I always want to build a set of systems to run my life. A set of actions that are constantly driving me towards my goals. In that plan is the concept of reflecting on my actions. To enable me to achieve this, I need to be able to write down and review my day in a journal.
I like the idea of journaling. The liberating feeling of writing my thoughts down. The act of writing helps me think and evaluate my life.
I gravitate towards writing things down because it helps clear my thoughts and improves my life. Journaling seems to be a natural extension of my character.
Benefits of Journaling
I benefit from journaling a lot. It improves my mood and stops me from ruminating.
It seems to eliminate my ever-growing thoughts when they fill up. Just like a bathtub, when my thoughts fill it up, I empty them through writing.
Journaling also helps me catch my inconsistent beliefs and fears. My mind seems to convince me of a world that doesn’t exist. My mind is a busy manufacturer of stories. It manufactures stories of every possible scenario in a given situation. No matter how hard I try to halt it, it seems to be very busy at this.
For example, my mind’s best play time is letting me know everything that can go wrong. Most of these stories are thoughts and not real life.
I did a monthly review in September this year. Before the review, my thoughts were – I have wasted so much time – I can’t seem to achieve a lot in my life. The result was that I was only unwell for two weeks. These two weeks became my dominant thoughts, which are completely untrue.
It is almost as if I have to clear my thoughts in the morning before I can get back to doing any form of creative work.
In my opinion, I can’t function fully without a good morning mind dump. It elevates my mood and clarifies my thinking.
Challenges of Starting to Journal
I am convinced about why to journal. The how-to journal has always been a challenge. Since I am a systems person, I have been trying what system to adopt to make it easier to do my journaling.
Using Paper and Pen
My earlier forms of journaling had been getting a book and writing my thoughts in it.
The difficulty with paper journalling is that I had to carry it around. It means my day will have to go exactly as I plan it. As a parent, this is virtually impossible. Days ever are rarely the same.
It also becomes a tedious process when traveling. In the unfortunate event of leaving the book behind, no journalling occurs.
Another challenge with pen and paper is that others can see it since I am brutally honest while writing. The last thing I want is somebody reading my scribblings. This made me hold back on much of what I wanted to say.
Digital Journaling
Considering I always had my phone, I decided to try digital journaling. I decided to keep it as simple as possible and went with Apple Notes. I started using Apple Notes to jot down everything I was thinking about. I created a template with questions in my Apple Notes. I copy these questions and use them as prompts.
In my Apple Notes, I copy from one note to another each day with questions such as
- How is your health?
- What did you achieve today?
- Did you step out of your comfort zone today?
My system aggregates the Daily Entries and Daily Reviews into a Weekly review. The four weekly reviews become Monthly Reviews. The 3 Months Review becomes a Quarterly Review. The 4 Quarters are what I use for my Annual Review.
The Annual Review is quick and painless because all the work is done beforehand.
My annual review was a surprising breeze. There was not much in the way of imaging what didn’t exist. The information I needed was all there. It was straightforward.
Advantages of Digital Journaling
Digital has helped me in various ways, including
- Improving my consistent journaling this year because my phone is always with me.
- I can now quickly write a few words about my day.
- I can capture my thoughts, ideas, and reflections in real time, even on the go.
- The single art of documenting what I write has been a lot of help to me.
- It is what I do to clear my morning before I tackle the day ahead.
Summary
The benefits of journaling are undoubtedly many. It allows me to assess my achievements without being distracted by my imagination. It lets me hold my fears down by extinguishing my beliefs with facts I write down.
The method of journalling that has helped me stick with my habit is doing it digitally.
Specifically, I’m doing it in Apple Notes. The advantage is that my phone is always with me. I need a spare 5 minutes to note it all down. I can do it while waiting in line for a cup of tea.
Now it’s your turn.
Have you tried various forms of journalling and failed? Try using what you already have on your phone, and have a go. You may surprise yourself. There are too many benefits of journaling. Develop it as part of your keystone activities.
