Stephen Orsborn 12/2/22 Stephen Orsborn 12/2/22

The Love/Hate Relationship with my Journal

Now, before I get into the flow of this post, let me clarify something…

I have been a journal-er since I could write legibly.

Come to think of it, I’ve been journaling since before I could write legibly.

The post title refers to a specific journal I’m currently using.

To be fair, I actually really love the journal I’m using, at least, most of the time.

The journal in question in made by Scriveiner. It’s a beautiful, handmade leather journal, 120 gsm paper, ethically sourced materials… it checks so many boxes for me…except one.

I’ve been using this journal for almost two years now, and have been quite happy with it.

You see, the challenge for me came a few months ago when I was packing for a trip with my live-in family. In this particular bag I was packing my technology and stationary (no surprise for this blog). I had to do some work on this trip, so I needed both my MacBook Air and my iPad. Of course, I needed my bullet journal, and letter writing gear. When it came time to pack my beautiful journal, there was simply no room.

And I tried.

I unceremoniously stuffed, and shoved that journal into the too small space available, or rather I attempted to; it was not to be.

As someone with a neurodiverse brain, the act of handwriting journal entries is a calming, reflective practice that I deeply enjoy.

If you read my post “How I Journal” you know that I use both a paper journal as well as a digital journal, and back them up with each other. I like to have the option to do whichever one suits the situation best for the initial capture of ideas…and that wasn’t going to happen on this trip.

I began thinking, “Ugh! If only my journal was A5! I could have squeezed it in to that space!”

I was resigned to the frustration I felt between wanting to use this beautiful journal and packing efficiently. I’m a bit of a completionist at times…I like to see things through…black out the bingo card…fill up the journal.

Yet as the pandemic is settling down, I’m starting to travel more again. If I could only get my journal system to fit into a more mobile lifestyle…

This Scriveiner journal is perfect around the house. The handmade nature of it feels traditional, classic…old school in the nostalgic way that rings of simpler times and quality craftsmanship.

I struggled with this frustration for a while…until I found the permission I didn’t know I was looking for. A concept in journalling so revolutionary, I have never known it’s equal!

Yes, this sounds a bit dramatic, but it was a bit mind blowing for me.

I found a video on YouTube by someone named Clark Kegley. The video, “the ultimate guide to keeping a journal (2022)” had some thought provoking offerings.

For the purposes of this post, I will simply share the key idea that is changing the logistics of how I journal: he starts a new journal every year!

For someone who has journaled for as long as I have, this idea never occurred to me!

In a few short weeks, I can respectfully and with gratitude, retire my Scriveiner journal and start with something that I believe will fit better into my increasingly mobile lifestyle.

Details to follow.

Be gentle with yourself in your concepts of how things “should” be.

I’ve been overly committed to each physical journal I’ve used for as long as I can remember.

I have found a new sense of freedom, and a lessening feeling of preciousness for the journal itself, and it has been wonderful!

Joy and ease in your journaling my friends!

Stephen Orsborn 5/10/22 Stephen Orsborn 5/10/22

The Brakes We Take

Sometimes in life, we need to take a break.

Sometimes we need to hit the brakes.

Sometimes, need need both.

Humans have this amazing ability to behave instinctively based on our needs in the moment. We crave certain foods depending on our nutritional needs, we either gravitate toward people or away from them based on our social needs…we humans, whether we know it or not, are truly masters of our needs.

This revelation brings me to my very lonely bullet journal.

A few short months ago, I was interviewed on the Teachers Supporting Teachers podcast about how bullet journaling changed my life. There has even been talk about a project for teachers involving bullet journaling. Yet, for a couple of month’s now, my bullet journal has seen minimal use.

I have been using a Frankenlite GTD spread (thank you Brian Hazard), I’ve been using a monthly tracker inspired by Elsa Rhae, and they have been AMAZING for keeping myself sorted.

I just haven’t felt like doing any of it.

I’ve sorta, kinda been using a weekly spread, but even that has gone by the wayside. For me the weekly spread is not only planning my day’s activities, but also a bit of a highlights log of events that happen during that week.

Sometimes weeks go by that I only note that a weekly log was intended to go in the spread, but it remains, mostly blank.

You see, my neurodiverse brain (ADHD) thrives on structure, most of the time. But you know those people who talk about their daily practices and the discipline they embody?

Sometimes, that’s just not me.

I have discipline, but like so many things, it waxes and wanes.

That’s part of my neurodiversity. My brain requires nuance and diversity in stimulation. I started bullet journaling almost a year ago, and at times I hit it hard, and other times, like now, I barely touch it.

Here’s what I’ve learned from this hiatus though: bullet journaling is about the process, not the product.

