Ode to my art of analytic journaling

I spend a lot of time thinking through what I write and how I write it. For me, this is because I am most successful at keeping intentional habits. Journaling, for me, has grown into just such an intentional habit. A fun, beneficial habit.

One of the benefits of a journaling habit, for me, is that my goals for my journaling can be dynamic. The less I try to fit my journaling into specific rules, the more rewarding it feels. And, counterintuitively, the less I try to journal one specific way, more I tend to scribble in my notebook.

My most frequent kind of journaling is about emptying. I free-write about my day. I empty my thoughts onto the page. I pour my worries and joys out of my head so my notebook can help carry them all. Handwritten recaps are therapeutic.

I also periodically enjoy analytic journaling. Targeted writing sessions wherein I dig lessons out of my loosey-goosey emptying-focused reflections. Exploring individual trees in the forest.

Writing about the individual actions I took — and did not take — and how they each fit together into a whole picture of why my day went the way it did is cathartic. And rewarded. And highlights how I might do better tomorrow.

And my self-analyses take less than an A5 page to write out. Efficiently therapeutic.

Step Four = Profit

My process starts with recapping just the facts of my day. The objective events that a camera would see or a microphone would capture.

Sticking to just the facts is hard — and it’s important. Isolating just what happened during my day is wonderful for highlighting small victories. Some days, when I feel especially unproductive, even summarizing the pens that met paper is enough to feel I had forward momentum.

I then recap how I felt during one of those recorded events. Just one. Depth over breadth here. Was I worried for a loved one? Was I anxious over the possibility of arriving late? Perhaps I was simply hangry?

Third, I consider the values I stuck to in that moment. Did family come first? Was I motivated to show a parent how their child is growing this school year? This round of writing is typically short and to the point for me.

Lastly, I read through what I’ve journaled and free-write on what I believe I’ve learned. What should I continue doing? What should I do instead? Lessons to help inform tomorrow. This fourth section often takes the form of bulleted lists. And I dig a good list.

To recap: I highlight just the facts, highlight just my feelings, and explore just the values I took up in a specific moment during my day. And lastly, I read over my reflection to consider lessons for myself.

Both emptying journaling and analytic journaling have their places in my notebook. And, honestly, any excuse to write is joyful. Analytic nerdery for the win.

This week’s Inked Tines update includes last week’s currently inked writing tools.

Toolset

Pens. This week’s clear standout combo is the Sailor Pro Gear Blue Train’s EF nib and Silent Night. Silent Night is near-black with subtle — and infrequent — red sheen. The ink dries quickly, averting smears in my task management and in my jotted meeting notes. Surprisingly useful ink in this EF line width. Feed only.

• Franklin-Christoph 03 (M SIG) — Deck the Halls is a consistent, dark purple with flashy shimmer. I like the combination of shimmer ink and SIG nib. This pair rendered journaling fun and remained dark enough to also work during lesson planning and meetings. Party and professional.

• Platinum 3776 (F) — One More Sleep proved a reliable ink in this nib. A dusty indigo-grey that visually contrasted every other color in this week’s palette. An excellent accent pairing. Meeting note tasks, reading notes, scratch notes, and some pocket notes.

• Sailor 1911L (Z) — Arctic Blast was a great presentation and lecture note ink. Strong sheen kept my writing easily visible — turning glare from classroom windows into a readable feature. The Z nib proved a smart choice: rendering wide, wet lines that ensured ample sheen displayed throughout on my notes. Also: journaling and reading notes.

• Carolina Charlotte (B) — Best Wishes was a firehose in this B nib. However, the ink colors matched the Dragon Scales material so well I couldn’t help but continue reaching for this pair. All for slow writing tasks that could afford long drying times. So wet that Best Wishes’ sheen dominated the page.

• KACO Green Edge (F) — I reached for this pair only once last week. The combo wrote consistently. And Cosy Up haloed prominently on Tomoe River. I guess Cosy Up lives outside of my color preference for the moment. The black colorway avoided distraction during my parent meeting. One set of accent meeting notes.

• TWSBI 580-AL (1.1 mm Stub) — I used this pair for a lesson plan while prepping on Sunday morning. The nib dried out in between infrequent writing sessions. A moment of nib resting on the page would rectify such hard starting. I also accented some reading notes. The shimmer is the star here.

