#125 Gathering my thoughts, ideas and found wisdom

easing my way back into it

I like to write my thoughts down on paper. I never seem to remember anything unless I write it down. It’s part of my thought process. 

I am an endless list maker. I have a terrible memory unless I have my pen on the paper. I will never recall my daily to-do list or even what I did yesterday. 

So that means I have an endless succession of notebooks lying around. Some of these notebooks include a pocket-size one that goes in my handbag, in which I write all of the ideas that pop randomly into my head, together with a daily to-do list. 

I mustn’t forget the things I need to buy. Shopping lists are never-ending; some items reappear every ten days or so as they run out, other things pop up to satisfy a craving, and there are those consequential objects you need to help with everyday life.

My grocery list is usually a succession of healthy proteins like fish, lean red meat and fish, and loads of green leafy vegetables, seasonal fruits, legumes and nuts. 

I always have a secondary list of stuff for my son, mostly school supplies, clothes and snacks. Things for the house may be anything from coat hangers, cleaning products or random objects like long-handle spoons for my iced coffee. 

I need also to keep a list of random research I am doing. Those interesting videos you see online, news items, articles or soundbites I hear randomly will inevitably lead me down another rabbit hole of fascination.  

Some pages in my notebook will be filled with anything and everything that happens in my everyday life: a quick observation, lists of things I notice or something that is irking me.

Then, I have a larger notebook, which I think I can call my version of a bullet journal, which is my own interpretation of the popular bullet journal system. 

If you don’t know the bullet journal system, it’s a trendy way of journaling your everyday life. It can be as simple as writing a daily list or as complicated as writing your personalized diary with pages dedicated to a yearly to-do list, then a monthly to-do list and a weekly all the way down to daily. 

Basically, a bullet journal contains all of your ideas, schedules, notes, habit tracking, creative work, projects and ideas or ambitions in one big notebook. It is an ongoing process that goes on throughout the entire year. 

Some bullet journals can be very complicated. Many people spend too much time decorating, drawing and sketching them in complex layouts. Everything from goals and vision boards, gratitude journals, project plans, lists of books, movies and bucket lists. It’s enough to make your head spin.

All I have time to do is buy a good size (A5) Moleskin or Leuchtturm. I like either blank or dotted pages. 

I’m also beginning to like Rhodia notebooks; their notepads are great to write in, especially when I am in a rush; there is something satisfying in finishing off a thought in a notepad. There is a great sense of accomplishment when you fill a notepad with your thoughts or rip out a handful of pages you know will be good enough to publish or work into something interesting.

These days, I find myself writing in short little bursts of attention; these posts are about 1,000 words. Since I am not currently working on any other significant project, I have the luxury of simply sitting down and writing about whatever is on my mind.

If my bullet journal begins at the start of the year, I do a six-month spread, sketching essential dates and ideas or things I’d like to get done. But usually, it can be started by a monthly planner, with specific commitments sketched in with other notes. 

Then, the pages in my bullet journal are somewhat random; sometimes, there are notes, lists which are bookmarked to go back to, ideas, brain dumps, observations, etc. It is a place for me to put everything I am doing and thinking all simultaneously.

I dip into it when looking for a blog post idea, an article to write or to see what I have done or need to do as the year progresses. Sometimes, it’s all about a project I want to do, a book I want to write, a trip I want to take or something as mundane as a budget.

When I don’t have my bullet journal with me, I always have a pocket notebook with me. If there is something worthwhile in the notebook, it usually gets transferred and expanded upon into the bullet journal.

Then, the bullet journal gets turned into something else. You see how things go from my brain into a notebook, redrafted and expanded upon in the bullet journal.

Sometimes, notes, phrases and ideas will stay in my notebook or bullet journal for months or years. More complex, vague ideas or recurring themes will be recalled and noticed. Then, I gathered and placed them into separate documents on my computer.

I have a file dedicated to commonplace quotes (random quotes from whatever I am reading); others go into my poetry file, while some are compiled into thematic folders to explore occasionally.

It’s a complicated system, and so many things are left abandoned or pushed to the side, but for now, it seems to work for me.

The most important thing for me as a writer is simply getting my thoughts and ideas out of my mind. Hopefully, I will see the patterns in my thoughts, leading me towards something more significant.

Every year, the work seems to get more expansive and exciting. I desire to keep writing my story and compile my work in tangible form, whether in novels, essays, plays, or screenwriting.

Notebooks will always be essential to my idea-generating and redrafting process.

I’m still sifting through my notebooks, writing every day, and I need more time to think things through. I’ve been away from the newsletter for a couple of months, so I’m shy about what to write and say.

I’ve recently got back from an intense and emotional trip back home to Australia, yes as the old song goes ‘I still call Australia, home.’

I am still processing a lot of things, getting back into a routine and finding the time to dedicate to my thoughts. I am simply taking more time as I need it. Please be patient with me. I’m easing my way back into it.

I hope you’ve had a good summer or kept warm in the winter, depending on whicj hemisphere you may find yourself in.

Catch up sometime soon.

All the best from

Rochelle

Sometimes, I talk about Sicily.

Other times, I talk about whatever is on my mind.

My writing is always lightning, the mental load and sharing something of my thoughts with you.

I hope you enjoy the randomness of A Load Off My Mind. 

Please share this post with someone you think might enjoy it.