or power.
I LOVE mind mapping! Such a fun and effective way to process things
i think for me, the keys were: adjusting my expectations, having multiple journals, and leaving room for inconsistency.
Journaling is often discussed as something you have to do literally every day forever, and that's just not something that's realistic for everyone (or at least not right out of the gate). Eventually i had a breakthrough and realized there is no "wrong" way to journal, and that I may never have a perfect, every day, established practice and that's perfectly fine.
I don't journal every day. sometimes i go days or even weeks in between, but i do keep finding my way back to it. it's been about a year, but even using it inconsistently, i've seen real benefits and now unconciously find myself reaching for my journal when i'm feeling upset and overwhelmed.
I also gave up on the idea of having some pristine, organized system that reads like a nice little linear story. My journal is for me and the ACT of journaling is the important bit. So I journal all over the place - I have a physical journal, as well as a "written" one on a tablet, AND one in a google doc. plus i've journalled in other random notebooks when they were close at hand. you could journal on loose paper and then burn it every day if that's what works for you. it's not the "record" that is the key, it's the act of writing and processing.
Maybe one day I'll have a regular every day journaling practice, maybe not. either way, any amount of actively processing my feelings is better than nothing. plus i'm on track to totally fill a notebook for the first time in my life (about 3/4 of the way there!)
Honestly though, for a couple years I did the personal podcast and it really does help empty my thoughts for the now, but I never revisited those recordings (at least 1hr each). I did do physical journaling to coordinate the things I learn each day, and re-read them every once in a while to see if I can add on anything. But in the end the method I’ve found works best for me is having a personal discord server where I can categorize anything, search anything, hashtag anything I need to recall or get off my mind. I’ve heard Notion can work similarly but having that extra app for one thing hasn’t really worked as a replacement when I can use my server AND contact my friends there.
omg this is genius! i’ve always loved using discord to rant to friends and then looking up messages after and somehow i never thought of using it as a personal journal! im gonna try this and keep u updated on how it goes ❤
4:34 As someone that had a kitty named Azula- it is very nice to meet Zuko.
AWWW CUTE
This feels exactly like what Ryder Carroll intended the Bullet Journal to be except neurotypicals have taken it and made it so much more rigid and high effort 🙈
Super helpful ideas for my practice, thank you!
I need you to know that the reason this video made my subscribe was you pushing up your glasses and going "I'm ✨autistic✨" making my laugh out loud
Great video. I do journal every evening, so of like a brain dump. I make my journal fun in that I decorate the pages with colorful stickers - a floral element in the lower corner, a small box to right in the date, and a larger box for my gratitude list. I have been doing it for about 4 years and it works for me. Your ideas are great too and I may try some of them.
Let me come with a suggestion - Junk Journals. Why? Because with a regular Journal often (for me) create the demand "oh I haven't done this in a while" and you feel bad about it. All those empty pages just remind you of another failure. So you get another journal to try again because all normies claim it is good and they can do it so why can't you. BUT, with junk journals you don't have empty pages! You have tags, tuck spots, flip outs, pockets, art and more. That makes it easier to not get stuck in the mindset that consistently means daily. It doesn't! Just as in the video consistently just means you dump when you feel like it. And sometimes it can just be to write down a quote that you liked, and it doesn't have to be profound it can be funny, it can be something you strive for it can be a quote you hate or just anything. And to show how you feel like something and you don't feel like writing it down,, the doodle. Pull out a tag or create a new tag and doodle a bit to get stuff out or to calm your mind or whatever you need whenever. Another thing why I LOVE junk journals is all the different textures. Pages are different, there can be lace, ripped fabric, thick paper, thin paper, old paper, new paper, dyed paper, charms, tassles, and beads. It is amazing! You can cheaply make one by altering a book no one wants or get one at goodwill and do a good deed in the process. Use what you have. You don't have to get a ton of supply to get started either. Sure, the temptation is there to buy everything junk journal or scrapbooking related at times. But often the