the journal system that got my life off my phone.
The Ash Files
13,552 views
At some point I realized I was using my phone to remember almost everything. Appointments, things I needed to buy, ideas I wanted to keep, books someone recommended, work, notes, screenshots, reminders and several mysterious messages to myself that made perfect sense when I wrote them.
So, fairly accidentally, I moved most of it onto paper.
I now use three journals to organize different parts of my life: a small one for catching ideas before they disappear, a medium one for planning, journaling and keeping things I want to remember, and a larger one for writing and creative work. It’s an analog system held together with notebooks, loose paper, tape and a writing system that has somehow become 500 pages long.
This is a look at exactly how I use it… my weekly and daily planning system, commonplace book, journal, writing notebooks and the slightly chaotic process of moving things between them.
It isn’t really about becoming more productive. There are faster ways to do almost all of this, and several of them are already on my phone. I think I’ve just discovered that I don’t want a system that helps me fit more into my life, I want somewhere reliable to put things down.
Because once Thursday is written somewhere, I can stop remembering Thursday every twelve minutes… and then ideally experience Wednesday.
——————
Get my Writing Systems & Storytelling Tools ✨ → https://www.theashfiles.com
The HATCH Digital Planning System → https://bit.ly/3U9T1JX
——————
Essay Collections — https://bit.ly/4onmQ3I
——————
TikTok - https://bit.ly/4dakJdD
Instagram - https://bit.ly/3zKLmYb
Substack - https://bit.ly/3EbaRnE
Website - www.theashfiles.com
Freewrite Typewriter - https://bit.ly/3W29yfO [affiliate link]
Work with Me — hello@theashfiles.com
ABOUT ME:
Hi! 🙋🏼♀️
I’m Ash – a writer, content creator, and movie lover with a penchant for the nostalgic. I spend more time talking to my dog than actual humans, and when I’m not arguing with fictional characters, my days are spent writing endless drafts or down movie-related rabbit holes. In this little corner of the internet, I share my love for storytelling, the ups and downs of my creative process, and the sometimes ridiculous, often relatable moments that come with being a 30-something and not having it all figured out.
20 Comments
Who ever you are behind the Youtube algorithm, thanks for always putting one of these up whenever I'm having a burnout day.
Your video on writing 3 months ago gave me the kick I needed to start submitting my writing to magazines.
Thank you. And keep on keeping on.
Now, on to the video...
I am voting for you as my favorite YouTube creator. You are always so well organized and you are the BEST storyteller I have seen in 70 years. Keep going, Ash. You are a champion 🏆.
Links to your analog journals/tools would be welcome. 😊
1. 👍
2. Thanks
3. Thank you
I had to grab my own small notebook (which is a messy, haphazard, sort of commonplace notebook right now) and write that down immediately because I completely agree. Mine show up at the worst times. Driving, showering, in the bathroom, in line at the grocery store. Sometimes while my husband is telling me something about his day and it'd be rude to interrupt.
I tried to stick to a 1 journal and 1 planner system for years. It never worked. This summer I embraced a pocket notebook, an A5 journal, and my planner. Surprise surprise. It made my life easier. I allowed myself to be messy and chaotic for a change. It's been a very welcome change.
Thank you for sharing another fantastic video. I love seeing how you use your systems and what works for you.
I've always tended to have a 100 different notebooks for 100 different purposes, which eventually always become abandoned 'cuz I then don't know which book The Thing goes into, or I'm carrying The Wrong Book... I've now started and Anything Goes Journal instead, which sounds so simple, but is working out super great! Wanna write? The Journal. Draw? The Journal. Scrapbooking for aesthetics? The Journal.
And only occasionally now does A Thing needs to go into another more appropriately themed book, in which case, it does. Either directly, or by way of the Anything Goes Journal.
(Also I'm one of those who enjoys your voice a lot! It has a nice mid-range and your cadence is very lovely to listen too.)
omg
Your videos make the algorithm feel like magic.
I also keep a three-notebook system (although functioning in a slightly different way—I'm not a writer), and I'm also regularly confronted by the economics of carrying which and where, and yes, negotiating with my shoulders.
Lots of lines from you videos go into my small notebook, which I sometimes call "junior" and other times "satellite."
Nice to see Alfred H appearing in your video, which was enjoyable and thought provoking as normal.
Keep up the good work,
Take care
Paul,
the journal system that got my life off my phone.
The Ash Files
13,552 views
At some point I realized I was using my phone to remember almost everything. Appointments, things I needed to buy, ideas I wanted to keep, books someone recommended, work, notes, screenshots, reminders and several mysterious messages to myself that made perfect sense when I wrote them.
So, fairly accidentally, I moved most of it onto paper.
I now use three journals to organize different parts of my life: a small one for catching ideas before they disappear, a medium one for planning, journaling and keeping things I want to remember, and a larger one for writing and creative work. It’s an analog system held together with notebooks, loose paper, tape and a writing system that has somehow become 500 pages long.
This is a look at exactly how I use it… my weekly and daily planning system, commonplace book, journal, writing notebooks and the slightly chaotic process of moving things between them.
It isn’t really about becoming more productive. There are faster ways to do almost all of this, and several of them are already on my phone. I think I’ve just discovered that I don’t want a system that helps me fit more into my life, I want somewhere reliable to put things down.
Because once Thursday is written somewhere, I can stop remembering Thursday every twelve minutes… and then ideally experience Wednesday.
——————
Get my Writing Systems & Storytelling Tools ✨ → https://www.theashfiles.com
The HATCH Digital Planning System → https://bit.ly/3U9T1JX
——————
Essay Collections — https://bit.ly/4onmQ3I
——————
TikTok - https://bit.ly/4dakJdD
Instagram - https://bit.ly/3zKLmYb
Substack - https://bit.ly/3EbaRnE
Website - www.theashfiles.com
Freewrite Typewriter - https://bit.ly/3W29yfO [affiliate link]
Work with Me — hello@theashfiles.com
ABOUT ME:
Hi! 🙋🏼♀️
I’m Ash – a writer, content creator, and movie lover with a penchant for the nostalgic. I spend more time talking to my dog than actual humans, and when I’m not arguing with fictional characters, my days are spent writing endless drafts or down movie-related rabbit holes. In this little corner of the internet, I share my love for storytelling, the ups and downs of my creative process, and the sometimes ridiculous, often relatable moments that come with being a 30-something and not having it all figured out.