Writing has been a beloved space for me. Since childhood, it has been a way of making sense of myself and the world, and since 2016, I’ve iterated on a daily practice.
I enjoy flexible frameworks to practice writing, but not too restrictive that I feel chained to a rigid structure or feel guilty if I colour outside the lines. I’ve pieced bits over the years and have found my writing encouraged and enabled by My Why, tools, cadenced practice, and topics & prompts. I hope this helps you with your writing practice, and you are always welcome to reach out about anything I share.

Why do I write

I write to catch wispy thoughts, disentangle them, and choose which to hold onto.

Writing for yourself is a gift.

Scribble, doodle, scratch out whatever I want. There are no rules, no one said it must make sense. There is no judgement and no pressure.

I love how in my writing, I show up as I am, pen neatly or poorly (poorly being more often the case), write as long or as short as I want, and pour my heart and soul into it without expectations.

Writing is a craft that facilitates growth; I reflect on the well-being of myself, the people I care about, my community, and my greater surroundings; and a method of introspection to foster adaptability and connection.

Tools

These tools ground my writing practice, facilitating consistency and joy over the years.

• leather journal
  • I found a custom one from Etsy
  • holds various journals and trinkets like letters or keepsakes
  • easy to pack and swap journal fills
• blank journals
  • I like that I can store consistent journals and not have different sizes and papers. I like the consistency. I was using Moleskine cahier and mini sizes for a while, and recently ordered this Amazon product: A5 size and A6 size.
  • I found my daily practice was well suited to the mini journals; the size helps facilitate an easy daily writing practice.
• pen
  • you can go SO deep into the world of nice pens. I was suggested this one (Pentel Energel Retractable Roller Ball), and I love how the ink flows smoothly, the weight in my hand, and that it has refills.
  • I have four now and bought my partner several of his own so he would stop taking mine.
• ink refills

Cadenced Practice

daily

A practice to ground my writing, to reflect on the day and move the needle to where and who I want to be.

• journal of days
  • a single line to capture the remarkable moments of the day, what made me laugh, smile, what surprised me
  • I find this much easier versus a long form play-by-play of the day
• daily journal
  • 1 page of free writing
    • I strive to free write one page a day. Some days I am tired or stare at a blank page and scribble a few lines of an earlier fleeting thought, but the most important thing in practice is to show up. My smaller journal makes filling one page easy to do. AKA morning pages
  • 1 line of gratitude: “Today I am grateful for…”
  • 1 line of intention for the day “Today I will…” or “Today I choose…”

annual reflection

The Ultimate Annual Review
I was introduced to the Ultimate Annual review during the lockdown, and it is the most comprehensive life review I’ve ever done. Even if you do just one section or two, this provides a great framework to intentionally plan your next step with awareness and reflection.

Year Compass
I completed the Year Compass in community this year, and used its framework as a launchpad to reflect on habits and goals for the new year. Finding a community of people committed to introspection and growth has been a gamechanger and I am forever grateful.

Sunrise Birthday Journal
A birthday tradition of journalling in the quiet calm of watching a sunrise with a comforting coffee is unparalleled.
This is a protected, sacred freewrite of the past year, what changed, what I’m proud of, and my intentions for the year. I keep it all in one dedicated journal and flip through the pages to reflect on my past selves and how my thoughts have changed or have stayed aligned.

mission & values

In the book, Changemaker by John Berardi (one of my heroes), I ruminated on a life mission and my personal values as reflected by my inner circle. I reflect on this mission and values twice a year to see if it still rings true. I wrote about it in this blog: Why do I tour V2 (or my life’s mission)

Topics/Prompts

For those interested in journalling prompts to get creative juices flowing, here are some of my favourites.

• longer travel journal
• goal setting
• letters
  • letter to your past/present/future self
  • letter to someone else (that you may or may not actually give the letter to)
• planning
• free write
• growth moments / process feelings
  • whenever I have big feelings, I like to capture the physical sensations and reflect on what led to the big feeling
• 5 senses
  • The perfect way to capture a perfect moment. What did it taste like, smell like, hear like, sound like, look like?
  • I enjoy pairing this prompt with my favourite moments on a trip.
• pros & cons
  • My favourite way to deliberate a challenging decision. I try to write as many pros and cons as I can think of, and when I’m done, I can see which way I am subconsciously leaning.
• brainstorm
  • similar to pros & cons, a freewrite dump of anything and everything related to a topic, often on a timer for pressure. I can then categorize or look for themes to guide next steps
    

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Whether you’ve been journalling for ten days or ten years, my hope is that sharing writing practices will create momentum to inspire and dedicate ourselves to introspection and personal growth.