Welcome to Mission 52
Mission 52 didn’t arrive fully formed. It grew slowly, messily, out of real life.
Depression. Addiction. A creative career that lost its meaning. A marriage that unravelled once I finally stopped pretending. All of it forced me to pause, to reassess, to ask better questions.
And eventually, to choose something new.
This began back in 2020, when I first started unpicking old patterns and trying to live with more honesty. What’s evolved since then is a deeper practice: slower, simpler, less about fixing and more about noticing.
At the start of 2025, I began shaping that practice into something more structured. I started tracking my weeks, journaling with purpose, and testing a framework I now call Mission 52.
What started as a personal experiment has become something I hope can help others do the same: slow down, reflect, and realign with what matters.
I’m not a teacher. I’m a designer. A bloke on a boat with a dog and a journal.
I’m building this in real time, and if any part of it lights a path for you, then great!
Looking Ahead
Mission 52 will keep evolving.
It now includes a growing set of journaling guides, simple, practical paths to help you explore your own values, awareness, and journaling practice.
You can browse the current guides here.
Stories from the journey
Below are a few reflections that shaped Mission 52. Personal stories from the early days of the practice and the lessons that surfaced along the way.
The pillars that ground me
Over time, journaling gave me clarity. Not about goals or plans, but about values, what actually matters, what keeps me steady when life moves fast.
That clarity lives in six guiding pillars that have grown with me, touchstones I return to whenever I drift. They are personal, evolving, and often the quiet link between what I write and how I live.
The tools I lean on
In the last few years, three simple tools have done most of the heavy lifting for me: mindfulness, journaling, and Stoic philosophy.
They help me tune in, make sense of what I find, and act in ways that feel aligned with my values. They are practical, repeatable, and form the backbone of how I meet my days on and off the page.