Do you keep a diary/journal?

nope

Welcome to the community @callmejeff! If I am not mistaken you are referring to the books of Michael J. Gelb? I read two of them during my high school years. I used to keep a journal prior to reading them and I kept different kinds of journals afterwards. Earlier versions were more of a diary, then expanded in sketchbooks, notebooks with articles from magazines, photo books, pinterest boards, youtube playlists etc. I haven't done traditional journaling for ages now, but I still like to document my thought processes. Couple of other examples of untraditional journaling: 1) For any quick quotes, links or articles I share them as DM to myself in FB or IG. 2) I created playlists for music I have been listening to in different time periods( yearly), locations (countries I have lived in and associations I have with them) or moods. So if for whatever reason I feel nostalgic or creative or heartbroken, I can just jump right into that emotion. 3) I collect things that I feel drawn to or inspired in various Pinterest boards. Mostly related to my interests and hobbies, but in the aesthetic department like drawing, home decorating, fashion, recipes, photography etc. In a more subtle way, it is also some kind of Bucket list of the things I would love to have as experiences in my life. Whether it's places to visit, things to create or learn, etc. 4) For more in-depth `status updates` I record videos of myself talking like a video diary. It has been a part of my healing journey, to `move` my thoughts and my emotions out of my body using my voice and non verbal expressions. I can then rewatch them later on, validate my experience as well as track my progress. It has also been a great way to practise vulnerability and authenticity. I have had difficulties formulating my thoughts to any external source and it has helped me to improve. Additionally, it allows me to catch myself when I try to play down or excuse certain things or where I am still hesitant to open up and speak my mind, even if with just myself ( videos are for my views only). 5) Sometimes I even record videos of myself singing. I am not particularly good at it, but it's part of self expression and healing. It´s a way to journal both things mentioned in No.2 and No.4. 6) I am sure there is more, but nothing comes to mind currently. If I recall anything else, I will come back to this post and update it. Anyways, answering your questions. I would say, if anyone is inspired by journaling, there is something in it for them and that something will be entirely different for any two individuals. Format or medium is not important in my opinion. Important is to follow one's own urge to explore, collect, reflect on `objects` of their interest or fascination. So one can use either notebook or phone, or both, whatever works best for each person and type of journal. Those are all just tools that allow us to somehow imprint them. And last thing that I wanted to mention is to do it for the sake of doing, not from getting certain results out of it like `becoming a genius` or maybe ´becoming enlightened / healed`etc. If one will see it rather as a chore with little joy involved, just to reap some rewards at the end, it will not be a very fruitful journey. However, it can greatly assist anyone with self expression, creativity and thought processing.

I'm a fan of all sources of notes, especially paper notebooks. Even sketchbooks, sketchbooks, and black sheets. All kinds of online notes and the regular notebook on my PC and phone.