I’m glad to see Mark Bernstein and the folks at Eastgate relaunch Tekka –for free. As part of the initiative Tekka’s starting a journaling project, exploring how Tinderbox journals can benefit the work you do.
As a bit of journal junkie, I know full well how invaluable a journal can be.
Tracking important stuff
Right now, for instance, I’m translating a memoir by a leading Swedish figure in international athletics, Arne Ljungqvist, that recounts his work on the anti-doping movement. I’m using a journal to keep track of all the tricky terms I need to remember. It’s a very simple project-specific journal, but essential to writing effectively.
I keep tabs on all the keywords and terms I need to remember, all those tricky things I would otherwise constantly need to double check in Tinderbox. Tracking key words on a book project is a vital part of the translating and writing process.
The translation software I use (WordFinder) is very good but it doesn’t keep a list of, say, all the different athletics committees that have existed over the last thirty years.
In Tinderbox, it’s easy to quickly generate a list of the key terms by dragging them into a new window. I can organize them any way I want and I can view my the information in the journal as a map, an outline, an outline with notes, which is incredibly useful.
Although this would work quite easily on paper, scribbled out on A4, storing information digitally enables me to benefit from Search features, which saves time. I can also move the data around, building larger, more comprehensive journals that benefit the work I do as a journalist or copywriter.
In many ways, digital transfer is part of the great wonders of journaling with computers. You’re not restricted to keeping data limited to one project.
Keeping a journal teaches you about the work you do
Wedge, a communications specialist in the UK, recently considered how significant it is for bloggers to know their subject when he posed the question: do you know what you’re writing about?
Whilst a hasty look at a recent posts-list on your blog will give you an idea about what you’ve been working on, a journal dedicated to blog post titles will give you far more insight. If you’re struggling to understand the direction your blog is taking, you might want to consider keeping a journal about it. The longer you blog and the longer you document what you’ve been doing, the more data you generate to analyse.
Real life journaling
I’m a firm believer in documenting events in journals simply because a journal can also help you make critical decisions. Maybe it will be just about your blog, but it could also be your business or in my case a precious dog.
This week my basset hound, Aggie, needed a C-section to safely deliver eight pups. If I hadn’t been able to go back over my journals from previous litters, comparing temperature changes, symptoms and behaviour of previous whelps I might not be sitting here at 4:40AM with a thriving dam and pups.
What’s your take on journals?
As someone with a life-long journaling habit, I’m always curious to find out how other people use them.
Do you use a journal to benefit your business? Your writing? Do you prefer pens and paper or your MacBook Pro?
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