What I Learned by Journaling for 30 Days

when he said he skipped weeks and months at a time so never filled the journal up and ended up apologizing to himself in the journal for being inconsistent i felt that LOL

Journalling for 4 years, here’s 3 things I wish I’d picked up sooner: 1. You’re allowed to skip details. Don’t get bogged down in explaining an entire story, write about the parts which you sat down to write about 2. Be explicit and honest. It’s tempting to cast yourself as the hero, but it’s more honest, worthwhile and challenging to write about the truth, no matter what it is 3. You don’t have to write every day. If you have nothing to say, say nothing. Develop the habit of picking up your journal some time after something meaningful happens Hope something there helps :)

i only keep one journal answering a single question "what made me happy today", which helped me a lot to defeat my depression. (This is actually my psychotherapist's instruction, not mine.)

i had a journal that the last entry goes: wednesday, july 12 i killed a cockroach with this journal. it's the most dramatic thing that happened to me these days.

Try journaling, no sugar, meditation, waking up at 5 am and cold showers all at once for 30 days.

You should create a masterclass called Matt Self D'Avellopment

I once journaled for a year as a Valentine's gift for my girlfriend (and now wife). It took 4 books, 1154 pages overall.

I've journaled for 45 years. I've had times when I've gone for days, weeks, months, and then for a year or two when I was temporarily legally blind and couldn't journal. But I've always returned to it and now that I'm old and in my 60s, have plenty of time for it. I imagine someone 100 years from now finding my old journal volumes in an attic and reading about how life was for an avetage person during the different decades of my life. Nice to read something from a guy's perspective.

i’ve journaled for a year today. i started bc i don’t want to forget my middle school years. best decision i’ve ever made.

Your Journal is like your best friend, You don't have to pretend with it, you can be honest and write however you want

Been journaling for 10 years. I have kept a journal from 12 years old to 21 years old. And I loved every minute of it. This is how: 1. Make it fun. Personalize your journal. Put stickers on the front, print quotes or make a cover that will make you want to look at it. 2. When you make an entry, put something inside. (Tape an object to the page that signifies that day.) (A flower, a note, a drawing, a photo). 3. DO NOT write everyday if you don't want to. I write every 2-3 months, (sometimes more) and write about 2 pages summing up whats happened in my life within that time span and how I feel about it. Not enough happens in my life to write everyday, I like to add stuff up and give a story dump on the page, it makes it more fun to read later. Almost feels like a real story. 4. Once you have about 2 months worth of pages, RE-READ. It is so fun to look back and remember things you would've never thought about again. Like the time you got too drunk, or ran into your ex, make a new friend. These are all things that you are going to thank yourself later for writing. My journal makes me laugh, cry, and realize so much about my past that I can now learn from. HIGHLY recommend.

I journaled for roughly 2 years straight, at the time I didn't see the benefits of doing it, but my therapist suggested I try it. I wrote about my fears, and anxiety, and slowly they dissipated. A few years had past when I found my journals again during a move, so I read them again what I learned was that my fears are all made up in my head, theirs no truth to any of the things that kept me up at night, and the overwhelming amount of worry. None of the things that I lost sleep over happened other things happened, but not my worst thoughts & fears.

One mistake many people make - including myself at first - is waiting until the end of the day to write it. F that. Do it first thing in the morning, before anything else. In the evening we just wanna collapse into bed. Don't create friction where there needn't be any. This is how I got second-language students journal daily over an entire year: Make it into your own personal time by getting up before anyone else. This becomes something you look forward to. Do it in the same place every day. Eliminate decisions like this to free up time and mental energy. Don't make a big deal out of it. Do hold yourself accountable, though, and make certain to write each day, just don't beat yourself up if you don't; you have enough people nagging at you all day, you don't want your voice in that mix too. Get yourself the cheapest 'nice' journal you want. Don't get something too fancy that you'll feel bad about scribbling in, but do make it nice. Get a pen that makes you feel fancy. Also, cheap pens encourage you to keep throwing away old ones which creates a lot of landfill rubbish. Or if you're really worried about that, get a bamboo pencil. Bamboo is awesome. Write about what you're happy to have in your life (it will feel banal until you've run out of insignificant things to mention, then it gets good). Write about what you want to do. Keep it real, but take time once a month to write and assess long-term goals. Then write until you stop writing. Some days you will write 1/2 a page, some days it's 3. Both are correct. I recommend doing a check-in during your afternoon coffee break, where you write down things you could have done better, or how your thinking about xyz has changed by the afternoon. At the end of the journal, read back through and, if you like, write a summary before you start a new journal. Hope this helps someone! Edit: thank you all - one distinction I forgot to add was the difference between a diary and a journal. These terms are not synonymous, though they may seem to be. To be specific, a journal is an objective reflection on your current state and future plans. Try to use past-tense especially when it comes to emotions. Analyse why you felt a certain way, instead of just reliving the emotion on the page. In contrast, a diary is a subjective record of how you feel and the current events, without the benefit of reflection. For example, it's not "The Journal of Anne Frank" - diary was a conscious choice there. Also, the famous stoic book "Meditations" was compiled from the journals of Marcus Aurelius - he didn't write about how the stupid camp cook would over-season the food and how it upset his tummy, even though we know this likely happened. Instead of that, he would sit and take a 3000ft view of the situation and examine it objectively. Have fun!

I’ve kept a journal since I was 15. I don’t write everyday. I used to force myself to though. But the last few years, I just write when my body/mind tells me too. I trust it.

I journal completely without rules. I do what I want. Because I keep my whole life in one journal I NEED it every day. I write down my to dos for work, I track my Chinese learning process, sometimes I just glue pictures of kpop idols on a page. I don’t care anymore, I’ll do what works for me at the specific time in my life and I use it for more than one thing, so journaling never feels like a burden to me. Depending on my day my journal is My diary My to do list My Kalender (even though I always use digital ones too) A kpop journal A sketchbook a bullet journal ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Can we just take a minute to appreciate this 1:14

Tip: organize your journal 1: date/time 2: free write 5 mintues 3: day's goal 4: reward - rewarding something small for targeting the goals 5: before sleep: write how the perfect day would've been. Play a small mentel picture before falling a sleep 6: write the perfect day summary Overtime, this will help with thought process, clarity, time management and solid platform to build a healthier lifestyle

I started journaling every day after a traumatic brain injury that made my thoughts foggy and my hands shaky. Three months later, the writing has really helped my hands become steady and strong again, and it’s becoming easier to think and speak clearly. Tldr journaling is helping me heal physically and cognitively

When I journal, I write my whole heart out. I write out my strongest feelings and thoughts and although those feelings and thoughts may be sometimes scary and or very sad, it feels so good just facing them letting them out.

I’ve been journalling for a long time now ever since elementary school when my dad introduced me to the idea. I used to pressure myself to write everyday, thinking I had to keep up and record everything going on in my life, and when I missed days I’d blame myself. But I realized you don’t really have to write everyday, because a lot of my days are very similar, I think about the same things, and I feel like it’s pointless to record the same thoughts over and over again in different ways. Now, I only journal when I feel the need to get something unto paper, which is about 2-3 times a week. When I’m feeling very low or angry or sad, I like to write to get the feeling out, to be able to have it flow out of my brain instead of being bottled up inside me. I think it helps me understand myself more too. I love how journalling captures my thoughts and emotions and what I feel throughout my days. Usually I write when I am struck with a new idea, or had an unusual day or feel emotional. I enjoy journalling and I would definitely recommend it, but just keep in mind journalling is to help you not an opportunity for pressure and self criticism.