Grow Journaling for the ADHD Brain

If you’ve ever started a grow journal with the best intentions only to abandon it weeks or even days later, you’re in good company. Keeping a plant journal sounds like an awesome idea, but actually doing it can feel like a chore. And for anyone whose brain tends to wander, jump between tasks, or forget what you were just doing, traditional journaling systems can feel impossible.

There are many different types of cannabis growers, and each of them have their own approach to tracking the system. Some take lab-level notes, while others go off fully intuitive vibes. Most fall somewhere in between, but the truth is that no single structure works for every brain, and it shouldn’t have to.

A grow journal can be one of the most grounding, growth-supporting habits in your garden. The key is to make it simple, flexible, and intuitive for you: something you actually enjoy doing and reach for easily. 

Whether you’re growing cannabis, tomatoes, basil, or all of the above, these frameworks will help you connect with your plants in a way that feels natural to you.

Why grow journaling matters

Plants are living beings with personalities, quirks, and preferences. They communicate constantly; you just have to know how to listen to what they’re saying. Your grow journal is less about “data tracking” and more about learning to understand your plants’ language.

A good grow journal helps you:

• Catch issues early
• Identify patterns you didn’t notice
• Remember what actually worked
• Build your intuition season after season
• Celebrate growth
  

And for cannabis growers specifically, journaling is huge. Each strain has its own rhythms when it comes to feeding, growing, and needing light. As you grow, your notes become a personal archive of your relationship with each cultivar.

While there’s no “right” way to keep a grow journal, there’s definitely a “right” way for you. Here are a few ADHD-friendly frameworks to help you find yours.

Full Moon Farms / Erik Christiansen

ADHD-friendly grow journaling methods

The 30-second photo journal

Perfect for growers who always have their phone nearby but struggle to remember to write anything down. With this clean approach, simply snap at least one photo every time you check your plants. 

Why it works:

• It’s fast and visual
• It creates a time-stamped growth timeline
• Reviewing is satisfying (and motivating!)
  

This is great for indoor cannabis grows, where daily changes are noticeable, and documenting them visually can help you master your environment.

To review, just scroll through your camera roll weekly and jot down:

• Big changes
• What you fed or watered
• Any red flags
• Wins you want to repeat

The “three things” method

This helps you keep some structure without requiring long-form writing.

For each check-in, write down these three things:

1. What changed
2. What you did
3. What to remember
   

This can be a sentence or even just a few words.

The sticky note log 

If you like tactile, visual systems, this is for you. Put a small whiteboard or clipboard in your grow space and give each plant a sticky note with:

• Strain name
• Start date
• Last feed/water
• One thing you’re watching for
  

Whenever you update something, peel the note, stick a fresh one, keep moving. No perfection required.

Cannabis growers especially love this because different phenos in the same tent can behave wildly differently. Your stickies will help you track each personality at a glance.

Voice note journaling

For the growers who process best by talking: open your phone and record a 15-30 second voice memo describing:

• What you see
• What you’re feeling curious about
• What you adjusted

Make it a weekly ritual 

Don’t overthink it!

You don’t need daily discipline to be a great grower. In fact, you’d be surprised how much of a difference a weekly check-in can make.

Once a week:

• Scroll through your photos
• Check your stickies
• Listen to any voice notes
• Then transfer a summary into one clean note
  

This becomes your “master journal,” your season-long map to success. This is where you can really start noticing patterns and building your own grower intuition.

Tips for staying consistent without forcing it

• Create a journal that feels like a conversation, not homework.
• Keep your tools where you’ll actually use them.
• Let it be imperfect.
• Mix and match frameworks.
• Rewrite your own rules.

An archive of plant memories

Grow journaling isn’t about proving anything: it’s about paying attention and seeing your plants as the living, breathing beings they are. Whether you’re nursing a single cannabis seedling in a windowsill or cultivating an entire garden in your backyard, you’re building a relationship. Each journal is a story of that relationship.

Curiosity is a grower’s strongest tool, and when you start keeping track, you’re becoming a better listener, observer, and collaborator with the plants you care for.