Umm, What? - A new journal page about unexpected things

It’s pretty easy, I think, to find yourself saying, “Umm, what?” about events out in the world, both now and probably always, but that’s not what today’s journal page is about.

Nope. What’s on my mind these days are our personal umm, whats — the things in our own spheres of action and reaction that, on occasion, make us stop and wonder, “what is even happening here?”

For example, I may have mentioned in my last two posts that I’ve been doing a lot of paper cutting lately and making videos about it.

Umm, what?

Where did that come from? How does paper cutting fit with the other things I do? And, if it doesn’t, am I okay with that? These are some of the questions I’m sorting through.

(I’m wary of saying that they’re questions I’m trying to find answers to, because this might not be the kind of conundrum that lends itself to clear or definitive answers. Maybe you’ve encountered this in your travels as well?)

What I am doing is journaling about it. With a sense of humour, I hope. Which led to this page of bits and bobs about unexpected things and experiences that pop up from time to time in the midst of daily life:

If you’d like to wonder about the umm, whats? in your world, click here or on the image above to download this page.

P.S. The PDF file includes two page sizes: letter and A4.

You Name It: A New Journal Page and the Name That Inspired It

There’s a donut shop in my hometown with the perfect name: Lady Glaze. Doesn’t that just make you want to see what’s happening inside? I can confirm, from personal experience, that delicious things are happening inside!

I snapped a photo recently while I was out and about and thought it would make a fun paper cutting project. Here’s a peek of what you might see if you walked by one afternoon:

Working on this little sketch got me thinking about names: perfect names, the things we get to name, the things we’d name differently if it were up to us.

It’s a tricky business, don’t you think? I feel like I’m naming things all the time: journal pages and posts, new ideas, pitches and presentations. It can make all the difference in how something I’ve made is received and perceived. I don’t always get it right and it never gets any easier. But there’s something so wonderful about the perfect name; one that just rolls off the tongue, evokes a deep emotion, or creates an instant image of what to expect. And then there are the names of the people and places we adore; how the mention of their names brightens our days. Anyway, before I knew it, there was a new journal page humming its way through my printer. A quick and colourful reason to spend a few moments thinking thoughts about names.

If you’d like dive into the meaningful names in your world, click here or on the image above to download this page.

P.S. The PDF file includes two page sizes: letter and A4.

P.P.S. If you’d like to see the paper cutting project above from beginning to end, here’s the video I made:

Purposeful You: Finding Meaningful Points of Connection

The thing I like about purpose is, not surprisingly, the thing I like about journaling: discovering meaningful points of connection between our inner selves and the outer world.

In my journal, there’s a certain rhythm to it — looking inward to observe thoughts, feelings, and experiences; looking outward to notice things, events, and outcomes; then thinking about ways to make sense of them together in order to learn, grow, and move forward. Along the way, it’s the delightful details, the unexpected parallels and juxtapositions, the wonderful a-ha moments, and the mysteries still waiting to be unravelled that keep me coming back for more.

Thinking about purpose shares that same rhythm with, perhaps, a more focused lens: looking inward to recognize personal skills and knowledge, looking outward at the range of issues that impact your world, and thinking about ways to apply your inner strengths out in the world. Looking for points of connection between the two.

I made a page late last year to think through the specifics:

It can be tricky, I think, to articulate how and why we do what we do, especially when it evolves and changes over time. So this page is a little different from my other pages in that I’ve included a few informational blurbs in addition to writing prompts, as a reminder about the nuts and bolts of purpose — and why it’s a good thing to think about in relation to daily living.

If you’d like dive into one of your purposes — because the experts say we often have more than one — click here or on the image above to download this page.

P.S. The PDF file includes two page sizes: letter and A4.

P.P.S. If you’d like to learn more about purpose, here are two resources I found helpful while making this page:

1. What is Purpose? The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley

2. 6 Things Nobody Told You About Purpose. Stanford University Alumni Magazine

Surprise Yourself By Looking For Things That Go Together

At first glance, it may seem like an odd exercise — a journal page inspired by things that go together. But you can make all sorts of surprising discoveries when you look at everyday objects and experiences via the things that come with them. It’s kind of like word association with intention.

I made the page in two parts: the top half for putting things together and the bottom half for making sense of the resulting combinations.

It took me a minute to figure out how best to journal it.

The first thing I noticed was that my first answers mostly didn’t work. Getting to meaningful associations involved writing a succession of words into almost every answer box. It was like trying different puzzle pieces until one fit, but when it finally did, there was that wonderfully satisfying feeling of “Ah, that’s the one”.

For example, under dinner and, I first wrote dessert, which didn’t reveal anything useful or exciting. Then, I pictured the previous night’s dinner and wrote conversation, which felt much better. Then, finally, together time. Ah, that’s the one. The best part of my day. The thought of dinner tonight with my favourite people makes me smile just thinking about it.

