Gathering of the Vibes — Jennifer L. Phillips, Ph.D.

Last fall, I birthday-gifted myself a journaling practice, and it crashed and burned within a month. Not only could I not manage a daily pace, but all that verbal processing somehow seemed to amplify my stress. (Eek, no thank you.) I still dream of being someone who loves morning pages, but for now I’ve settled on a much looser weekly gathering of the vibes.*

My routine is to begin the week with a popcorn-style mind map (er, vibes map). As I go, I take it in and reflect, hoping to tease out patterns or inconsistencies. I’m specifically looking for struggles, desires, or needs that bubble up and surprise me, changes in mind or heart, or something I feel ready to let go of or lighten up about.

Then, I try to bring that awareness alongside my deadlines and responsibilities, as I map my workflow for the week. (I use a monthly calendar spread and a weekly to-do list for that.) All in all the whole process takes about 20 minutes.

Half the battle with a practice like this is just sticking with it. (Trust me, I have tried and failed many other methods.) But I’ve been consistent with this one for five months now (though not perfect by a long shot—I still need room to rebel).

For me, the gathering of the vibes works well because it’s simple and mostly unstructured. It requires no special tools, it isn’t trying to be brilliant, and it’s really nothing fancy. Mostly, I love that it helps me observe where I’ve been and acts as a check against busyness without purpose. It’s also cool to see the weekly spreads compounding across my 2023 planner—both visually and as a story of my year.

* Name inspired by the Gathering of the Vibes music festival (RIP).

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