What to write about in a personal diary

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

An article with tips on what you can write in a closed diary "not for everyone" from the creators of the digital diary "Day One". We recommend reading for those who are accustomed to a constant response to their entries on the network and simply have no idea how and why they can keep notes that no one but you may never see again.

As a child, almost everyone kept diaries. True, I cannot say that the boys also had secret notebooks, but almost every girl had her own notebook or notebook with the coveted lock and the inscription "Personal!" All secrets and all experiences were recorded there: tears of unrequited love, joy from a fleeting glance and constant complaints of absolute misunderstanding on the part of parents. Children grew up and gradually transferred their habits of describing their lives and their thoughts from paper to the World Wide Web with only one difference - we wrote diaries exclusively for ourselves, in order to then re-read and remember those feelings, understand and find the reasons for the present in the past, but web diaries are for general reading.

It became uninteresting to write just for oneself, because I want to see a response, to feel that your thoughts coincide with the thoughts of dozens, hundreds, and maybe thousands of people. It's nice, and writing just like that into the void, without getting a positive feedback, becomes uninteresting. But in fact, keeping closed diaries solely for yourself can greatly help you when making important decisions. Many people remember either only good or only bad, and this is a rather one-sided point of view, which interferes with objectively (as far as it is possible for a person) to assess the situation.

The creators of the electronic version of the Day One diary shared their thoughts on why you should keep such closed diaries, and how to do it correctly.

Lifehacker has already had several publications on the topic of keeping personal diaries, it does not matter if it is a paper or digital version - "Why it is worth keeping your personal diary (not a blog)", "6 reasons to start a personal diary" and "Grid Diary - a beautiful iPhone application which helps to keep a personal diary”. And if you are really interested in this topic, I recommend reading these articles.

Now let's get straight to the tips from the creators of Day One.

As mentioned above, the main problem in keeping such closed diaries is the question “What should I write there ?!”.

Intimate thoughts

Writing very personal, intimate, one might even say intimate thoughts is the basis for keeping such a diary. When you write down all your experiences, be it anger, joy, longing, disappointment, love, passion, you will realize all this more deeply once more when you write down your feelings on paper. And then, rereading all this in a few days, months or years, you can rethink all those emotions and understand why you made this or that decision, you can see how you evolved and developed as a person.

Things or events that influenced your decisions

It is also a good idea to write excerpts from your favorite articles, quotes, books, or ideas in your journal. And then develop your thought, writing down all your thoughts in a diary. After all, it is not the articles, quotes or books themselves that are important, but the effect they have on you.

Goals

If you publish your list of goals for the year on your personal blog or on social networks, why not do the same in your personal diary? These do not have to be very important and long-term goals. You can also write down smaller, current goals that you would like to achieve. You can write accompanying comments to them, and then look through them and note for yourself what you managed to achieve from what was planned, what was all this accompanied, and, if something did not work out, why exactly happened one way or another? This is a good way to understand where you have been, what level you are now and where you are going to move.

Impressions of read books, watched films and listened to music

Books and films affect our desires and actions much more than we think. Writing mini-reviews of books you read and movies you watch is a good way to rethink the information you received and highlight the most important points for yourself. This applies not only to educational books, but also to fiction, which sometimes affects us much more than another book about the smart.

This kind of cataloging is useful for more than that. You can recommend something new and interesting to your friends, or by reviewing the notes, decide whether to watch the movie or read the book again.

Little joyful moments of life

"Dear Diary, Today was an incredible day!" - where else to write this, if not in a personal journal? In fact, it is from such moments, joyful and not very, that our life is formed, and if it seems to you that such records do not carry any meaning, then over time it is these records that will be of greatest value to you. They will remind us how good it was with someone and why we spent so much time together then. They will remind us of who we were and who we are, and why everything happened this way and not otherwise. And they also warn us against making the wrong decision on emotions, when blood pounds in our temples, fists clench and we only want one thing - to destroy everything and send everyone to hell, and then collect the pieces of our life piece by piece.

Favorite dishes or dishes that amaze you

Just a few lines about something new, just to repeat the order later or, perhaps, find a recipe for the dish you like.

Places you've visited

Let it be a short traveller's note that marks your first impressions of a new place. You can add geotags and photographs there, and then these records will remind you why traveling is so great, and why it is worth coming back (or never again) to this city.

You can write whatever you want in your personal diary, so it is rather more difficult to decide not what to write there, but which entries should be abstained from. You shouldn't turn it into a dump of junk and write down how many new friends you have on social networks. These should be things that are truly dear to your heart and that help you live meaningfully, without missing a single moment. And for the landfill, you can leave social networks, which are already filled with incomprehensible garbage like numerous selfies, photos of meals and strange statuses from one phrase;)