best bits are free. Need to throw out your favorite shirt? Why not rip it into strips and put it on the edge of some pages? You can glue it, sew it, staple it, keep it straight, wrinkle it, and so on, and it creates a sensory input. It is soft and familiar and comforting and also give the journal a new look. So you don't have to write something like a diary when you journal, some days you just have the need to vent your head. Some days you just touch the pages. Play with the tuckspots. Maybe print out a screenshot from your phone and put in a pocket or stick to a page. You don't have to glue it in. You can use stickers to hold it in place, a paperclip, a staple, sew a few stitches. In short - junk journals take away the need to do it daily and it gives a creative outlet in so many ways and you also have the sensory thing. A junk journal is often always changing. One tag gets removed and you put in two others, you doodle in one place then stick a paper ontop to write something else on. A junk journal is perfect for random thoughts, can be part of a song lyric, can be a quote, random thoughts, information that you like or hate, anything that gets your mind going. And you can leave it for a year and then come back to it. It is gonna still serve a purpose of being special. It's not like the other books you might have. The difference in the pages encourages randomness and if you want to write a lot then maybe do it in letter form and put it in a pocket or put it in an envelope that you put in a pocket, glue to a page or clip it in with something. The only limit is your imagination, and the more you do it, the more ideas you will get. And it will not just be a place to empty your brain or to vent your thoughts, it will also be a place to let ut all your creativity even if you think that you don't have any. Rip pages, fold pages, hide notes in it. . . Can you tell I love junk journals?? 😅😂 I can write and talk about junk journals forever and ever. So I'll stop now and just say, go forward and play and let your pain or chaos out on paper
What I do in my journal is to take note of the things that I think might work for my adhd, it's like an adhd journal, also write down plans and projects, and stuff like that, all things that are adhd friendly, it's like a second brain
This is not a second brain. It's my brain. I'm completly fucked with out my journal. All the stuff I have to remember is in their. All my plans, dates, To-Dos, etc. I couldn't function without writing everything down and having a central place to put it, helps me so much. I case I forget something I can look in my journal and I will find it in there (somewhere).
This video is so cool. I've been journaling for YEARS now and I couldn't imagine how other people go without it because it feels so necessary for me. Turns out it's been my main and lowest-barrier form of active processing this whole time, and other people just get that from different things
Me and my 8 unused journals are looking forward to these January sessions. See you there. :)
A big reason why journaling works for me is because I also use it as a creative outlet. But That caused me to a huge collection of pens, stickers, washi tape, papers, stamps etc. 🥴 I already had a ton in the first year of journaling. (So that's a problem for me 😬)
Also I like to "challenge" myself where I be like "I do this certain amount of days without skipping"
I also really like the feeling of a "new" full side. Because of all the stickers or different kind of textures I add I really like to watch back at them, maybe even feel them and then I remember that I have to journal again because it's fun. (Stickers out of wood or fell/fabric, or thin ribbons that feel different.)
But designing the pages is time consuming, that's a problem also sometimes it causes a feeling of burnout, because I think too much about color or sticker or what ever. That's why I might stop doing journaling for a while sometimes.
I also use mine for everything. Shopping lists, mood tracker, feelings, goals, random thoughts, favorite movies, tier lists, special interests or what so ever. What ever stucks in my head and makes fun.
I’ve had this same problem! I think because I’ve seen such beautiful art spreads online, I start comparing mine to theirs and I get overwhelmed with the time and energy of making my page “look pretty” and then I’m not journaling at all. But boy do I love looking back on those journals and feeling all the textures. I never even thought about them as being sensory related!
Ooo this sounds nice! I have a digital journal app, i use it for various things.
I havent used it for everyday things, just for games and stories and meeting minutes. 😂
I should try to customize it with personal art and templates~
Your habit of time with your friend for active processing is so wholesome and wonderful. I hope I can cultivate relationships like this for myself in the future ♥️ such a lovely, cozy and healing idea.
