Why keep a diary every day and how not to leave your notes

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A working method from a famous blogger who studies the habits of successful people.

Writer and entrepreneur James Clear talks about the benefits of daily reflection and how a simple notation system can make this ritual simple and enjoyable.

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What does writing down your thoughts give

Journaling has played a large role in the careers of many great people: writers, inventors, scientists and politicians. Mark Twain, Vladimir Nabokov, Charles Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, George Washington and Winston Churchill wrote down their ideas and reflections on a daily basis.

Oprah Winfrey, an internationally renowned TV presenter and public figure, also practiced this daily ritual. And the famous philosopher Susan Sontag said that in her diary she "created herself."

Everyone can feel the benefits of taking notes, because there is no need for any special skills and knowledge. It's just free thinking about your life, which has a number of benefits.

Makes you learn from your experience

Returning to what was written in the diary is like rereading your favorite book. You pay attention to completely different details and see the past in a new way. Only then will you re-read your life story.

So, looking through her old notes, the writer Virginia Woolf noted that she often found a special meaning where she had not noticed it before.

Lets you remember more

When Cheryl Strayed wrote the bestselling book Wild, she relied heavily on her diary. The author recalls: “In my diary it was described in detail who, what, how, when and why - everything that I could forget. But there was also something more in it: I saw my own frank and unadorned portrait of a 26-year-old girl, which I could not find anywhere else."

Time will inevitably change not only your appearance, but your thoughts as well. You won't even have time to realize it. With experience, our beliefs change, but in the diary they are imprinted forever. It's interesting for you to look at your old photos: they remind you of how you looked before. But it's even more amazing to read your old notes. From them you can find out how you used to think.

Motivates to take the best of every day

Knowing that you will transfer the events of today to paper, you will try to do at least one good thing before sunset. The desire to write something nice is a great incentive.

Provides proof of your progress

By writing down what good things happened today, you will create a boost of inspiration for times when you feel low and overwhelmed.

On especially bad days, we tend to forget what successes we have already achieved. The diary helps to keep an adequate assessment of what is happening. You just need to look at the records you made - and here they are, evidence of how much you have grown in recent months or years.

How not to abandon journaling

For all the benefits of expressing your thoughts in writing, there is one major problem. Many people like the idea of keeping a diary, but few people manage to do it regularly.

Even Oprah Winfrey admits that she once gave up her habit of writing down a few things every day for which she is grateful. This ritual made her find joy in simple moments and gave her strength. Trying to understand why before, even in periods of strong employment, she managed to find time for this, she came to a simple conclusion.

I just made gratitude my daily priority. I spent all day looking for something to be grateful for, and that something was always found.

Oprah Winfrey

Most people know that keeping a journal is useful, but few people manage to make time for it. Blogger James Clear wondered how you can get this benefit without seeing daily reflection as an exhausting duty? And I found the answer.

Keeping a journal does not have to be time-consuming and energy-consuming. You can write down your thoughts wherever and however you want. All you need is a piece of paper or a new document on your computer. There is no single “correct” way to keep a diary. But there is a simple way.

Write one sentence a day.

The main advantage of this approach is that it makes journaling easy and enjoyable. It becomes much easier to experience your success.

If every time you close your diary, you feel satisfaction, not exhaustion from the need to write, then you will want to return to it every day. After all, a good habit doesn't have to take a lot of energy to be beneficial.

What exactly to write in the diary

James designed his Habit Journal writing system to make daily journaling as easy as possible. It begins with the "One Line a Day" section.

Accordingly, you need 31 lines per month - one for each day. To start journaling, all you have to do is define a topic for this period and write a few words every day. Here's what you can write about:

• What happened today (event diary).
• What are you grateful for today (gratitude diary).
• What is your most important task for today (productivity diary).
• How did you sleep last night (sleep diary).
• How are you feeling today (mood diary).

And this process is so simple that it will be hard for you not to write every day.