By journal, I mean physical journal which you write about all Mnemonic stuff
For example
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Palaces
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Challenge you want to do
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Well, my iPad is a physical thing, so in a sense I have a physical ājournal.ā (Why is it important that itās āphysicalā?)
I keep Notes files of all of my memory palaces, all of my journeys/associations through them in a detailed narrative, copies of any original documents Iāve used for memorizing (wiki lists, etc.), and a list of my yet-to-be-used palaces.
Bob
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Yes I do, I use an A5 desk diary , page to a day. As I only started keeping it this summer -after Anthony Metivier had stressed the importance of keeping a journal- I use the current days to record my daily memorisations /card times and the pages from previous Jan to June to record various things /palace ideas.
Infact , never having been a ādiary keeperā I am surprised to find I also now note down other non-memory related āstuffā (if only so I know WHY i didnāt get my pomodoro in that day) and future appointments that will cut across my learning ādayā.
Paper gets thrown in the garbage but computer files are forever.
I do like the paper but I find that I can come back to this site year after year and the ideas are all still here.
If Josh turns off the lights I would be sad but still all the thoughts have been saved here far longer than if I had written them down in one of my black ledger books.
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ā¦until a direct EMP strike, Zombie Apocalypse or Brexit and the lights going out (can I say that on this forum?) 
Nah seriously, I see your point but I find with each advancing year I become more enamored with the analogue technology of my youth and less so with this brave new world we have wrought.
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I understand. I have my straight razor and strop in the bathroom. I also have some nice ink and a dip pen. I can do a proper straight razor shave but I still canāt write with a nib ( I blame left handedness ) Anachronisms are a pleasant distraction.
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Iāve gone in just the opposite direction. But, then, technology makes it possible for me to make the living I do and have the lifestyle I do. I have no desire to return to typewriters, submit manuscripts to editors by postal mail, tie myself to a landline, watch TV only when a broadcaster decides to show a program, accept distorted sound from an LP, collect stacks of paper magazines, etc., etc.
Bob
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(and this is meant in no way nastily) Dichotomy much? I mean, you as a mnemonist spend your days training in , if Lynne Kelly be believed (and I do), arguably one of the oldest anachronisms/human endeavours going? It might not be the worldās oldest profession but the worldās first āprofessionalā probably had to have a men-monic system to remember which of her ājohnsā liked āitā on bear fell and who was really really into mammoth tusksā¦
As to the Left handedness , My olā Dad is , in the saarf Laaandaan inflected speech of his bombsite, hub cap stealing, youth, ākack handedā and as I teenager I became increasingly aware of his difficulties doing what seemed to me to be everyday tasks. So sign me up for any Campaign For Leftie Rights (pun intended)
20 years ago I said exactly the same thing, indeed even 10 years ago. Now Iām not so sure. The benefits of technology are indisputable but they, especially the Internet, come at a price. We should at least keep Thamusā warning in the back of our minds and not just as a Wiki link.
Anthony Metivier said something the other day about trying concentrate /learn from a podcast on your smart phone- a device designed with the sole purpose of distracting or interrupting you.
Most definitely!!! I canāt live without Microsoft OneNote - I know it is not physical - but I carry my tablet, my phone, my computer everywhere - so my OneNote is going with me everywhere. I have to collect all the info I want to learn or cool potential memory palacesā¦ or memory palaces I am working on. And I never lose it or misplace it, thanks to OneNote.
Cāmonā¦ and cigarettes are designed with the sole purpose of killing youā¦ and the government takes a decent share taxing them. Theyāre not designed for distraction and interruptionā¦ thatās just what most teenagers use it for and what the media likes to cover. Theyāre designed to make the company that sells them money.
Every generation the same, computers, before that the tv, the radio before thatā¦ it gets old. Of course you can use a smartphone for productivity and other things that donāt have to do with virtual candy or posting pictures of your food.
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Yes! I actually collect memory palaces on my travels and draw them even though I have heard one should not do that.
I also note my times and general philsophical thoughts about memory, so I use it almost every day.
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Iāve never heard that you should not draw your memory palacesā¦ I expect it is very individual. I believe Anthony Metivier actually recommends to write your notes on paper and not the tablet. I love iPad, Samsung note and Microsoft Pro for taking notes, but I just bought paper cards to see if there will be an improvement in retention. However, sometimes it is hard to tell, since the more we are focused to learn something the better we become. I expect that written notes simply slow you down (since a lot of people want to compete and the spread is a requirement to get better), but I absolutely believe it will make your memory journey review much more efficient and even weak images will work much better. Even Lynne Kelly mentioned in her book that it really helps her to draw her images, she took art classes to learn to draw just for this purpose.
I think itās a good idea to draw things in general, but it might depend on the person.