Every second of this video was a mind blow for me... because i have been trying and failing to journal since 2019.. and it's only at exactly the last five minute of 2023 that I remember led I have a journal...it's March 2024 and I haven't dropped Journaling. Apparently because I was doing exactly what you suggested! I was using the journal for EVERYTHING . Poems, book reviews, funny moments, stress dumping, jokes, to do list even writing full on scenes from my WIP in it. I keep a color code and glued in the most random things, doodles on bills, dried tree leaves, feathers, stickers and tickets with memories.
Something that helped me get over the "but I need to have it set up perfect!" (Which has always been an obstacle for me) was to get a refillable planner. It's got month calendar pages and plain pages, and I can move the pages around or change my system if it isn't working
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you repeating the steps at the end of the video because before I even realized I had forgotten everything you said 😭
OMG, the personal podcast idea is fantastic. I've never thought about journaling that way, but I think it would be absolutely perfect for the way I like to work and how I feel about the time I have.
I am SO glad this video showed up in my Recommended feed! I've done some of these techniques before, but the connections that I've made while taking notes (hi, I have ADHD and I write everything down because SURPRISE - it helps me process! haha) literally led me to an epiphany.
I just turned 40 this year and have been journaling honestly for most of my life, especially throughout the past 5-10 years. Lately I've been feeling down on myself because I haven't been journaling as regularly as I was previously, and even my gratitude journaling has taken a backseat. BUT when you specified that therapy and journaling are both forms of active processing, I had a lightbulb moment: I've been journaling less this year because I've been attending my therapy sessions more frequently AND with more regularity! It makes SO much sense.
Thank you for putting this video together. I subcribed when Zuko made his appearance in the video (I love his little socks! 🙂), and added the All Notifications option as well. I'll definitely be going back through some of your older videos.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Wow, didn't think I was going to start crying like I did when she said she was proud of me.
I call it my “commonplace book”. I have a notebook - I use a Rollbahn note M size; spring-bound, but if you see them in your bookstores, check them out! I love that they have cute covers, and 5 plastic pockets in each notebook, regardless of size (Diary versions have a monthly view and 12 pockets!) - where I write in my story ideas, to do lists, meeting minutes, task instructions, important dates, recipes, pretty much everything! I keep that on my person at all times, just to dump ideas and passing thoughts in, so I don’t overload my brain too much.
7:04 - Adding photos and pictures, especially in conjunction with a bucket list is absolutely fantastic! I love it! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
What I've done for myself with journaling in the past few years has altered my life. In 2017 I began a project where I had one designated journal for that entire year. It would be a collection kind of like a time capsule. I would collect fancy stickers/wrappers on drinks, and I would infodump on my latest hyper fixations. I filled it with playlists, drawings, ideas, and even printed images of actors or singers I liked during that year. It's fun to look back on and it's nice to have nearby for ideas that are constantly coming and going. I would highly recommend trying it out. You never know what you'll discover about yourself.
I love journaling right when I wake up, started journaling on iPad because I was accumulating so many notebooks it became expensive and a pain to organize it. When I feel the need to process a feeling or something that happened, I go straight to writing. It keeps me from over sharing my life away with people who don’t want to hear it.
Found the duck. It was fun, thanks.
On a more serious note, I have only just found you, only recently finding that actually in the mix of comorbid brain development issues I have that ADHD is one the bigger and more driving issues. You along with HealthyGamer, Caren McGill and Jessica McCabe are helping me take it more seriously. Now to only get the others in my life to do the same thing.
