There's nothing more satisfying than sitting at your desk with a cup of coffee and your journals open. I use the "one line a day" journal, "5 minutes journal" and a notebook for my Morning Pages. It's my time ofreflecting and just putting thoughts to paper.
have our own personal methods of organizing and keeping track of our lives.
What works for me is (in addition to a system of digital note taking) is to regularly grab a sheet of paper and put all areas of my life on that one page (not in a list but like spokes on a bicycle wheel going out from a centre that holds my intrinsic values).
“My Life On a Page”
serves to bring everything into alignment for me. Without it, I feel like all my strings are untied.
I’ve done this for years and through many life changes.
A single notebook works for me. I just enter anything I draft or think about, my meeting notes, my sketches, the things that get remembered a little better because I spent the time to write them longhand. All these things. Each day starts with the date, I sprinkle time stamps (eg, 3.42P) through the day to help me remember the order (and context), and at the end of the day - a big red line to say, 'day is over.' Simple, and I always have the correct notebook with me.
Beautiful reflection, Greg. What struck me most is how you describe opening all the notebooks at once. That image feels like an act of honesty, letting every version of yourself, professional, spiritual, and creative, sit at the same table. That is where the real connections form. Writing then becomes more than capture. It becomes communion.
What I love about this approach is that it slows the mind down enough to listen. It reminds us that ideas are not linear or separate. They move through us, sometimes quietly, waiting for space to meet each other. When you honor them by giving them a place to land, you are not just organizing thoughts. You are nurturing awareness. Keep thinking deep and wide, my friend.
Fascinating! I love Austin’s books (just bought my own copy of “Steal Like An Artist”, after having read the library’s copy twice). Somehow, however, I missed this idea of having all the notebooks open at once.
As someone who also has multiple notebooks for various purposes (journal, commonplace book, Bible study / verse journal, and more), this idea makes sense to me.
Having been researching personal knowledge management for the past couple of years, I’ve primarily been thinking about my digital notes. But, given that I’m old-school, and love my analog notes, it surprises me I hadn’t thought of doing this!
I’m big on note-taking, journaling, reflecting, working out ideas for my drawings or paintings. I love to put pen to paper, making a hard-copy of my thoughts and ideas.
Thank you for distilling this! I love my notebooks and get way too antsy about how and when to use them … @Austin Kleon is a cool genius and your post on him is totally what I needed to hear today and I plan and try to move forward. Thanks, Greg!
I don't intentionally already do this, but it does happen organically. I will be writing something in my commonplace and think, "I should write that in my diary." And just tonight I was writing in my commonplace and decided I should also write this in my pocket journal so I can refer to it as needed on the go. Opening them all at the start will keep me from having to get up so often.
I love the approach from Tiago Forte that allows the process to linger in your notes to be interrupted without losing the potential of creating new ideas. With work and care work responsibilities it’s hard to find 30 minutes if uninterrupted regularly. But to not lose moment I think it’s great to fit reflecting on the inter-connectedness of notes into smaller amounts of time spread throughout the day.
This is stuff we should teach in skools, great post Greg, watched and enjoyed quite a few of your YT vids couple years back, just found you here on substack. Gotta love Kleon's work as well.
I personally use digital 99% of the time. It’s way easier to find things and I can take all my notes with me anywhere I go.
That being said, I have a field notebook where I will write down one or two things a day while on my walk. Mainly scripture, a song lyric that moved me, prayer. I write it down so it sticks in my mind.
There's nothing more satisfying than sitting at your desk with a cup of coffee and your journals open. I use the "one line a day" journal, "5 minutes journal" and a notebook for my Morning Pages. It's my time ofreflecting and just putting thoughts to paper.
That’s awesome. Sounds like a rich reflection time.
I think we all tend to
have our own personal methods of organizing and keeping track of our lives.
What works for me is (in addition to a system of digital note taking) is to regularly grab a sheet of paper and put all areas of my life on that one page (not in a list but like spokes on a bicycle wheel going out from a centre that holds my intrinsic values).
“My Life On a Page”
serves to bring everything into alignment for me. Without it, I feel like all my strings are untied.
I’ve done this for years and through many life changes.
