March 13, 2018
In addition to keeping a daily journal, I’ve been doing something different this year. I’m keeping a logbook of my days in a small pink Moleskine planner.
At the end of each day, I write a simple list of what I did and observed. I also include a few notes about what I’m grateful for. Other than blogging daily, writing in my logbook is one of the best projects I’ve taken on in 2018.
I stole the idea from Austin Kleon; one of my favorite bloggers. I love the simple list format!
I’ll let Kleon explain why list keeping is important:
“… keeping a simple list of who/what/where means I write down events that seem mundane at the time, but later on help paint a better portrait of the day, or even become more significant over time. By ‘sticking to the facts’ I don’t pre-judge what was important or what wasn’t, I just write it down.
Best of all, limiting each day to one page and breaking it down into a list instead of prose makes it easier for me to scan through it later, and get a real feel for the passing of time as I flip the pages.”
The idea of keeping a logbook can be tied to Stephen Cope’s message in The Great Work of Your Life. He said, “A life is built on a series of small course corrections—small choices that add up to something mammoth.”
If I’m not writing down my course corrections and notes, I won’t remember them. For example, last night I flipped through my logbook, and I discovered themes that I want to explore in my public and private writing.
I’ll leave you with a few snapshots from my logbook: