My passion that I almost left behind in mid-2023
Good morning. This is Asato, a life coach with a journal.
The 2023 planner is almost getting to the end. As I was flipping through the old pages to roughly review what I have written over the months, I noticed something.
This was a good reminder for me of my small passion that I almost neglected during the busy life.
I want to share this story here, so that it might be a good reminder for you to reflect on what’s something that you want to pick up again.
My planner is filled with lots of scribbles
This is the fun timing of the year that we get to enjoy filling up the old planner & start touching (yes, we planner lovers literally TOUCH and enjoy! lol) the new year’s planner.
So, I was looking at my Hobonichi Weeks planner which I used mainly between January until August, before I started introducing digital planner.
Something seemed strange.
Compared to other years’ planners, the notebook is filled with too much writing, with only black ink. There are no stickers or washi tapes for quick decoration, or I almost never used my fountain pen.
Looking back, especially to the first half of 2023, I was too busy.
Even the number of journal entry is limited. I was journaling only during the workshop which I host in Rwanda. Two workshops per month were the only moments where I got to sit down and reflect on the days.
I was too overwhelmed with my studies to become a life coach, and finding balance (and failing) between work, study, and family time was already too challenging. This chaotic period left me with no energy and space to be creative.
Re-gaining my creative journaling
If I compare it with some beautiful creative journals that we can see on Instagram, what I call “my creative journaling” is very simple. All I do is one or stickers on the spread. There is no water coloring or multi-sticker decoration. But even so, choosing a sticker that matches the journal entry was a small passion/happiness that I did enjoy.
After looking at my words-only-not-so-interesting-planner, I did want to resume the small spark of creativity. So here are the small things that I started doing this month.
1) Adding stickers to my notebook spread
At some point, I even stopped moving around with my stickers. (Or, maybe that is how 98% of adults do, but we notebook/planner lovers enjoy carrying around all the pens and stickers!).
Same as beautiful notebooks that are stuck in the shelf forever, if we don’t carry them around at hand, we never actually use them. So, I added some sticker sheets in between my planners so that I get to use them whenever I want.
2) Practicing doodles
I have always admired these people who can write small illustrations here and there, or those who can sketch some scenes in a random situation.
By seeing how our son practices/enjoys drawing literally every day, I also got into the idea of being a bit more creative. So I searched several websites on how to draw mini illustrations for beginners. It is actually fun to follow the instructions and do some doodles.
3) Introducing flexibility
Somehow, if there are some grids or lines, I tend to follow the rules. Plus, I start introducing my own rules on which pen to use and how the pages should look like.
But seeing other creative people writing or drawing or simply being creative with various kinds of notebooks, I admired their freedom. It’s just a personal notebook so I can be more flexible.
Not all the pages need to look a certain way, or there is no restriction on how to use it. It’s still in progress but I am giving myself a lot of chances to try out what works for me in fun ways.
Small creative outlets in my days
For some people, journaling is already a creative outlet. Yes, it is true. It’s a form of expression. But I do want to add a little more fun and creativity to what I am already doing.
Looking at my pages earlier this year, where I have listed so many words in somewhat frantic ways, I noticed the joy of putting in a little effort was missing during the period.
It is true that at that time, I was not even conscious how trapped I was in the busy days, that I did not have the extra one more step to enjoy the process.
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Seeing those pages was a great reminder how tough the first half of the year was. But it also gave me a lesson that small things, such as adding stickers, using my favorite color, putting ink to my fountain pen, all of those tiny actions bring me a lot of joy.
If I can find 10 or 15 minutes to journal, I do want to make the most out of the moment. Not only am I tapping into my brain and expressing myself in the notebook, I do want to make it a creative experience, too.
For a few weeks, after this realization, I am in good relationship with my almost ending planner 2023. When I flip through some of the recent writings, there are a little bit of colors here and there. I can truly see how my mental situation is so much calmer and happier now.
***
Thank you for reading this far and sticking to how much I enjoy my writing + mini decoration moment. Maybe journaling is not quite for you, but we all have some form of creative outlet.
Sometimes it is important to review the outcome, and see if there is any piece missing. Or to figure out any way to level up the joy. If anything comes up in your mind, do let me know in the comment section!
Today’s journaling prompt: What kind of creative outlet do you enjoy these days?