I had a heck of a time with memories and. The prompt evoked an unsettled mixture of memories. I wrote nostalgia, then after a long while, deep breaths. I think I actually took a deep breath just then and with the exhale came storytelling. Ah, that’s the one.

The most surprising answer emerged with joy and. I’m not going to share it, but it had a lot to do with finding joy amidst uncertainty. I will also say I was glad it was the last prompt in the top half of the page. By then, I felt super confident with my pairs, and words were flowing out of me.

I wrote more about my joy pair in my journal and thought a lot about where my unexpected discovery might take me. I can’t wait to put some new ideas into action and see what happens!

Want to explore some of the things that go together in your world? Click here or on the image above to download this page.

You Know What to Do: gathering your tips, tricks, and pick-me-ups

Worrying about the unknown is taking up a lot of my time these days. Both of my daughters are making big decisions about their futures, and I’m thinking about mine, too. Add to it the uncertainty out there in the world, and, lately, it feels like there’s too much to sort through and make sense of.

One idea I keep coming back to, especially when I feel overwhelmed, is that there’s a lot I do know. Over the years, I have assembled, borrowed, and dreamed up all sorts of tips, tricks, fixes, and pick-me-ups I can call on whenever I need them. I bet you have, too.

I made this page to remind myself that there are some problems (mostly small, some big) I already know how to solve. I can start by applying myself to them, feeling reassurance in the things that work well, and moving forward from there.

Here are a few thoughts about the page after journaling it:

• Each prompt asks for one thing, but I ended up packing every box with thoughts and alternatives. Watching the page fill with colourful words and useful ideas felt so good. (You’ll find a glimpse of it in the photo above.)

• If I were looking for a theme in my answers, I’d say that small steps forward, uncomplicated things I can do with quick results, are the foundation of my approach to information gathering and problem-solving. For me, the path forward is much easier to envision and confidently pursue if I’m already in motion.

• Once you’ve jotted down your wise ideas, this page can become a resource you can rely on in the days and weeks to come, whenever you need it. Creating an enduring record of bright ideas and helpful insights is one of the things I adore most about journaling.

Want to jot down some of your best tips and tricks? Click here or on the image above to download this page.

Who You Want to Be: a new journal page for thinking it through

I played on my dorm’s intramural soccer team for one season in university. I had little experience with team sports and occasionally took off in the wrong direction, but nobody seemed to mind.

Our unofficial coach was an upper year student who lived a few floors above mine. I can’t remember his name, but I can picture him, clear as day. He stood on the sidelines at every game and cheered us on — by name. Even during my worst performances, I could hear his encouragement above the cross-talk on the field.

“Way to hustle, Christie!”

“Great pass, Christie!”

I’ve never forgotten how it felt to be cheered on like that. It helped me play better. It made me look forward to every game.

Fast-forward a generation, and my daughter is a track athlete. Recently, as I watched from the sidelines during a very challenging meet, a vision of my unofficial intramural soccer coach sprang to mind. Suddenly, more than anything, I wanted to be that person.

I went for it, cheering loudly for every athlete who was giving it their all — by name. It was strange at first and a little scary, and totally awesome. I like to think someone heard their name above the din, felt encouraged as I did years ago, and found some untapped energy to finish their race or jump a little further.

I don’t know that I’ll ever fully embody the sideline parent who confidently encourages every competitor on the track, has a wide-open smile, and easily strikes up conversations in the stands, but that’s who I want to be. Having a clear vision to guide me makes it a lot easier to walk in that direction.

Of course, I wanted to think more about this, so I started a new journal page, which quickly turned into two! They’re all about putting words to our images of who we want to be in different situations and thinking about small steps to get there.

There are so many ways to think about who you want to be — far more than I could include in two pages, but these were the ones that inspired me. If you’d like to give them a journal, click here or on the image above!

(The pdf file includes two page sizes: letter and A4.)

As always, I’d love to know what you think! What insights do you have about who you want to be?

Using What You Already Know to Point the Way Forward

Have I mentioned how much I love making journal pages? I do. I really, really do.

A crisp new sheet of letter-sized paper is just the right size to think through an idea or jot down a handful of colourful observations. It’s big enough to ask meaningful questions but small enough not to overwhelm.

The Idea

Usually, I start with a question or thought about daily living.

This question, for example, led to the page I’m sharing with you today: What if we approached everyday challenges by making our own how-to instructions?

This idea appeals to me for a bunch of reasons:

• Journaling is a fantastic tool for tapping into wisdom. I’m obsessed with uncovering all the things we already know, and I adore the process of becoming an expert in our own lives.

• Writing a quick how-to is a fun way to develop and record valuable strategies for tackling similar challenges in the future.