*gonna look into the other names* healthy gamer I enjoy his videos when it pops up on reccomends
I relate to every youtube video you do. I have not been assessed yet as too expensive but after getting therapy and the therapist hinting that I too might have ADHD and after getting my daughter assessed and diagnoised with ADHD and autism, I have been getting insights and "a-ha" moments with my challenges and struggles that I have had for years and don't feel like I am useless/stupid/lazy etc. I am now on the journey of creating life to manage my burnouts, mental health meltdowns etc and finding your videos very helpful. Journalling is one thing I have been struggling with especailly writing as my thoughts are so fast and all important of course that I get overwelmed trying to remember them and end up writing nothing so the personal podcast is great idea and i have been thinking of this way for a while. thanks again
Collaging really helped me stay focused on one notebook. If I don't feel like writing an actual entry but I want to keep up my habit, I'll open to a random page and make a collage. Same thing with writing down song lyrics or quotes from a book I'm reading. I like my actual entries to be in order but my other tidbits can be on any random page I want which helps me not get bored or feel boxed in.
I've been journalling for nearly 6 years now, which started out of a crisis situation and after long enough I just kept the habit going 😊 at the moment I have a suuuuuuuper cute journal, sage green with a lovely hare on the front page, and I fill a page nearly every day, sometimes more if there is a need to do more processing. This one is a thick one, which makes me so happy, as it's lasting me so long. I always write first thing in the morning or sometimes last thing at night.
For years I used to collect notebooks and never do anything with them, but now I've filled all of mine, I am so proud ❤
i have literally done every single one of the different ways you described already! it's just that i never knew i NEEDED this. yes, it felt great and gave me some structure in my life - but did i realise doing this so rarely was the reason why i felt so stuck and passive?! nope. you just did that for me. thank you.
now i just need to learn how to consistently do it. following your advice :)
I've been doing "podcasts" (without the casting part) for the past year, verbally braindumping on a topic (usually processing my ND-ness) into an app on my phone. I've never really considered it on par with journaling, though, most likely due to its auditory nature and the fact I can't stand my recorded voice enough to listen to it again, let alone share it. BUT, thank you for validating that process!
Also, thank you so, so much for your "I'm proud of you" sign-off. I feel too many of us have all too often heard those words, if at all, only in related to some external achievement, not all the internal work we do (often daily). Thank you! I'm proud of the work you do on yourself and to help build us all up, too!
At this point i just convinced my self that the journals are a collection and started buying cute ones
I love junk journaling and started making my own journals. They are all full of visuals, lists,plans for past weeks, goals and also tactile due textiles. Ive been at it since 2017, its been a lifeline for sure
Notebooks and bullet journaling are a huge special interests I have, which is probably why I've been (bullet-)journaling for the last 6 years, but I have had a diary basically since I know how to write. It has helped me so much in so many different ways and adding creativity every month still makes it feel exciting for me. Having one notebook for everything is so freeing and helpful. But now, hearing you talk about why adhd brains do something, I understand, that it's not for everyone - cause you know, when you love something you want convince everyone else to love it too 😂🤦🏻♀️ I also found it fascinating to see that I had phases way before I had a clue that I have adhd, where I sat in my car, taking a break from long drives back home, recording my own personal podcasts talking about the 🦆 in my life 😅 thanks for your amazing work, it has already helped me so much since I discovered you last week ❤
I have slowly filled up a handful of journals over the years. I stopped making rules about them except for I'm not allowed to start a new journal until I fill up the old one. I sometimes goes months or weeks between journaling but still have filled them up because if I ever need a brain dump of any kind that is where I go.
I’m an autistic ADHDer and I have journaled since 2015. Since 2020 I’ve been in autistic burnout and not journaling consistently which made me feel like my days were just slipping through my fingers. Now, though, I am recognizing burnout for what it is. I’m teaching myself to journal on my iPad because it feels less overwhelming while I’m trying to climb out of burnout. I want to go back to paper journals eventually, but for now I’m happy to be writing again!
