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Why daily journaling is one of my most empowering habits, and how it can be yours, too: a short thread inspired by @CarvingThought's tweet
I first learned about the idea of keeping a "logbook" from @austinkleon here: https://austinkleon.com/2010/01/31/logbook/
Austin is a very visual thinker and includes sketches, too. (Also, his email newsletter absolutely slaps and is worth a subscribe).
Austin is a very visual thinker and includes sketches, too. (Also, his email newsletter absolutely slaps and is worth a subscribe).
I don't expect anything profound from my daily writing, just a list of things I did, people I talked to, problems that popped up, moments I want to remember.
Most days it's:
"Memorial Day.
Doesn't feel the same to have the day off of work without having been going IN to work.
It's been wet and rainy. Supposed to last all week.
Painted the girls' room with their help. They did really well."
(That's the whole entry for 5/25/20)
"Memorial Day.
Doesn't feel the same to have the day off of work without having been going IN to work.
It's been wet and rainy. Supposed to last all week.
Painted the girls' room with their help. They did really well."
(That's the whole entry for 5/25/20)
What has been unexpectedly valuable is how these entries become more interesting the further removed I am from them. Weeks/months/years later, I look back and am transported to that time in my life, who I was then, how I thought, what I struggled with.
On @tferriss's podcast, @pennjillette calls this "time traveling" and says it's the most useful part of his journaling—which he's been doing every day for 34 years:
Penn didn't start until age 30, after regretting not capturing the life he had experienced up until that point: "There was all this street performing when I was homeless and living on the streets and all of that that I haven’t recorded..." He's missed less than 5 days total since
So how do you get started? 3 tips:
1. Lower the stakes.
Most people never start because they're waiting for incredible prose to flow from their fingertips.
No one else will read it.
It's ok for it to be a "boring" list of bullet points.
Again, you'll be amazed at how valuable it becomes when you look back
Most people never start because they're waiting for incredible prose to flow from their fingertips.
No one else will read it.
It's ok for it to be a "boring" list of bullet points.
Again, you'll be amazed at how valuable it becomes when you look back
2. Start a chain. Then don't break it.
@JerrySeinfeld popularized this. Start today. Do it again tomorrow. Don't break the chain. (My favorite way to track chains/streaks is with @StridesApp, but there are lots of ways) https://lifehacker.com/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret-281626
@JerrySeinfeld popularized this. Start today. Do it again tomorrow. Don't break the chain. (My favorite way to track chains/streaks is with @StridesApp, but there are lots of ways) https://lifehacker.com/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret-281626
3. Do what works.
I use Evernote (I use tags to track the month and the year, as well as find back "memories," "predictions," "blog ideas," etc.).
But you should use whatever method you'll actually DO. Could be a physical notebook, an app, a Word doc, whatever.
START NOW.
I use Evernote (I use tags to track the month and the year, as well as find back "memories," "predictions," "blog ideas," etc.).
But you should use whatever method you'll actually DO. Could be a physical notebook, an app, a Word doc, whatever.
START NOW.
If you liked this thread, I'm trying to get better at providing value on Twitter and would love your feedback.
If you like interesting and thought-provoking things, that's what I try to tweet and retweet if you want to follow me.
If you like interesting and thought-provoking things, that's what I try to tweet and retweet if you want to follow me.
Thank you to @honza_kahanek, @stayandroam, @NoahSilliman, @purzlbaum, @kylejglenn, IG: ehiett_photo, and IG: andriyko.podilnyk for sharing their beautiful photos on @unsplash