That can be said for one of my professions, music therapy as well.

I don’t know why it took me so long to make that connection with bullet journaling!

I started to get frustrated when I realized that I was rarely using the monthly log. My monthly tracker started to feel tedious to set up…and do I REALLY care which days of the month I practiced learning Morse code? Does it matter which days I walked at least 10,000 steps?

Not really…

It started to feel like tracking all of this data, logging daily events and the like was just a way to keep my intellect engaged, which often keeps me from living from my heart.

It was that…an exercise in intellect, but what it took me a while to figure out was that the process of bullet journaling was also helping me manage my anxiety, as well as my ADHD.

This is akin to when children in school question their teacher, asking, “When are we EVER going to use this stuff?”

Sometimes it’s not about what you are learning, or what you are doing, but about how that process makes everything else work.

Those bullet journal spreads weren’t necessarily the critical piece to keeping the parts of my life together, but the process of creating them seems to make everything else work better.

This break has helped me see the rich process that has been going on behind the scenes in my life when I bullet journal.

Now I’ve picked up my bullet journal, grateful for this process that keeps me together in ways I am still learning.

For me, break time is over.

Stephen Orsborn 11/12/21 Stephen Orsborn 11/12/21

How I Journal

In junior high English class, both in 7th grade, and 8th grade, we had a long running assignment; keep a journal. At least 40 pages for the 7th graders, and at least 20 pages for the 8th graders (shout out to a great English teacher, Bergie!).

For most of my classmates, this well known assignment was met with loud groans. For me, it was business as usual.

While some of my classmates figured out ways to hack the system...holding two pens at once so everything you wrote was doubled, I just went on my happy way (as happy as an angsty early teenager ever is).

You see, I had been journaling for a long time. I was already a pro!

I remember being delighted with the idea of diaries when I was barely old enough to write independently. Even then I was fascinated by pens and paper. I had the precious diaries that had the tiny keys and locks that kept my inner thoughts private. This was a very big deal before I had reached double digits in age.

I even remember sheepishly asking my Mom if it was okay if I put "bad words" in my diary.

My Mom shrugged and said, "It's your diary, you can write what you want to."

(activate rebellious mode)

By the time I reached high school, I started making a note of the time of my journal entries as well as the date. More times than not, I would give context clues within the entry as to where I was when writing (i.e. study hall, free time at the end of chemistry class, etc...). Eventually this evolved into noting the address, or closest approximation to an address that I could muster.

Like so many of us in the Information Age, eventually I went digital with my journal.

For me, this has only been in recent years. I went all in…out with the paper! In with the bits and bytes!

I discovered the app Day One, and I loved the features it offers. I got into Day One before they offered more features and went to a subscription model.

*Day One allows me to export PDF files of my journals, which can then be OCR'ed (optical character recognition) which makes the PDF searchable.*

This app allowed me to tag a specific GPS location in the entry, and will provide weather data at the time of the entry. It's like it automates the features of a commonplace journal!

There are other more modern features, like pulling in your social posts as well.

The portability is a huge plus as well. Wherever I have my phone, I have my journal. This portability allows me to dictate journal entries as I'm taking the dog on a late night walk. It allows me to write as quickly as the dictation can process my words.

Oh! The modern convenience!

Eventually came the realization of the horrifying possibility of data loss. What if all of my journal eggs were in this one basket and that basket had nothing but corrupted files? What if that big coronal mass ejection causes an EMP that wipes out my computers and all of my back ups?

Paranoia aside, the digital journal option offers me a lot of desirable features.

Day One allows me to export PDF files of my journals, which can then be OCR'ed (optical character recognition) which makes the PDF searchable. In theory, I can search for keywords, the name of a favorite restaurant from the road trip 8 years ago…or something similar.

When I remember, I can create a fresh export of the most current journal, and keep it digitally according to my current backup practices.

I love this high tech solution to keeping track of my inner most thoughts, to preserve them for myself and for my descendants.

I started to miss the feeling of pen on paper though. Pen on paper still seems important to me.

You see, I'm an only child, and both of my parents have long since passed.

I am the sole guardian of our family history. I have totes, and totes worth of it.

Old family photos, most of the names lost to history. Family documents...Army discharge papers for my grandfather, whom I never met. Random bits of documentation about my ancestors here and there.

I have the responsibility to keep it safe for my children, and eventually grandchildren, and beyond.

I became fascinated with this family history. Seeing my grandfather's signature on a document. Knowing that his hand touched that piece of paper...that family history became more real for me.

These thoughts started to enter my mind when I was exclusively using my digital journal. Yes, my words, my thoughts were being recorded...but what about that deeper personal connection?

I came up with a solution that has been serving me well, and eases my sense of responsibility in passing on family history: the analog and the digital journals now back each other up.

I'm very happy with this new system, and the flexibility it offers makes the process very smooth.

With this new system, I can make the journal entry in either the analog journal, or the digital journal.

Maybe this method will work for you!

Here's how I do it:

If I decide that I want to write in the analog journal first, I will also create a new entry in my digital journal so I can log the exact date, time, and location of the entry. In the digital journal, I simply write "Journal entry" in the digital journal, and also tag the entry with "journal entry." This reminds me that I need to transcribe the analog journal at some point.

A placeholder using the text “Journal entry” as well as a tag with the sea name helps me quickly see that there is a analog journal entry that needs to be transcribed into my digital journal.

When it comes time to transcribe, I use the dictation feature of my digital journal and read what I wrote in the analog journal, making any text corrections as needed. I then delete the tag and the text that says "Journal entry" at the top of the page.

The final step for me is to use a scanning app on my phone (my long time favorite is Scanner Pro), scan the pages in my analog journal that encompass the current entry, upload the scans as JPG files to the Photos app on my iPhone, then add that images to the digital journal entry.

If I am beginning the entry in the digital journal, I follow the same setup procedure, including the "Journal entry" text at the top of the entry, as well as the tag, but I simply create the entry in the digital journal.

Beginning the journal entry in the digital journal uses the exact same signifiers, the text “Journal entry” at the top of the entry as well as the Journal Entry tag. The only difference is that the text is created in the digital journal, then transcribed to the analog journal.

At a later time, I transcribe from the digital journal into the analog journal, scan, and upload the images of the handwritten pages to the digital entry.

The disadvantage with creating the entry first in the digital journal is that the analog journal is on hold until I catch up with adding the entries from the digital journal. (I can create multiple analog journal entries without affecting the chronology of entries in the digital journal).

It gets a bit confusing when I have a backlog of analog first entries interspersed with digital first entries, so I try to keep things up to date in a timely fashion.

When time allows, I am also recording all of my old journals in this fashion.

Thanks to weather records, I can know what the weather was in my hometown that day I was sitting in study hall, writing in the 10th grade. This gives that old school commonplace journal feel to the chronicling process.

I'm also chronicling my poetry and prose using this technique. When I was writing more poetry and prose, often I would simply notate it with a year, but I can still capture images of what my handwriting looked like at that time in my life...the way I setup words on the page...

I'm still finding bits of writing here and there that don't have nearly the detail that I would be interested in. I found what I believe to be a notebook with some commonplace journal qualities that my mother started keeping when I was a baby..."Hot today...he took a short nap, etc." There are no dates on these, and now there is no one around who could possibly give me insight into these entries. I am so curious!

Some might think this is a lot of effort. I’d like to think that it’s an act of love. Love for my family, and love for my descendants, but if I’m truly honest with myself, it’s an attempt at self preservation. Whether it is the analog, or the digital version of my thoughts that survive (assuming either does) some piece of me will be available for future historians to puzzle over.

It may be that my descendants don't have nearly the same interest in our family history as I do, but there may be those that come after me that will appreciate the meticulous nature of my journaling efforts.

In any case, this fulfills my need to self reflect in a way that can either be thumbed through curled up by a fire, or searched in a digital query.

Best of both worlds.

Stephen Orsborn 10/26/21 Stephen Orsborn 10/26/21

My New Car Pen- First Impressions: Tombow AirPress 0.7mm

I want to talk about something that most people probably give very little thought to: car pens.

For a long time, I've found myself frustrated when I'm in the car and I need to make a quick note for myself, or fill out a deposit slip at the bank drive up.

My wife tends to stock our car's console with a plethora of low quality, freebie pens. Experience tells me that I can never be sure if one, or any of these pens will work when I need them. I can’t help but ask:

Will I need to scribble to get the ink flowing again?
Will the ink flow consistently because the pen has been baking in the car in the subtropical region we live in?
Will the pen work when I'm traveling in winter and it's so cold it seems like your breath freezes in the air?

The answer, most often is that these pens will disappoint, time and time again.

There is a solution though: pressurized ink cartridges!

First, a bit of history.

The gold standard in pressurized ink cartridges is the Fisher Space Pen. Fisher is the originator, and innovator when it comes to pressurized ink cartridges.

Since the Apollo 7 mission in 1968, the Fisher Space Pen has been the standard for pens that will write in the most extreme conditions known to humans.

The geek in my loves the idea of a pen that will write upside, or in almost any weather condition. (This is made possible by the pressurized cartridges the pen uses).

For years I carried a Fisher Bullet as my EDC pen, although the overall writing experience left something to be desired. Looking back, I think it was a combination of me not understanding I could get a smaller point size on the cartridge, and big hands writing with a small pen.

Over the years I tried other pressurized cartridge pens, if casually. I got a Rite in the Rain brand pen as part of a set...I have no strong opinions about that pen one way or another.

These days, part of my everyday carry (EDC) is a Zebra F-701 with a Fisher cartridge. I'll speak about this pen in detail in another post, but in short, this pen is completely stainless steel, and has an aggressively textured grip section. This detail will become clearly important in a bit.

A while back, while listening to The Pen Addict podcast, I was introduced to the Tombow Airpress. Brad Dowdy (The Pen Addict) spoke highly of this pen, and I decided to check it out.

I'm still new to thinking about pens much, and yet I am familiar with the Tombow brand.

Many people who are quite creative with their bullet journals espouse the benefits of Tombow pens, and as I venture into learning brush pen calligraphy, the Tombow brand is a favorite brush pen for many.

That being said, do I really want to allow Tombow's version of a "write anywhere" pen into my life?

I decided to check out my new favorite pen website, JetPens.com.

Here is the description for the Tombow AirPress from the JetPens website:

This pen leverages the energy from each push of the cap to inject air pressure into the ink cartridge, which allows the pen to write on challenging surfaces—it can write upside down, on wet paper, and in cold weather! Its compact size slips easily into a pocket, while its elastomer body is easy to grip even with wet hands or while wearing gloves, making this pen ready to use wherever you might be. The sturdy wire clip opens wide, allowing the pen to securely attach to both thin pockets and thick sheets of paper.

When I began researching the Tombow Airpress, it was with the intention of keeping the pen in our car.

Reasons that I wouldn't carry this pen as part of my EDC are exactly the reasons it (I hoped) would make a perfect car pen.

From the pictures online, it was clear to me that the barrel of the pen was think (think Dr. Grip). That thick barrel takes up some space.

Though my carpal tunnel appreciates such barrel geometry, my EDC is space efficient, and this big barrel has no business in my EDC.

Second is the body material. The elastomer body (feels like a silicone phone case) has a little give to it and tends to snag on material just a bit. This improves the grip ability of the pen, but it would be highly problematic for the way I carry EDC pens (the pen would be challenging to deploy quickly).

That being said, these qualities are perfect for a car pen!

The large barrel makes the AirPress easy to keep track of in our car console.

The handle material seems ideally suited to the weather conditions our car is in most often (hot).

Whereas the stainless steel barrel of my EDC Zebra F-701 is tough and reliable in a pocket or pouch, if left in a hot car, it quickly becomes painful to write with.

The body material of the AirPress does not heat up to the point of being uncomfortable to write with.

The length of the pen is a bit shorter than other ball point pens. A bit shorter than I expected, but not so much shorter that the writing experience is uncomfortable. The compactness fits well in our car console without getting lost.

Top to bottom: Tombow AirPress 0.7mm, Zebra F-701 (Fisher Space Pen refill), Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.3mm, Pilot G2 .38mm

The fact that it a clicky top pen instead of a cap pen is a huge bonus for a car pen. No cap to lose, no decision when I pull the pen out about whether to hold the cap or post it, then replace the cap...the clicky top is just more efficient! (In the case of the AirPress, the process of clicking the point of the pen into the writing position repressurizes the ink cartridge to keep the ink flowing smoothly).

I was also able to get the AirPress in my youngest child's favorite color (red) which is easy to keep track of in the car. The bonus for me is that so often I hear my wife say that things I choose for EDC look too tactical for her taste. She has yet to say a word against the asesthics of the AirPress.

Further, she's used the pen several times without comment.

My wife is like me in the fact that she has strong opinions about things. The fact I've heard nothing from her reinforces my decision to try the AirPress as our car pen.

Though it's only been a few weeks, the Tombow Airpress has been flawless in performance.

It is such a small thing, a simple thing, but there is one less thing to think about when I can rest assured that I will have a reliable, consistent pen when I need it quickly in the car.

In fact, I haven't really thought about that pen since it's found a home in our car console.

It's just there.

It does what I want it to.

I think that's one of the biggest compliments I can give Tombow for this product.

I don't have to think about it. There's no doubt in me that it won't perform when I need it to. Beyond that, it will perform in the conditions I need it to...without burning me. Without frostbite (probably...I haven't actually put that to the test yet).

