\chapter{Why Journal?}

I feel that why a person journals is very individual, and my reasons 
(mostly what I present here), won't necessarily be your reasons.  So the
very quick answer is, ``for whatever reasons you want.''

Of course if you wanted that kind of answer you wouldn't really be looking
at this 8 page zine (as I'm writing this) would you?

So, maybe let's look at what I had before.

I can think of really 5 reasons that I journal.  They are to get stuff done,
my wellbeing, creativity, documentation, and communication.

Let's just do a big overview here...

\section{Why I journal}

As I said above, it's basically 5 big reasons.  To get stuff done, basically 
to have something that helps me focus on what I'm trying to get done in my
life.  I would say that is my main reason overall as I'm writing this, but
it has been different main reasons in the past.

The next reason is for my wellbeing.  Of late a lot of that has been about
processing information that is getting in the way for me.  Basically writing
some ideas out.

The third reason I thing is creativity.  This has been a reason in the past
that I keep trying to put more focus on, but it keeps not happening all that 
well.

Documentation is a really important part of some of my journalling.  It 
sort of comes with stuff that is above, but sometimes I will be doing stuff
more so because I want to document something rather than any specific one
of the other reasons.

Then there's the communication.  That can be for me both "internal" 
communication (ie. talking things out, or making things clear for myself),
and external communication.

I guess I can look more at the different reasons, but they kind of overlap 
in a lot of ways.  Keeping them separate is just a way to have different
aspects easier to locate I guess.

\subsection{Getting Stuff Done}

A lot of what I have done in terms of this comes from {\it The Bullet 
Journal Method} by Ryder Carroll.  Well, the process I am using for that 
mostly comes from his work, the reason that I started to look at a journal
as the means to accomplish that, actually probably largely comes from
his work as well.

So for me, I will often get some ideas (lots of ideas just get lost), that
I want to do something with.  Not writing them down, really just means that
they kind of disappear.  

Various ways of writing them down have been tried, from simple lists, to 
stuff like daily planners.  None have really been great.  The simple lists
can be good for stuff like, ``I want to pick this stuff up when I go 
downtown,'' but even with that it seems useful to have means of updating
it while doing the task (I have some very small journals for this purpose, 
about A6 sized).

So, having some way to work with getting some stuff done is a very 
important part of my journalling experience.  Right now probably the most
important reason.

\subsection{Wellbeing}

Wellbeing has been a reason that I have kept a journal in the past, and
it has been the main reason that I have kept it at times.  

Sometimes that has been similar to how I'm currently using it when I do
use it for wellbeing.  That is writing a bit of a log about what is going
on, to process my thoughts.

Other times it has been more of a matter of using it to track things such
as whether I'm taking my medications, or going for a walk.  It also has been used
to much less effect to track the days that I have flares of my health 
problems.

Any of these things are really important to me to be able to have my 
journal work for me.

Part of that leads to some of my reasons as to what I have been doing in
terms of how I am handling my journal.  

\subsection{Creativity}

This is often a goal I have with my journalling.  Probably the biggest 
direction that my journal goes, in terms of creativity, has been in terms
of actually the creation of the journal, and my figuring out what is 
working or not working with it.

I really would like to have other creative projects that it helps to 
contribute to, but right now there's not much of that going on.

Having the space to handle that has been important in why I journal
the way that I do.

\subsection{Documentation}

The big thing here that I really want to have with this is probably
two different things.  Documenting how things are going with my life,
so connecting to the wellbeing stuff, and the getting stuff done.  

Then I also want to have stuff documenting stuff that I don't really do
often enough to have reasons to have it ready at my brain tip.

Some examples of the first, is just noting that with keeping track of what
I planned to do, and to some extent what I actually did (more so in 
regards to whether I did what was planned or not).

Also with recording those getting thoughts out part that I mentioned
in the wellbeing subsection, helps to record those thoughts so I can
look at them without too much difficulty.

The more looking at processes could be recording stuff about making 
the journals, or writing about what I'm doing with a computer to update
the way things are working (as I'm doing this, I'm doing a new setup 
on a computer and that's been important to note what I'm doing).  

