I'm calling this season The Analogue Advantage, and over the coming weeks we're going to explore the benefits of handwriting, paper, attention, reflection and spending a little less time staring at screens.

In this opening episode, I explain why I've recently turned down approaches from at least half a dozen companies developing digital Journaling apps, some using artificial intelligence.

I'm not against technology. Far from it! But when it comes to Journaling, I believe there's something incredibly valuable about physically picking up a pen and writing down our thoughts.

Just because we CAN make something digital, doesn't necessarily mean we SHOULD.

We'll explore why the slower pace of handwriting might actually be beneficial, why I don't want technology organising my thoughts for me, and why sometimes the best thing about a Journal is that it simply leaves us alone!

We're introducing something new for Season Six: a small practical experiment to accompany each episode.

Find ten minutes, grab your Journal and a pen, and put your phone somewhere out of reach.

Then write: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I GIVE MYSELF TEN MINUTES WITHOUT A SCREEN?

Don't worry about what you write or whether it's particularly meaningful. Just notice what happens when you spend a little time with your own thoughts, without something else competing for your attention.

No targets. No pressure. Just ten minutes.

Here's something else I'm creating...

I'm developing a physical monthly newsletter, delivered through your letterbox, and I'll be sharing its progress through my separate FREE digital Journaling newsletter.

If you'd like to follow the journey, discover more about analogue Journaling and be amongst the first to hear when the physical newsletter is ready, I'd love you to subscribe.

JOIN MY FREE DIGITAL NEWSLETTER: https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

You can also find Matt's Notebook over on Substack, where I explore each podcast episode from a slightly different angle, with additional thoughts and practical ideas.

https://substack.com/@thejournalingguy

Do get in touch with any questions or feedback. I'd particularly love to know whether you Journal by hand or digitally, and why.

Email me — hello@thejournalingguy.com

Please share this episode with someone who might enjoy discovering the benefits of analogue Journaling. And if you get a moment, please leave me a review. They really do help more people discover the podcast.

Next week, we'll be asking: Does writing by hand really make a difference? We'll explore what the research actually tells us.

As Always...

Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself.

Matt

This is a slightly different episode of The Journaling Guy Podcast.

Season Five has finished. Season Six is coming. But I'm not quite ready to decide what that looks like yet. After spending an entire episode talking about the importance of stopping before deciding what's next, it would be a bit ridiculous to rush straight into it!

So, this week, I wanted to tell you a little more about what I'm building around The Journaling Guy.

The podcast isn't going anywhere. And neither is my Substack. That's still where you'll find Matt's Notebook, the bonus audio and all the extras that accompany the podcast.

But I also have a separate digital newsletter.

And I have plans for it... Quite cunning plans, actually!

Because before the end of 2026, I'm planning to launch something I've wanted to create for a while:

An actual newsletter. On Paper. Delivered to you every month!

Something you can make a coffee with and sit down to read. Something you can scribble on, keep beside your Journal and come back to. No notifications. No algorithms. No battery required.

And yes... eventually I'm going to ask you to pay for it! There you go... The world's least secret sales funnel.

But first, I want you to join my FREE digital newsletter.

That's where I'll be sharing my thoughts on Journaling, ideas worth exploring and, over the coming months, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the physical newsletter as I create it.

You'll see it developing and you'll be amongst the first to know when it's ready.

So, there's only one thing I'm asking you to do after listening to this episode:

👉 https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

It's completely free and, if I do my job properly, hopefully one day you'll be sitting there thinking: "Matt, stop banging on about it and just let me buy the bloody thing!"

That's the plan anyway.

• From your headphones...
• to your inbox...
• and eventually...
• to your letterbox! 💌

If you'd like to go deeper into the subjects I explore on The Journaling Guy Podcast, you'll still find Matt's Notebook, bonus audio and additional Journaling exercises over on Substack.

And if you'd like to get in touch with a question, an idea for the podcast, or just to tell me what you think about this slightly bonkers idea of sending people something through the post in 2026, email me — hello@thejournalingguy.com

Please share this episode with someone who might enjoy what I'm creating. And, if you get a moment, please leave the podcast a review — they really do make a difference in helping more people discover it.

Season Six will be along soon.

I'm just giving myself a little space to work out what I actually want it to be.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt

Sometimes You Just Need to Stop Before Deciding What's Next.

In the final episode of Season Five of The Journaling Guy Podcast, it's all about slowing down... a little. The timing feels right (for me) and I hope it resonates with you too.

Sometimes, before we ask what's next... perhaps we need to just stop for a bit.

Journaling doesn't always have to produce an answer. It can simply give us somewhere to be, somewhere to put the noise, somewhere to notice what comes up when we aren't actively trying to solve anything.

This weeks assignment

Open your Journal and write: WHAT COULD I STOP FOR A LITTLE WHILE?

If you wanted, there's room for another question: WHAT MIGHT THAT MAKE ROOM FOR?

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Don't forget, I've written a FREE five-day series called How Journaling Can Transform Your Life. Each day, I'll send you another part of the story and show you what I discovered about Journaling along the way.” https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

It's my personal journey into Journaling, and I'd love to share that and inspire you at the same time.

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me — hello@thejournalingguy.com

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt