Inspiration Journal—Contd.
Overview of the 2019 Inspiration Journal PDF (GoodNotes on iPad)
Last year I wrote an article for Medium Format magazine, expanding on the concept of keeping an Inspiration Journal. There’s a post about it here as well so I won’t rehash the basic ideas behind it. What’s important to note is that I’ve kept it going and it’s become a very important part of how I ingest visual content. More importantly, of how I eventually make sense of it. But I mentioned that MF article because it introduced a layer to the exercise: while preparing to write it at the end of 2018, I thought it would fun to annotate the exported PDF, just jotting down quick thoughts and impressions about each image I’d saved, without overthinking. Asking myself some very basic questions: why did I choose this? What do I see? How do I feel about this image?
It changed everything. The goal of doing this in a journal format (using the Day One app) was always to tie curation to a timeline, seeing trends evolve over time and providing context, as opposed to simply adding stuff to an ever-growing folder. But the act of sitting down at the end of a year, going through every page and physically reflecting on its content through writing—even using just a few words—provided a form of insight I wasn’t expecting. Sometimes the notes are technical (deconstructing the light), sometimes they’re just vague impressions or reactions; generally, none of it is profound...it’s the examination that’s interesting. The look back.
Needless to say, I did it again this year and I don’t plan on ever stopping. I could certainly annotate images as I go along—or weekly, monthly...whatever. But I prefer the yearly ritual. Distance is part of it—it can be surprising to rediscover what was saved 8 months ago—but it’s the sense of closure as well. Even though all the curated content lives in Day One as a single uninterrupted stream, the time-based annotated PDF creates a much more tangible marker. And the next one automatically becomes a fresh start.
Part of 2019’s journal entries in the Mac version of Day One
Friday already is it? Wow, first work week of 2020 done. We’re kicking KAGE back into gear next week after a much too long hiatus—Wednesday, mark the calendar. Until then: have a great weekend :)
