Readers of this blog know that I've been using the Theme System Journal for quite a while. I like to stop and reflect on how my use of it is evolving (or not) every 90th entry. I recently passed a pretty big milestone; 450 entries. To say that the Theme System Journal has become a part of my life would be a gross understatement. I write in it daily, Monday through Thursday just before I go to bed. I'm currently using an "iteration 1" journal that I bought in case I could not get my hands on the latest version. I start by writing something interesting that happened during the day. Over time the remaining spaces in the journal have evolved into a sort of "self-care" sesssion on my part. In the first space I write something that I am happy about. I do the same thing in the second space. I'm back to in-person teaching currently and it has been very challenging. I could easy slide in to complaining about any number of things that have made in-person teaching very difficult. Forcing myself to write about things that made me happy has provided me the opportunity to give myself a moment to reflect on the day as a whole and see some good in it. In the third space I write about writing. I like to document what sort of writing I've worked on during the day. This third space has given me the opportunity to "pat myself on the back" for any effort I've made to get thoughts down in the Obsidian app or on actual paper. The last space is reserved for thinking about something I'm looking forward to. I like ending with this one because of the hope it provides me as I write something down.

Readers of this blog will note that what I'm doing has not changed some much as it has solidified. Right, and for the unforeseen future, the Theme System Journal is a place where I can spend time thinking about me, in a positive way, being nice to myself; if only for a few minutes.