Notebooks. Work bujo. Odyssey Neptune 400 (A5). I resumed my typical writing routine last week. Eleven new pages of notes grace my illustrious Odyssey bullet journal. My notebook sits at page 260 as of this reflection.

A monthly brainstorm page is followed by my two-page weekly task management spread.

I am using a new task management stencil for the tick-boxes on my two-page weekly spread. Status boxes now sport sleek rounded edges, care of Dear Lily Designs’ excellent stencil.

Molded edges keep ink from pooling underneath the plastic stencil itself.

Then I used Arctic Blast for a lesson plan outline for a class introducing my students to a unit on the Medieval Inquisition. Arctic Blast’s fiery red sheen kept my lecture notes easily readable white my notebook rested on a lecturn.

Fiery

Two more lesson plan outlines follow, each written with an italic nib. The remainder of the week’s work writing are meeting notes. Silent Night take center stage throughout.

Journal. Endless Recorder in Mountain Snow (A5). I added five pages of writing to my personal journal over the course of last week. Two pages on Sunday evening. One page on Monday night. And another two pages on Tuesday night.

I used the Platinum’s narrow F nib to draw a strong visual contrast between my reflective writing (recorded by the Carolina Pen Co.’s wide B nib) and a targeted list.

Scannable is plannable

Written dry. I emptied the ink converter to my daily driver — the Sailor Pro Gear — by Friday afternoon. A feat given the Sailor’s Japanese-width EF nib. Silent Night proved a deep blue-black.

Sail away, young sailor

This week comprised task obsessed writing. Healthy amounts of jottings, task management, no-nonsense reading notes, and pocket notes demanded a lot from my Blue Train. And Blue Train delivered. Banging.

Newly inked. It’s important to me to stick to the spirit of my little Inkvent Challenge. The reward comes from digging my heels in and finding productive uses for each of Diamine’s creative holiday inks.

My starting seven were my ending seven. Commitment kept.

Consider my back ceremoniously patted

The collection

Incoming / new orders. A new Pilot Prera arrived on Monday. A new grey Prera.

Be still my slate grey heart

The pen arrived in-box with a well-tuned M nib. Always welcome. The small body seems particularly comfortable for small, detailed notetaking. I also appreciate the sturdy clip for potentially pocket carrying the Prera.

I also ordered a box of recycled Mitsubishi pencils. 9852’s to be exact. 9852s that have yet to meet a sharpener.

Soon

Outgoing / trades or sales. No movement here this week.

Currently reading and listening

Fiction. I continued my journey through the final days before the Last Battle in Robert Jordan’s The Gathering Storm. A journey of 94 iOS sized pages.

I’m struck by the darkness of the main characters’ storylines. Even Mat, who is the closest to the series’ comedic relief, is made to navigate a city that turns violent at sunset. You know, like a purge.

Jordan has begun reflecting on the nature of influence through Rand’s perspective. “People,” he writes, “ did not respond to anger. They did not respond to demands. Silence and questions, these were far more effective.” He continues a few pages later, writing: “Respond to demands with silence, respond to challenges with questions.” Dialogic initiative.

I highlighted both quotes in the Books app so they can be added to my commonplace notebook once I’ve finished Jordan’s book.

Nonfiction. My Mitsubishi pencil and Milliner duo returned to my work desk this past week. I began re-reading Cullen Murphy’s excellent book on inquisitions.

The Introduction and Chapter 1 were my focus last week. The centrality of a strong sense of morality to the inquisition is an endlessly powerful — if counter-intuitive — notion.

And I appreciate the change of pace that annotating with a pencil offers — in contrast to my usual fountain pen ink in a notebook.

Thoughtful scribbles

Music. I simply can’t get enough of dodie’s recent Tiny Desk Concert. Mellow. Heartfelt. Sophisticatedly arranged.

All four songs in the set are touching. And easily sit in the back of my mind while reading. Touching, personal, and good for mental focus.

Three songs contain dark lyrics. However, I feel a hopefulness in dodie’s delivery — and in her albums more broadly. dodie’s hopefulness has shaped my mindset for years. Definitely worth a listen.

A word of caution. There are a few curse words in the opening song. Nothing grave — but present nonetheless.