Just going though diagnosis and I don't usually comment. But wow, just found you and watched two videos. You made me feel more understood in minutes than I have been most of my life. I wanted you to know that. Thank you x
Really love the flexibility of journaling mentioned here, I love writing my thoughts when overwhelmed, the computer is much faster but when life gets really chaotic, I always go back to pen and paper but it's always so intimidating to keep the concept of doing it daily. Very validating to do it when you need it. Structured journaling with pages and prompts end up overwhelming me and I don't ever pick it up
first of all your son is ADORABLE! I love his little socks and mittens.
secondly I’m sooooo grateful I’ve found your channel. I’ve only watched a handful of videos but I already feel like I’ve added more tools to my toolbox to help me so THANK YOU🎉
Holy Cow, this 3 minutes in and this video is already amazing! I just found out professionally that I was ADHD and this video explains SO MUCH
Journaling is so cathartic to me, it frees up my mind and allows me to organize on top.
Similar to dancing all the energy out of my body for hours. 🎶
I love (basic) bullet journaling, I'm on year 3. and it can be very minimalistic and to the point or a creative outlet. it can be just to do and remember dates but also write out my thoughts and feelings.
active & passive processing are new terms for me, thank you for explaining why I have to talk to myself to make sense out of the cacophony of noise in my head!! enlightening stuff :)
going for a walk and thinking out loud (where noone can hear me) is my favourite way to process things.
pro tip: when im not able to walk in a quiet spot, i put in air pods so people around me will assume im on the phone with someone.
for thoughts that need further processing/ that i want to really internalize or remember, i write them down in my everything journal. that can take the form of essays, mindmaps or diagrams i draw for visualization.
my everything journal also functions as a diary for emotional processing, a notebook for poems or the occasional grocery list and budget plan. i also have a physical calendar for appointments and to do lists.
that's my system and it's worked pretty well for me so far!
The concept active processing explains so much!
I clicked this video because I have struggled journaling a LOT. Issues with people reading past journals on top of ADHD issues... Thank you, this should help! I did want to comment that I totally checked the description specifically for the duck... kudos to you for actually putting it there! :) *subscribing due to the follow through*
Respecfully, when you said "I see them fill out their notebook so I want to fill out my note book" I rolled my eyes and chuckled at how MUCH I FEEL ATTACKED. Thank you. Omg.
Have a friend write a prompt on every page. You can only flip to a new one once you completed the last one. Use a foldback clamp to keep the pages you're not supposed to see yet closed.
When I feel bad or unmotivated I go outside, I sit there with music or smth and I only go inside when i feel like I can go back to real life. I think that’s meditating but idk I just go to my own little world and come back when the real world doesn’t seam so bad.
Ugh, I get it now! You help me so much to understand my adhd behaviors and accommodate for myself. Life changing
Hi Haylee, I must thank you for reaching out to me and many others with the idea of Passive and Active processing.. as a person I have been severely punished repeatedly by my peers for making the same mistakes again and again- because they never understood why I kept doing this: and neither did I. I couldn't for the life of me grasp why I kept making the same mistakes again and again until today. I cannot explain the feeling I feel at this moment.. Many hugs.. thank you so so much.
I don’t have adhd and this still helped so thank you!!
Wow, this is fascinating. I kept journals for years and cut back because I read back through them and was appalled at how often I repeated an 'insight.' This concept of active/passive processing (which I'm coming across for the first time here) makes me see my repetitiveness in a new light. Of course it makes sense I would come up with the same insights over and over, because I've been processing similar issues over and over.
The other thing that made my jaw drop was the mention of mind maps. I've been mind mapping for decades! They help me so much to work things out.
Love this video! I've started a new bullet journal a few months ago and I've been using it a LOT. I had kept 3 bullet journals a few years ago when I was in Highschool, and they were quite different from what I do now. It's soo cool to look back at how I used to journal (lots of art and "fancy bullet journal spreads") and compare it to how I journal now (mainly just writing or a few doodles, a simple calender I draw at the beginning (or mid) of a new month, and then I just use the following pages whenever I feel like it)
Sis you changed my life
Just found your channel and this is insane and so helpful. Recently been diagnosed with adhd and wow, I've always said I journaled my whole life because I love going back and rereading old entries (I have some from when I was 8 that are very fun to revisit). But really it's been active processing this whole time. Talking out loud is so helpful too, though my partner never knows if I'm talking to her or to myself, lol. I didn't know there was a term for needing to see or hear your thoughts in a physical sense outside your brain to really understand them. Thanks so much
Wow. I didn‘t realize until just now how much of that I already do for active processing.