Finally, reasons the Tombow Airpress is my new car pen:

Writes consistently in a variety of weather conditions
Short barrel fits nicely into a variety of spaces
Color choices make it easy to find in a sometimes cluttered console
Thick barrel provides comfortable writing experience when my carpal tunnel is acting up

I believe in the right tool for the job, and the AirPress fits the bill. Period!

Stephen Orsborn 10/14/21 Stephen Orsborn 10/14/21

Capture It Any Way You Can

I am having quite the morning…

This is the way it goes for me sometimes. It feels like a combination of spiritual thresholding, ADD rapidly firing on all cylinders, and being stuck between several different worlds at once.

As I’m hunched over my laptop, trying to write one blog post…one, single blog post, I realize I may be constructed several related, but different blog posts at once.

Experience tells me to get this stuff out of my head…any way I can. Write it down, type it out, record voice memos…

Typically when I write anything, I’m composing, editing, and revising in my head before I ever put the words down on paper or in text.

This morning I tried something different.

I began writing my original blog post idea down in the Drafts app on my iPhone.

I quickly realized that I had so many ideas coming at once that I needed to take notes on them or they would be lost to me.

I began listing words or phrases, even complete thoughts in the body of the text I was typing into Drafts.

I knew that when I turned on my MacBook, that the post idea/notes would pop up in my macOS version of Drafts.

Then the stream of consciousness really started flowing…think “It’s The End of the World As We Know It” level.

Multiple drafts (on Drafts) spanning multiple topics or ideas, half composed blog posts, thoughts connecting to other thoughts.

Right now, I think I may have developed ideas for no less than five separate blog posts…ideas that I have to get out of my head; that I have to share with the world.

I will have to put this in my daily log of my bullet journal, and possibly a task list bullet as well.

My point, dear readers, is that sometimes these ideas are fleeting.

Pay attention to these things that may seem like stray thoughts.

Sometimes they need to have voice given to them.

Sometimes others need to hear what your stray thoughts have to say.

You must capture these thoughts however you can…write them down in an electronic system you trust, put them on the back of a receipt, or a cocktail napkin.

It may be amazingly important!

Capture it any way you can.

Stephen Orsborn 10/7/21 Stephen Orsborn 10/7/21

Blog Introduction

Greetings and Salutations! (did you catch the Heathers reference?).

My name is Stephen L. Orsborn. I’m a music therapist, music educator, teacher of the visually impaired, and I also go by “Namu, The Warrior Musician.” You can check out that part of my life here.

While I am all of these things, I am also a technophile. I love my digital life!

I’m not referring to my social media existence.

I’m talking about all the ways technology enhances my day to day life.

I’m talking about the HomeKit automations that turn on my houselights and night and adjusts the thermostat based on who is home (or not home).

I’m speaking of my iPhone being a hub for photo and video creation, monitoring my blood sugar, and my blood pressure.

I’m thinking about apps like OmniFocus, which I’ve used for years to keep track of my fleeting thoughts, and to increase my productivity.

Systems, intricately designed to keep me on track and working (and playing) effectively.

You see, I have a neurodiverse brain.

For those that may be unfamiliar with such language, it simply means that my brain does not function the way most brains do.

I have ADHD. I was diagnosed as an adult, and have had to learn how to keep my life moving forward.

Digital tools have been HUGELY successful in helping me along this life’s journey.

But…

I fell into some traps.

I think a lot of people fall into similar traps.

Not long ago, I realized my OmniFocus Inbox had over 700 items in it.

OmniFocus is built around David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system.

For those of you familiar with it, 700 unprocessed items in the Inbox may seem shocking! The Inbox is designed to be a temporary collection point of data, to be processed and assigned contexts and project names. Some of those 700 items dated back to 2014, when I first started using OmniFocus.

Definitely NOT an efficient way to use the system.

Several months ago, I was catching up on past episodes of one of my favorite podcasts, Focused.

I remember Episode 107 The Bullet Journal Method, with Ryder Carroll really made an impression on me. For years I had heard about the Bullet Journal method, or “bujo” and it is sometimes referred to, and I’d never really given it much thought.

“Yeah, sure…another way to journal…I’ve been journalling since I was in elementary school…what’s the big deal?”

My mind was BLOWN during this podcast episode. I was hooked!

I immediately started learning about HOW to bullet journal, and WHY to bullet journal.

It changed my life.

Same podcast, different episode, the hosts were talking about their preferred writing instruments, and nibs with special grinds…ugh! Too much!

What’s the big deal? Pens, are pens, right? Fountain pens? Sounds like a lot of work.

They were talking about The Pen Addict podcast, which I’d heard about for years, but never paid any attention to.

I decided to see what all the fuss was about, so I downloaded the current episode of The Pen Addict and listened.

Again, I was hooked.