A life-changing habit | Journaling

Been in a slump with Journaling. I got overwhelmed with several life changes at once and let it slip. When I was full steam I coupled my journaling with my morning devotions and found creative flow came easy. I know what needs to be done, but find my motivation for the writing portion has fallen to the wayside. I still do all of the things I used to do but seldom journal about them. But, when I do, I find it cathartic and cleansing. Thanks for the content. I so enjoy it! Cheers!

1. Writing practice 2. Writing 3 pages 3. Emptying thoughts on pages

Great Video! Thank you for the advice, definitely trying it out.

Great Video, Marcus. I began a morning pages habit a few months ago and have already observed some of the benefits. Two things that stand out are a daily reduction in my anxiety levels and a more sustained focus on my work and activities. Pumping out what I like to call "Brain Vomit" has helped to reduce the wordless chatter that often gridlocks my brain. I agree with Marcus that it's not always convenient to write first thing in the morning. I have kids and dogs and most of the time they take priority. There are also two other things that I have found helpful in starting and maintaining my practice. First, don't pressure yourself to write 3 pages right away. I use a ruled Midori A5 notebook for my journal. Each page is broken up into two sections. I started with 2 sections and worked my way up to 6 sections, which is 3 total pages. Second, don't feel like it has to happen every morning. I usually go Monday through Friday and only do weekends if I feel like it. Remember, there are no rules to this. You will not be tested. Use the morning pages system as a framework and adapt it to your lifestyle as needed.

I keep seeing your calendar drawn in a notebook featured in thumbnails. Would you ever do a video showing that? How you set it up or ways you use it?

I started writing daily, but in a different tone (almost like writing letters to me two kids (currently ages 3 and 6). After watching your video I am encouraged to start a personal journal to tackle some of my personal challenges and simply getting them on paper. Another book I will need to check out as well. Thank you for your videos once again!

Thanks, Marcus! I very much liked the video for its insightful nature! I tried to do evening journaling, which I could keep up for about couple of weeks, but then “one thing after another,” and I quit. Your video made me think about trying the morning routine now.

Sometimes I like to do some creative writing. I’ll take a book I’m reading and place myself in that world and then write for 15 minutes how my “character” interacts with that world. It’s a fun idea for those who want to start their morning off with some creativity.

Your channel actually helped me incorporate daily pages back in Q4 of last year. It’s been really helpful.

You're awesome mate. Greetings from Slazburg in Austria!

I like the idea of the Gratitude list. Creative writing is my forte, so am hoping that the continued writing will free me up to tap into my true voice. I am hoping to use it as a way of visioneering too, writing to myself in this present time from a future time that I envisage. I'm only eleven days into Morning Pages, writing by candlelight first thing after waking up - literally - while the fog and dreams are still lingering. Using a fountain pen too, writing 3 pages (average about 650 words in 30 to 45minutes) in a stitch-bound hardcover A5 bond-paper journal that I made specifically for this. I calculated sufficient pages for three months of writing, so each journal represents a season. I'm very interested to see where this is going to go. Thank you for an encouraging video.

Great video as always. I have been doing morning pages for a little over a month and it is now just a part of my day. I don’t even think about it anymore it’s just the first thing I do. I love my Dingbats notebook and Montblanc Starwalker.

The video arrived at the perfect time for me. I had just started taking journaling seriously.❤

Wonderful video Marcus. I had done morning pages for a while but got out of the practice. I think I’m going to get back on it!

I'm glad to see you encourage journal writing! I've been journaling since middle school (several decades now), both on paper and online. (I usually have several journals going at any given time, two paper, one or two online, an art journal, plus a gratitude or habit tracking journal. Many options help me keep the habit going because if I don't feel like putting pen to paper, I can type a few words or sketch/paint/collage, write captions, etc.) It wasn't until a few years ago that I tried morning pages. I found that they are great to do, but they can also feel like a slog or a chore sometimes. (It can be interesting to push through that feeling though--or to try to--and prompts are really useful in that process.) For me, journaling/writing bleeds off some of the stress of daily life or marks important events and I find that it helps even when I don't go back and read my journals. Anyway, Jetpens is my new fave place to buy Japanese stationary, if only because I think Jeff Bezos, et al., might be rich enough! Jetpens carry Kaweko and Tomoe goods, too, along with a bunch of other good paper and pens and pencils, etc.

Great video! Thinking of starting this up! I really appreciate how organized and logically planned/sequenced the video is. I have a few questions: I am curious as to what you do with all of the journals when they are finished. Do you ever go back and look at the past entries? You said you burned more of your trauma notes, but do you ever write things you would not want your kids or partner to read? Do you find yourself ever self censoring? Long term, what do you plan on doing with the many note books. Would they be for your children to one day read? Or to be thrown out? These are a few questions I am asking myself before starting. Not that I would have anything I am trying to hide, but these are a few things I have pondered before I start.

You are really good man

Love the videos! Just wondering what sofa you have in your at home office. I need one in a similar size and am struggling to find one with a design I like

Thanks for the video, I am not only going to give this a shot, I am going to pass this on to my oldest daughter, who I feel could benefit from this as well! By the way, what Watch are you wearing? One of my hobbies is Watches , collecting and repairing. That looks sharp!

Great video as always! I have been doing this type of writing at night as a way of to dump everything that is in my head and sort of clear my mind. I find that I get better sleep when I do this, but I am wondering if I may not gaining the full benefit of tapping into the creative process? 🧐