I‘ve always felt guilty for needing to talk so much (because I always felt like I had too many thoughts to keep them all inside) but it turns out that it‘s actually a tool. This is kinda mindblowing, honestly.
Mindmapping has also always been CRUCIAL in my life. Whenever I‘m filled to the brim with feelings and thoughts up to the point that I can‘t even articulate any of them anymore, I unload all of it onto a page and find their patterns and connections and all the little things that trouble me somehow.
The personal podcast thing is also something I‘ve done more than one time though mostly secretly because it always felt so silly to talk to myself just because 🙈 I guess I‘ll have to reframe that.
I‘ve personally been using some sort of journal for years, too, though it‘s mostly lists and sketches. I also keep a diary that I write in irregularly but I can‘t imagine merging the two because my brain likes things in their order and place 🙈😂 but both have been valuable and helpful in their own ways. And regarding the journal (that I like to call my planner) - my personal recommendation is to really customize it to your needs. Mine started out as an actual bullet journal including all kinds of trackers that I didn‘t actually need and those look nothing like the ones that I‘ve been using the past few years.
Make use of the space in ways that help you and make you happy and create your own layouts instead of sticking to the ones you might see on social media.
AND! It doesn‘t have to be pretty. It truly, truly doesn‘t. It only needs to serve you. Unless your journal being pretty is something that brings you a lot of joy, then by all means, go for it :)
Never thought about gamification and journaling together. I’ll maybe use my d20 and write up some prompts etc. I want to keep on track to improve my mental health. It sounds like a nice idea 😊
This has opened up my lackluster journaling to a whole new level!
Llevo escribiendo 34 días seguidos por primera vez y sí, me está cambiando la vida. Y también soy de las personas que ha intentado miles de veces tener un planner de todas las formas y diseños posibles, digitales y análogos. Lo que ahora me ha funcionado es tener todo en un solo cuaderno. Me levanto, hago mi lista de lo que voy a hacer en el día(claridad) para ir tachando cada cosa (dopamina) y en la noche escribo (memoria). Lo recomiendo a todos, especialmente los que son dispersos, visuales, con mala memoria, con mil ideas, pensamientos y reflexiones en el día y a los que viven en el futuro, todos los días pensando en lo que no tienes o no has logrado. Esto me está devolviendo las felicidad simplemente porque estoy más presente. Es el mejor regalo que me he podido dar, el hábito de escribir. Empieza hoooyyy :)))
I bulletjournaled for a few years while in school because I did the set up of the pages in class to keep my hands busy so I could listen. Stopped once I started working. Instead of a neat bullet journal I now have a brain dump journal where things I need to get out of my head go. Sometimes it's things I need to remember. Sometimes it's things I never look at again. I buy ring bound journals so I can rip out pages. I switch over when the old one is full.
I loved this video. Giggled at how relatable things are. Thank you ❤️❤️
Thank you so much for sharing. I think this video might be one more piece of proof that I'm undiagnosed ADHD. I want to get better at journaling, and I think this will help. A couple weeks ago, I had to journal about an incident that day that I was angry about, using the entry as a way to let it go from my mind, otherwise I would play it over and over again in my head.
I think I used all of these and
9:40 My NEWEST Journal Hack seems very useful.
I'm not sure who I'd do it with.
Timezones mean I can't do a lot of programs and if I buy one I forget to do it. MY MORNING YOUR EVEENING can work though.
I need a buddy. Anyone else?
I have a banana-box-sized box to hold old journals. Not that the journals are full.
My housemate keeps picking hot stuff up without oven gloves. He's giving me a minor case of PTSD. STOP HURTING YOURSELF, AIDON!
