Hey Reader,
Welcome to The Journaling Guide, your five minute personal retreat at the beginning of a new week.
Let's jump right in.
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The author Amy Tan is best known for her 1989 novel The Joy Luck Club, which was adapted into a film in 1993. Since then, she has written numerous novels, children's books, and short story collections, and she even published her memoir in 2017.
In late 2016, at the age of 65, Tan turned her focus to something new: nature journaling. Overwhelmed by the news and current events, she sought refuge from the noise of everyday life and received lessons on the art of journaling from John Muir Laws, a renowned naturalist and artist based in California.
As a child, Tan was discouraged from being an artist despite being interested in and skilled at drawing. Now, she's published a book of journaling reflections, including sketches of the birds she became so deeply connected with.
In an interview with Meghna Chakrabarti from WBUR's On Point, Tan responded to the idea that as a well-regarded writer, she brings these thoughts to a different level:
It's journaling, to me. I just realized the other day it's like spontaneous memoir. So what you're seeing in front of you is what you're recording, and later you will look at it and remember as you read it. And that was the purpose for me. I wasn't writing this for anybody else.
That last sentence should be a core principle for any journaling habit.
You're doing this for yourself.
That doesn't mean you'll never share or let others read what you've written. That's a different choice based on privacy and personal comfort. But the act of journaling, the tone, what you write about, and how you write it, should be done for no one else's benefit and with no regard for anyone but you.
I wrote last week on the blog about Quick Journal, a new iOS app from designer Charlie Deets. I was on the beta for a few months before it was released, and it was fun to watch the ongoing development of what is now a beautiful and straightforward journaling tool.
A key feature of Quick Journal is the lack of things like suggestions or the ability to add photos. This is for text, pure and simple.
The only thing that's missing here is cloud syncing. Right now, journal entries are saved locally on device, which is great for privacy but offers little support for easily backing entries up.
I'm experimenting with using Quick Journal as a tool for a brief weekly review.
On Friday afternoons, I leave a little early for school pickup and take five or ten minutes to reflect on different aspects of my life. It's three or four short paragraphs of perspective that help me see where I've been and what I may have missed.
I'm closing this edition of the newsletter with a question about your motivation for journaling. I'm curious and will discuss the results in a future newsletter!
Note: There are no wrong answers. ๐โ
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Have any burning thoughts about journaling? Hit reply, send them my way and I will respond.
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