I used to. I kept a gratitude journal which truly was transformative. Focusing on the positive, every single day, no matter how infinitesimal that good thing was, helped me haul myself out of deep blue funk. I also wrote a poem a day for several years, which really was a journal in verse form. But since I began blogging back in November of 2006, my pen and paper journal has turned into bits and bytes. I miss the tactile, tangibility of my notebooks. Being prone to “all or nothing” thinking though, I’ve been reluctant to dive back into daily journaling. Enter two nifty, “low impact” ideas from Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project and The Happiness Project Toolbox.
: : First: The One-Sentence Journal. Simply jot down one sentence each day. You can even pick a theme: gratitude, dreams, books, things your kids say - whatever - it’s your journal.
: : Second: A Calendar Date Journal. In a fresh, fat, lined notebook, dedicate each page to a day of the year. Your entries on a given day will be by year. Example:
September 1
2009 - Celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary at Legal Seafoods.
2010 - Celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary at Legal Seafoods. Are we in a rut?
2016 - Today is our 25th Wedding Anniversary - How did we get so darn lucky?
Get it? It’s a long term project, but how neat it will be to look back on any given day to see the ups and downs, ins and outs across the decades.
For all the Do-It-Yourself-ers reading this, check out this idea for a handmade journal.
Digitally inclined? It isn’t the same as pen and paper, but if you’re an Apple user checkout Circus Ponies' software called NoteBook.
Monday, August 3, 2009
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3 comments:
Is a journal like a diary? I kept a diary in my early teens, it was mortifying to read years later. I think I eneded up burning the thing so nobody else ever could!
I used to journal. I've gone back and looked through some of my thoughts way back when and (now) think to myself "what a dork!"
Hi DMM & Irene -
Wow! So we seem to have consensus that early diaries/journals are not worthy of being saved and relished.
Perhaps their only benefit is to show us just how far we have come!
;o)
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