Of course I was intrigued by the little duck and couldn't contain myself for more than 2 second before I went looking for it and got myself into a coughing fit from laughing so much. Thank you, I needed that.
Haha first time reader. I’m 59rs old. I have 2 sons with different levels ADHD diagnosis. When you started talking about journeying I laughed. This has what I do all the time. I’m trying declutter my house, and am constantly findig 1/4 filled books I’ve written in and stopped. I have a collection over the last 2 yrs of Pretty covers hopping to inspire myself to get this muddle in my head. I am so overwhelmed atm.
Totally agree with your top tips. I have my bucket list upfront, gamification in my habit tracker, active processing in my monthly reviews etc. it’s not pretty, but it works for me. Just one book for everything, and if I’m unable to update for a day, I miss it
I recently started using the voice memo option in the new Apple Journal app and I actually love it so much. I don’t have to sit and think and write and sometimes the permanence of that makes me overthink. I can just open the app and think out loud and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done
So excited for the class! Hot tip. I added all the dates to my phone calendar with the subject of each lesson and the zoom link to remind and motivate me to go!
"A journal that has *everything* " -this is called a bullet journal! ❤️ I'm so glad it's worked for you. Only kind that has worked for me. On my 3rd.
I've been struggling to use it lately, a lot of heavy stuff happened at the end of '23, and writing it all down was hard... BUT this video helped give me some ideas :)
Thank you, I have a collection of past journal attempts, most with 3 or 4 pages done, but in each case I tried to be regular and disciplined. That always worked out not so well, with me feeling like a failure and my self esteem taking ( another) hit.
This year, after being diagnosed I feel like I now have the understanding and mental toolkit to accept myself, and finally, hopefully becoming a better me.
So I will once again give journaling a try, thanks.
Hmmmm , I may have watched this a few months ago, not sure, if I have sorry.
Just take it as proof that a) I can and will forget lots of stuff and b) your content is doubly useful.
Cheers
Follow the dopamine...wow! such great advice. fyi..im literally responding to you when you ask questions lol but ima try to incorporate some of the tips given here for my journal but not today. oh, i forgot to tell you, i applied your minimal daily routine today, it works. i feel accomplished because im getting things done at my own pace.
Thank you for sharing these insights! I've struggled to journal for years until recently. There were two things that got me back into it.
First was that I bought a Traveler's Journal -- a leather-bound spine that can hold multiple smaller journals. They fill up quickly and I can categorize everything fast. The main thing was switching to small notebooks.
Second was learning the phrase Commonplace Notebook. Other note-taking methods felt forced and wouldn't make sense to me. With a Commonplace Notebook, you create the space you need for your own thoughts. And I would consider everything you said in this video to fall under the Commonplace category.
This is an interesting interpretation (for the lack of a better word) of journaling. I kept a diary on and off for many years as a kid and teenager, but i usually only wrote about hard, negative feelings I needed to process and that over time made me think of journaling as a negative thing in my life. I felt as if I was keeping myself in the gutter by focusing on the negatives.
I stopped journaling bc of that (and bc of that guilt of not remembering to write) for many years, until maybe 3 years ago I started writing things and events that happened during each day because I had trouble remembering what had happened on which day. That has now stayed with me as a log of sorts and every time I have something I want to process in my diary I can, but it's not the whole purpose. I don't carry the guilt of not writing either, because it's not "a diary" to me in my brain. It's just a notebook that I write each thing I did and can remember on each day, or the days I remember.
I think it's given me a lot of peace of mind because I am writing in it consistently and I'm also preserving my memories and things that happened and my emotions. It's important to me bc I lose memories so easily.
OMG the color coordination system is absolutely genius.
