How many people start each year with the following resolution, I will write a daily journal. I guess many, but a few do. We all buy a new notepad and sometimes a new pen, and it all ends up after a couple of days and sometimes a week or two in a box under the bed. Me too, I have tried many times to start a daily journal, but I failed.
This year, it was different. Nevertheless, it is 2020. So, the preparation was different too. I started by revisiting my core values, mission, visions, and rewriting my goals, starting in November 2019. This year I wanted to write more regularly, and I decided to publish an article or two per month on my website. I thought by writing a daily journal; I would make sure that I always have a stream of ideas waiting to turn into published articles. Every day I meet new people or treat new patients. I also listen to new music, podcast, audiobook, or watch a movie, an episode, or read a new book, a newspaper article, or a blog. By writing a daily journal, I would have great material to write about.
For the first time in my life, I am now having my longest writing streak of diaries. I was always fond of quantifying personal data daily, but I have never succeeded in making it into a paragraph. I took daily notes of my sleeping hours when I was in middle school, studying hours in medical school, or running sessions later in life. However, I never wrote long paragraphs.
I decided to keep it simple to make sure I won’t stop writing any day.
- Write whatever comes to my mind about the day. Don’t overthink it.
- Don’t edit, only spelling to make sure I would be able to re-read it after.
- Whenever I forget to write on any day, I tend to write the next day morning or write it the following day. Never miss a day.
- If the day was good, I write, “thank god it was a very nice day” or “now I am writing the journal, and it feels fantastic it was a beautiful day.”
- If something bothers me during the day, I write, “today I got upset because .. “or “today I fought with…”. It helps in relieving my negative feelings and sometimes helps in seeing the real cause for the fight or anger.
- I write good habits that I did during the day, such as doing any kind of sport or reading. It helps me keep track and sustain.
- I write about my bad habits to keep track of things I want to stop or at least to make sure that they not overly done.
- I write with a digital pen on my iPad with my handwriting.
Journaling each day helped me to manage myself on many levels, and I advise you to start now and don’t wait for January 2021.
Share with me your thoughts on journaling, your routine, or advice.
4 replies on “My Daily Journaling”
Well done.. keep it up.. it will clear your mind and can give you inspiration for fiction books also
Yes, thank you very much
It looks like a diary.
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