The pen is truly mightier than the (M)s-word

We live in a world of words. Words that are spoken, read, written or typed. Sometimes they are painted, can be very neat or almost illegible.

The focus on well being and mindfulness has energised the journalling habit with a multitude of journals, books, printed material to help you keep note of your thoughts and various different kits to allow you to express your thoughts in a creative and helpful way so as to be able to deal with them.

Our need to document has become a multi billion pound industry and you can even get courses that teach you how to journal!

Flippancy aside, the importance of journalling can be the difference between healthy and unhealthy for some.

I started journalling in the early 2000’s, a swim parent gave me my first piece of advice which was to write down what happened in the morning during your lunch break and then again in the evening. From this I would create my immediate task list and be able to review and reflect on it after the fact.

This review and reflection is key to understanding what you did and the impacts that it has done.

Our lives are so busy with noise, having a journal of some description allows you the space to just recall and int he process of writing/ creating your journal, reflecting on what happened.

There are many ways in which you can journal. Some prefer to type and use apps like Medium, Wordpress — for a public journal or a specific journalling app such as Day One — which can be used as a melting pot of your thoughts.

Video journalling is becoming very popular with our phones able to record in high definition. Our thirst for content (and the distinct appeal of being a voyeur on someones else’s life) means that anyone can get their particular message out there. The ease in which you can potentially reach a wide audience is quite scary.

For me though, the act of journalling is allowing the thoughts to flow from my brain, down my arm, through my hand and then out. I use a Mont Blanc fountain pen, it was a 40th present from my wife and I love to write with it. Recently (ish) I discovered that Mont Blanc did midnight blue coloured ink. As I use Moleskine Notebooks — the paper quality is far superior to other A5 notebooks, the midnight blue in contrast to the off white paper is very pleasing to the eye.

Why is it important for your business for you to journal?

As a business owner and entrepreneur, it is likely that your mind a) works differently and b) is constantly thinking.

This is not the overthinking (but that can happen) but as an active business person growing your business, you mind will always be working toward your goal and aspiration.

Journalling in some or other helps to capture those thoughts and put them in a manner in which you can review them. The act of journalling is allowing those thoughts, ideas and feelings (especially feelings) to live somewhere other than your mind. It is a very good clearing house. Good ideas tend to stick and if you are s=using a particular journal book or a piece of software, you can always go back and review. I urge you to do so. That act of reviewing will allow you to acknowledge the journey you have travelled since you wrote it.

I find that it helps identify where I am stuck because if I am repeating an issue, I haven’t dealt with it and I need to change my approach.

How to journal

1 Find the medium that allows your thoughts to flow without effort.

2 It’s your journal, it’s personal, set rules around the journal book.

3 If you are stuck, just think of the day, the morning, or the week and write a review of it. Most importantly express how it all made you feel. Just write it. Make sure you capture the good and the great things that happened.

4 Every once in a while, look back over your journals and see how far you have come.

By having an active journalling habit, it can have a significant impact on your well being as you have room to process. In these times, we all need that bit extra.

At Exhibition Mastery we use journalling as a tool in our Vantage Point consulting. Journalling is good indicator of Capacity and is a very effective tool in increasing your Capacity.

To find out more, visit exhibitionmastery.com