the journal system that got my life off my phone.

Core idea (problem the system solves)

• Your brain tries to keep track of too many “open loops” at once (errands, appointments, ideas, emails), which leads to constant mental “replays” and distractions.
• Phones can “solve” capture, but they create a new problem: information is scattered across apps/screens and gets lost—so “I wrote that down somewhere” becomes common.

Lifestyle / workflow: the author’s multi-notebook journal system

The author uses three “sizes” of diaries/notebooks, each with a specific job:

Smallest notebook (with you everywhere)

For spontaneous ideas that appear while you’re moving (walking the dog, lunch, subway, conversations):

• Write messy notes—messiness is fine as long as it lasts long enough to understand what it is.
• Trust writing by hand because it forces you to slow down and confront your thoughts.
• Allow “process marks” (cross-outs, arrows, margin notes) to show how your thinking evolved.

Main journal (“Hatch” system + real journal)

For structured daily planning, gratitude, and reflection.

Large magazine/notebook (work/project-focused)

Used when leaving home to work:

• Organized by project
• Includes writing/development tools

Health/ritual notes

• There’s no strict daily ritual for transferring notes.
• The author mentions an idealized routine (tea at 7:00, transferring notes, dog snoring, elegant music), but admits they mostly empty the small notebook when they remember.
• The author takes the large notebook out only when needed for work, also being mindful of shoulders/spine (using larger materials thoughtfully).

The “Hatch” daily planning page (step-by-step structure)

Each daily “Hatch” page has four parts:

1. Hours An hourly overview with meetings/work/places + approximate timing.

2. Hammer A to-do list of:

   • required tasks
   • doable tasks
   • sometimes “optimistic” tasks that may or may not happen 3. Gratitude One thing per day to acknowledge—something good, something you did well, worth about ~5 seconds before moving on.

3. Events A brief record of what actually happened during the day.

   • Purpose: your plan shows what you thought the day would be; events show what really happened.

Additional behavior/principles:

• Review after dinner to adjust tomorrow (move things, cross off items, re-scope realistic time).
• Plans don’t need to survive perfectly—“must” can degrade into “maybe.”
• The system is designed to reduce guilt/mental replay by making where-things-are written down obvious—especially for remembering obligations like “Thursday.”

How thoughts get processed (capturing → sorting → releasing)

When moving material out of the small notebook, ideas are sorted into:

• “Manhole”: what needs action / the next-step bucket
• Project section: what belongs to ongoing creative or work projects
• Notes notebook: what you want to remember but may not be an immediate task
• Many things simply never make it anywhere—the author treats that as useful (temporary ideas can disappear without guilt).

“Real journal” / diary approach

• The author doesn’t write daily.
• They journal when thoughts become irritating or repetitive—writing helps to:
  • break the loop (what stays new in your head becomes obvious once it’s on paper)
  • sometimes produce solutions
  • sometimes reveal unhelpful behavior (both are progress)
• Handwriting is preferred because typing enables fast editing/clean-up while thinking, whereas handwriting transfers thoughts as they arise.

Commonplace / notes book (“just keep it”)

This notebook is intentionally simple:

• A place for anything you don’t want to lose: phone numbers, thought-provoking quotes, meaningful book passages, links, facts, and “not now, but later I’ll want this.”
• Not everything needs to become a task—some information is saved to haunt you intellectually/emotionally in the best way.

Large work notebook (creative/work system)

• Divided by projects (e.g., character work, structure, travel materials).
• Describes a template-like set of ~500 pages supporting writing development:
  • idea-building questions
  • character/structure/scene/dialogue/pacing/editing prompts
• Templates and notes are available on their website (ashfiles.com) and can be printed or used digitally.

Key mindset takeaways

• Organization isn’t about remembering everything forever—it’s about freeing your brain so it doesn’t have to hold everything in active memory.
• The system is built for imperfection:
  • life isn’t fully controllable (dog, deadlines, people calling, late arrivals, shifting plans)
  • the notebooks must hold up under real messiness
• Paper works differently for the author because it:
  • slows thought down slightly
  • makes you notice what you can’t just “type past”
  • makes memory spatial (e.g., “where it was on the page”)

Notable locations / products / speakers

• Website/product: ashfiles.com (printable/digital templates for planning systems).
• Locations mentioned: subway (as a time/place where ideas appear), plus a general “long trip” use case.
• Speakers/people: a brief automated-style reference to Sarah (as part of an email/message joke). No other named speakers.