That’s interesting! Sounds like a great compass for keeping you on track.
A single notebook works for me. I just enter anything I draft or think about, my meeting notes, my sketches, the things that get remembered a little better because I spent the time to write them longhand. All these things. Each day starts with the date, I sprinkle time stamps (eg, 3.42P) through the day to help me remember the order (and context), and at the end of the day - a big red line to say, 'day is over.' Simple, and I always have the correct notebook with me.
Love the simplicity.
This isn’t a system. It’s a sanctuary.
Each notebook a vessel.
Each entry a tether back to yourself.
And when they’re all opened at once, you’re not just finding ideas.
You’re listening to the inner chorus speak in harmony.
Integration doesn’t come from better thinking.
It comes from designing space for your truth to echo back.
Thank you for this, Greg.
- Thane
Well said.
Beautiful reflection, Greg. What struck me most is how you describe opening all the notebooks at once. That image feels like an act of honesty, letting every version of yourself, professional, spiritual, and creative, sit at the same table. That is where the real connections form. Writing then becomes more than capture. It becomes communion.
What I love about this approach is that it slows the mind down enough to listen. It reminds us that ideas are not linear or separate. They move through us, sometimes quietly, waiting for space to meet each other. When you honor them by giving them a place to land, you are not just organizing thoughts. You are nurturing awareness. Keep thinking deep and wide, my friend.
Couldn’t have said it better, Lee!
Fascinating! I love Austin’s books (just bought my own copy of “Steal Like An Artist”, after having read the library’s copy twice). Somehow, however, I missed this idea of having all the notebooks open at once.
As someone who also has multiple notebooks for various purposes (journal, commonplace book, Bible study / verse journal, and more), this idea makes sense to me.
Having been researching personal knowledge management for the past couple of years, I’ve primarily been thinking about my digital notes. But, given that I’m old-school, and love my analog notes, it surprises me I hadn’t thought of doing this!
Thanks!
PS… I recently shared about some of my favorite knowledge management ideas, in case you’re interested! https://open.substack.com/pub/jscreative/p/how-to-build-a-personal-knowledge
Nice! I’ll check it out.
You inspired me to open my notebook!
This idea is similar to a Zettlekasten, except the intersecting notes and thoughts all live in one box.
True!
I’m big on note-taking, journaling, reflecting, working out ideas for my drawings or paintings. I love to put pen to paper, making a hard-copy of my thoughts and ideas.
Thank you for distilling this! I love my notebooks and get way too antsy about how and when to use them … @Austin Kleon is a cool genius and your post on him is totally what I needed to hear today and I plan and try to move forward. Thanks, Greg!
Glad it was helpful!
I don't intentionally already do this, but it does happen organically. I will be writing something in my commonplace and think, "I should write that in my diary." And just tonight I was writing in my commonplace and decided I should also write this in my pocket journal so I can refer to it as needed on the go. Opening them all at the start will keep me from having to get up so often.
I love the approach from Tiago Forte that allows the process to linger in your notes to be interrupted without losing the potential of creating new ideas. With work and care work responsibilities it’s hard to find 30 minutes if uninterrupted regularly. But to not lose moment I think it’s great to fit reflecting on the inter-connectedness of notes into smaller amounts of time spread throughout the day.
I like this. And maybe you'll notice different connections at different times of the day.
This is stuff we should teach in skools, great post Greg, watched and enjoyed quite a few of your YT vids couple years back, just found you here on substack. Gotta love Kleon's work as well.
This is very helpful! What are your thoughts on digital vs material notebooks (or a combination)?
I personally use digital 99% of the time. It’s way easier to find things and I can take all my notes with me anywhere I go.
That being said, I have a field notebook where I will write down one or two things a day while on my walk. Mainly scripture, a song lyric that moved me, prayer. I write it down so it sticks in my mind.
Love the idea! I will try this! Thanks for the lovely post! :)
Like the idea of physical pocket book where you can write and draw when you feel like it. 😊
I nowadays use Obsidian as my knowledge base and connect ideas in there, usually takes an hour or so.
Very addictive when you build the idea and see things connect~
It’s a cool feeling for sure.