One of my biggest problems with keeping journals (I have attempted to start many over the years) is that I've never been able to establish any sort of structure in them. I'm one of those people that can be writing a story in my head one minute and jotting down a shopping list or venting out all of my frustrations the next. Looking through the few journals I've actually used in the past, I'm actually really embarrassed of them, because they just look like utter chaos. Lists of chores, snippets of stories I'll never get around to writing, instructions on how to do something that I need to remember. They're just all over the place; an utter train wreck of thought.
Being able to color coordinate what is what so that I can see some structure out of what I'm documenting would be huge.
Thank you so much for the idea!
You’re very normal - not chaotic at all! Normal can look like different things depending on the person. I personally think hyper organized journals are.. well.. not normal because my normal involves so much variety and opportunity but that, too, is someone else’s normal!
I kept commonplace books for my entire youth and teens not knowing what it was, and then i went into planning and hyper planning, then bullet journaling. It used to be my most foundational habit/discipline and my favorite hobby, until a few years ago i got mental physical adult autism/ptsd burnout like a beast ive still been crawling out one inch at a time... I've been struggling terribly with reinforcing or even just finding the best way for me to do journaling and commonplacing that accommodates me now; and your video just kind of clicked something in such an impactful way.
I am always using my phone for allllll of the things but i cant find an app that i like for it, notion is too complicated and one note isnt enough, Evernote i havent been able to find the sweet spot 😭
the feeling of doing it when compelled too is a good note. I started on and off journaling in college main when I was really struggling with an emotion and just needed the help and space to express without judgement and now I am doing it daily. Some days aren't long some days are just half a page and some days I will fill up 3 pages but I think if I didn't start out using it when compelled I would not be journaling this much now.
I love this video. I just didn't understand journalling or how it could help me until you mentioned active processing and it clicked that I could use it to jog my brain. Suddenly it's all coming together. Thank you so much!❤
Great advice! I pre-decorate my journal pages with stickers and scraps of stuff (fun) and then I look at all the empty spaces I left for writing and I simply MUST fill it in. Much more inviting than a blank page. And I have an excuse to do arts and crafts because I know it's a gateway to active processing. Win-win.
I've always thought of my journal as a second brain, whatever thought I have about whatever topic I think of is in there, as well as short stories and poems. I find fun and it's way to express my feelings
The active vs passive processing thing is such a huge lightbulb moment for me. That may just be why I keep making the same mistakes... Thank you!
I am a fast typer and never have the patience for writing physically so i found using a digital journal is perfect for me. i still procrastinate, but it gets done faster and seems like a less insurmountable task.
I've done 10 years of journaling now!
You really got me with finding the duck in the description dude. Also, loved this video, it was extremely helpful! You taught me more about how I process (or don't) information and I'm definitely going to try out the "personal podcast" thing!
I would but I live with my family and that would be rlly awkward lol
This was so helpful for me! I’ve always loved writing but have never been able to journal and never understood why - and you literally just explained all of it 😂🙌🏻 Thank you!
I have adhd and ocd, and have a high interest in DnD, so even though they’re a bit expensive, I love The Hero’s Journal. It’s full of pages to color and it’s undated, so I can engage with it on my own time. There’s a digital and physical version, and I’ve grown attached to the built-in story that surrounds the 7 different styles of boxes to fill in on each pair of pages.
I started a journal in 4th grade, then it sat untouched until 10th grade when I realized that I could journal only when I needed it! I didn't have these terms but this video was enlightening! I also love having switched to Bullet Journalling because it's one place with many purposes! There are ebys and flows so I could improve my practice but I also use my phone for notes (could probably work on the talking to people method though😅) Thank you for creating this video! I am an undiagnosed neurodivergent and my roommate was diagnosed as a kid, and this could be really helpful for us both!
I'm so glad RUclips suggested your video to me!! I'm AuDHD too, and I vibed with you so easily in this. I'm gonna check out more of your videos and see if maybe you can help me hack my weird neurodivergency.
I like to use my journals like a transcribed personal podcast because I love having physical journals but I also love video type formats so I include photos and drawings as if it was a RUclips video, it’s very helpful for me :)