\subsection{Communication}

I rarely (though I can't say never) directly write stuff in my journal
that is for another person who will read it from the journal.  
Occasionally when I have created a drawing or something in my journal,
I will share that, though in a lot of cases unless the journal is 
specifically for a specific project, by making some copy of it and
sharing the copy.

A more common thing I do, is writing stuff down that I intend to 
figure out what to say to someone.  Or what more happens, is to have
some record of something that I want to make sure that I'll be able to
review in the future.  

\section{Why I Journal How I Journal}

This sort of will go a bit into how I journal, but not so much that it 
gets into details, but some basics.

One thing that I keep coming back to, is the physicality that at least
for me is important.  I sometimes try to pull the process into a digital
form, and do so to some extent with regards to the projects like this
one here.

I guess that looking at the physicality, the portability, the flexibility, 
reduced distractions, ``cordlessness,'' and the possible alternatives.  

\subsection{Physicality}

The having a physical journal for me is really important, and a big part
of why that works is, because if it is physically there, it really far 
more difficult to ignore.  

That said, I've also found that sometimes it has the problem with having
to take up space, it can easily get shoved into a corner.  

Another aspect of it, falls a bit into the flexibility area of how this
ends up working, is because it is a physical form, it is easy to just
do things wherever or however you want.  

For drawing the doing stuff physically works quite well, at least in terms
of initially.  I usually end up with a quick sketch that gives me a sense
of the general object or whatever, then I can end up doing something from
that in a digital form.  

More in the flexibility area is that it's easy to take it, and create like
charts that can be difficult to figure out on a computer works really well.

\subsection{Portability}

While doing something with a smartphone often is far more portable than even
the 40 page old journal, or the new 58 page "half-letter" size journals.  It
can more easily be pulled out without becoming a distraction.

I know that I can often just pick it up and move it, and the whole idea of
a smartphone being a better option, really doesn't work for me, because I 
don't (and haven't for some time) have a cell phone of any sort.

\subsection{Flexibility}

I have mentioned above about the flexibility.  I found that one thing with
it being physical, and not really of any specific format (I've created some
specific formats in the past, only to of late feeling that they aren't so 
useful), allows me to use it however I want.  

The previous version of the journal, while I didn't do much with it, I had
created pages that were labeled for the purpose that I intended with them,
and while I could without too much trouble, just ``ignore'' that I was 
using a page for a purpose that it wasn't really meant for.

Reducing the ``design,'' feels like it will work out better (will take 
some time to get to testing) gives more room to do whatever I want with
it.  

\subsection{Reduced Distractions}

This is something that I find is maybe one of the most important reasons
for using a physical book, and not a smartphone, or doing it on the 
computer.

When writing, or drawing, or whatever in a book, it is difficult to 
``just go check out'' something else.  While on a computer, or mobile 
device it is very easy to just pick something else up while doing the work 
when working on a computer or mobile device.  

Writing in a physical journal, it is a lot easier to continue focusing on
what you are doing in the journal.  

\subsection{Cordlessness}

The doing it with pencil and paper, means that I don't have to worry about
even power, let alone internet connection or anything.

This may seem like the world is such that the lack of internet or the lack
of power really isn't something which a person really needs to think a
whole lot about.

While I rarely have times of extended power outages (or at least hadn't, 
but this past year we've had 2 outages of over 12 hours), I am often 
without internet even at home intermittently almost every day.  

The fact that it will work with nothing other than what is there.  No 
plugging it in.  Or replacing batteries.  The technology is ``just 
there.''

\subsection{Possible Alternatives}

I know that there are other options, such as a daily journal, or formatted
journal with notes or whatever for prompts.  I think these can be useful,
but due to the lack of flexibility, it can lead to starting to work with
it, but then because it isn't really working ending up dropping it.

The other options which I've often used are some electronic versions,
some have just as much, if not more lack of flexibility as going and
buying a journal with daily entries.  The flexible solutions I have found
for doing it on my computer are largely finding ways to work with basic
formats in ways that just work for me.

Simple text files that I format, and stuff like that have worked, but
usually with regards to having some level of logging stuff within a 
project that I'm working on, with the computer.

Specific journals, for recording specific type works such as logging
your reading or similar type things, may be useful, though not really
needed.  