Journaling Styles + Intro to The Tulsi Technique
- Yvonne Muse
- Apr 13
- 4 min read
The important thing about journaling is that you journal.
Sounds basic, but omg where do you start?
Have you ever stared at a blank page and had no idea where to start or what to write? In this post I'm going to go over 5 journaling styles and introduce you to my own that I call The Tulsi Technique.
Brain Dump
Brain dumping is like taking your brain and just dumping its contents out on the table in front of you, taking a step back, and saying, "Hm." It's a great way to get swirling thoughts out and find common themes and action items. I talk about taking a dump here. Brain dumps are great to get the juices flowing but they're not for keeping track of things or emotions. They're great for figuring out the rough shape of a thing but you're going to need to go back through and refine to get to something you can work with.
Bullet Journal
Bullet Journals are not a deadly weapon - unless you're procrastination and disorganization!
The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll is the book about getting your shit together through journaling. Bullet Journals use a dot-grid format and are a combination planner, journal, and productivity method. The bullet in the title refers to your brief entries that get straight to the point. This is not a diary or a place for drawn out internal processes. These bullets can go in to your daily, weekly, or monthly pages. You fill out your daily page as you go about your day, marking what has happened or to do lists. Your weekly and monthly pages are similar, but are an overview of the entire week and month. You also use a future log and other important pages along with an index to keep track of anything. The book speaks truth about being intentional with your time and how absoloutely valuable journaling is for folks with ADHD. I'm reading it now for the first time and I'm enjoying and have a few things I may incorporate in my methods in the future.
Bullet Journaling is HUGELY popular and can become a valuable tool to organize your thoughts. There are many books, blogs, Instagram pages, and Pinterest Boards completely devoted to "BuJo" and how to lay yours out and incorporate design. For some people it's just overwhelming. They let perfect be the enemy of good and do nothing because they don't feel they can make something as pretty as they see others do (psst, you can but who cares? it's just for you!!). Or they see the involved, neat layouts and just don't know where to start or how to incorporate them in to their lives.
I love the idea of a BuJo but I like to write. A lot. I am not one known for brevity.
Themed Journals
Themed Journals can be about whatever you want to write about. Make a self care journal to document how often and in what ways you love yourself. Keep track of your growing season with a gardening journal. Delve in to the aspect of yourself that Jung called, "The Shadow" - the parts of ourselves that we've learned to make small and hidden to keep yourself palatable to others - with a Shadow Journal. Your journal doesn't have to be a daily ritual. It can be a sometime thing with a special journal. Studies have shown that just writing - anything - is beneficial to your body and mind in a variety of ways. Themed journals are a great way to delve in to specific topics but aren't exactly for mundane things.
Morning Pages
Morning Pages are a way of journaling to start your day with a clear head. First thing, grab your AM beverage, get cozy, and write. Similar to the brain dump above, you just write whatever comes in to your head. No judgements allowed. Just write whatever your thinking and feeling or whatever is on your mind. Write for a predetermined amount of time or write to fill up pages. Making this a part of your morning Ritual can help you start the day with a clear head and with your objectives in mind. This idea initially came from the book The Artists' Way by Julia Cameron in which she talks about different ways to incorporate creativity and artistry into your every day. I haven't read it yet but it's in my TBR!
Daily Reflection
Daily Reflection is kinda the opposite of Morning Pages. You're writing about your day at the end of it. Reflecting on what happened, what could have gone better, lessons learned, gratitude - whatever. It's just the practice of taking time to go over everything and survey how you feel about it.
The Tulsi Technique
Honestly, I just kinda SMUSH all that stuff together in to one journal.
The Tulsi Technique is a way to organize your life, keep track of your habits, be your own scribe, get creative when you feel like it, and experience all the benefits of journaling - and actually remember to do it. The Tulsi Technique helps me lead a wild and joyful life - I hope it can do the same for you.
The foundation is daily journaling. Twice a day - in my Morning and Evening Rituals - I pull out my journal and write. In the morning it's going over my calendar for what's going on that day, checking the moon, doodling the weather, and other things I do to set up on daily page. In the evening it's updating my trackers, marking off what I've gotten done, and scribing - journaling my day and whatever else that needs to get out of my head. These Rituals ground my day and help my body know what's going on.
In addition to the daily spreads, I also incorporate weekly and monthly spreads, each with their own themes and things I'm keeping track of. At the end of the month, there's a close out spread - highlighting the moments I want to remember and how I did with my Habits and projects.
To keep track of it all, the first few pages I keep as a Table of Contents which means yeah, I number the pages. It is SO CONVENIENT to have my little easily referenced external brain with everything in it!
I'll be posting more about The Tulsi Method. It's been an absolute game changer and I'm excited to share!
What journaling methods have you tried? Have they worked?
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