• Formulating a set of lighthearted instructions helps break the challenge down into smaller, more manageable pieces and makes it easier to see new ways to approach it.

The vision

Next up, I think about what the page might look like.

A two-part setup seemed right in this case. The top half-ish would be for gathering information, and the bottom would be dedicated to creating an on-the-spot, super-personalized how-to based on the information from the first part.

Cool.

The details

Then it’s down to making the page:

• identifying issues we encounter every day (like starting daunting tasks, reaching out when we’re not sure what to say, finding joy in difficult moments, and so on)

• writing prompts from a variety of perspectives

• playing with different layouts in Illustrator

• making colourful spaces for the answers

• wrapping it all up with a title

Before I know it, I’m staring at a new journal page on my computer screen!

At this point, there are just a few things left to do — print the new page, journal it with my motley collection of fine-tip markers, edit the parts that don’t quite fit, and, eventually, maybe, put it out into the world.

For my first how-to instructions journal page, I chose the challenge of starting something right now. Here’s what the finished page looks like:

I love the idea of focusing on one immediate task, thinking about ways to start from different perspectives, and then dreaming up even more ways.

Once your thoughts are on the page, you can mix and match them, refine them, choose the best options for moving forward, and, right then and there, give yourself a quick set of marching orders — using what you already know to point the way forward.

There may one day be a complete how-to series, but it’s still very much under construction. Sometimes, it takes ages to put together a full set. Sometimes, an idea only works for one page. Such is the nature of adventures in journaling.

For now, though, if you’d like to give this page a try, click here or on the image above to download it!

P.S. The pdf file includes two page sizes: letter and A4. For instructions on printing one or more pages, visit my shop welcome page and scroll to the bottom.

P.P.S. I’d love to know how it goes! What’s one step in your plan to start right now?

Journaling the Constitution - Article 1, Section 3, Paragraph 1

Hello and welcome! This is the seventh post in my series, Journaling the Constitution. I’m reading the United States Constitution step by tiny step and creating colourful printables as I go. 

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We’re starting a new section! Woohoo!

Section 3 is all about the Senate. Right away, we encounter the 17th Amendment, which changes part of the first paragraph. Luckily, we’ve already encountered similar wording in the first paragraph of Section 2.

I’ve included both the original paragraph and the revised one so you can easily compare them and find the change. I’ve also made a new puzzle maze for recording the text!

If you’d like to journal my quick and colourful Paragraph 1 printables, you’ll find them — and all the other pages I’ve created so far — in my Constitution collection.

See you back here soon with Article 1, Section 3, Paragraph 2. Vacancies!

Journaling the Constitution - Article 1, Section 2, Paragraphs 4 & 5

Hello and welcome! This is the sixth post in my series, Journaling the Constitution. I’m reading the United States Constitution step by tiny step and creating colourful printables as I go. 

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Paragraphs 4 and 5 wrap up the Constitution’s introduction to the House of Representatives.

After reading the text, I was still curious about a few things:

• The power of impeachment — I wasn’t clear on its exact meaning, so I looked it up and included a quick definition.

• Officers of the House of Representatives — Do you know who they are? I didn’t! They’re listed here, too.

• Alternate spelling alert! One word in Paragraph 5 is spelled differently today. Can you spot it?

Puzzle-wise, I’m trying out a new format: each paragraph reads forward, but individual words are backwards. Just a little something to keep things interesting while writing the text of Paragraphs 4 and 5.

Which brings me to one final tidbit about this project in general — each set of pages includes space for writing a small part of the text of the Constitution. By the end of the series, we’ll have written the whole thing!

If you’d like to journal my quick and colourful Section 2 printables, you’ll find them — and all the other pages I’ve created so far — in my Constitution collection.

See you back here soon for Section 3, the Senate!

Journaling the Constitution - Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3

Hello and welcome! This is the fifth post in my series, Journaling the Constitution. I’m reading the United States Constitution step by tiny step and creating colourful printables as I go. 

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Paragraph 3 of Article 1, Section 2 (House of Representatives - Apportionment and Enumeration!) marks the first instance of a Constitutional Amendment replacing an original part of the Constitution — and it’s hugely consequential.

Not only is part of Paragraph 3 replaced by an Amendment, but part of that Amendment is no longer fully in effect due to a later Amendment. It was quite moving to map out the sequence of events that led to today’s version of Paragraph 3, including the abolishment of slavery, counting every person as a whole person, and prohibiting the denial of voting rights based on race.

It took me four pages of printables to make sure I understood it. There are puzzles, match-ups, and a step-by-step look at the original wording and applicable Amendments.

If you’d like to journal my quick and colourful Paragraph 3 printables, you’ll find them — and all the other pages I’ve created so far — in my Constitution collection.

See you back here soon with Article 1, Section 2, Paragraphs 4 and 5. Vacancies, officers, and impeachment!