Journaling: How, Why and What You Can Learn from Yourself

"The brain is for having ideas, not storing them" - David Allen, Getting Things Done

Every day you're subjected to countless inputs from the world. Having conversations, reading newspapers, watching Netflix, all these things can generate ideas. But how often do you find yourself having great ideas while shopping or driving and by the time you're able to practically get working on those ideas you have forgotten what you'd come up with? Maybe you're just forgetful, or maybe after having the idea while shopping you ran into a friend and had a catch up with them, you spoke to the person on the checkout, had the radio playing in the car, when you got home the phone was ringing so you had to answer it, then you had to pack the shopping away. With each of these interactions that idea/thought is being pushed further and further to the back of your mind, crowded out like a student with chewing gum, lost within the group.

This doesn't just happen with ideas, it can happen with your feelings and emotions too. You wake up feeling ready to face the day but your partner says something to you as they leave for work that leaves you on edge. You go to work, face the challenges that come to you and then when you return home you don't know why but there's something about seeing your partner that instantly makes you feel aggrieved or annoyed. The feeling of being on edge has come back from this morning, but you've lost your context, so you become grouchy and irritable and end up having an argument. What if there was a way of storing those feelings and emotions so you could bring them back to the surface (with context) and address them when you have time with the right people. Spoiler Alert: There is!

jour·nal (jûr′nəl)
a. A personal record of occurrences, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis; a diary.
v. To write one's observations or thoughts in a journal: spent all day journaling about the trip.

When I was younger I had a small (A6) notebook, occasionally I would write how I was feeling in there, and while it didn't seem to be a big thing I noticed that having the words on paper and out of my head relieved me of some of the 'burden' I felt. The saying goes "a problem shared is a problem halved" but I much prefer "a problem expressed, is a problem halved". Personally, I didn't need to share it with anyone else, I just wanted to get it out of me in some form, so I found writing. What I didn't realise is, in a very basic way, I was journaling. It didn't last very long, in fact, I found the notebook not too long ago and there was only a handful of entries, but nonetheless, it helped at the time and reading through it now, looking back at what I was thinking and feeling at the time gives me a great perspective of where I have come from.

In the past year, mainly due to the pandemic, the idea of journaling for mental wellbeing has been something a lot of people are talking about, and for good reason. In a time where hours roll into days, days roll into weeks and weeks roll into years it's hard to tell the trees from the branches. I realised this a couple of weeks ago when someone I hadn't seen or spoken to for a while asked "how are you? How have things been?" I replied instantly with "yeah, things have been good" but almost immediately thought 'hold on, have things been good or am I just saying that? Am I missing something?' I realised that through the majority of 2020 I had been living passively, not really taking in anything around me to a point where there were very few things I could actually remember.

My Journalling Experience

During March 2020 I found a 'new' app called Roam Research. "A tool for networked thought" Roam offers users a brand new "Daily Notes" page each morning with the ability to connect notes through "bi-directional links". This allows two ideas to be linked together through other pages and references making connections you often can't find for yourself. Roam is great, I'm very fortunate that I heard about it and signed up before the $15/month paywall came into place and I'm thankful that I did. You see, for me writing out a journal feels like a chore and something I have to 'work up' to, whereas sitting in front of a computer typing comes so much easier. So now, I use Roam to make notes on my days. Whether that include books I've read, meetings/conversations I've had or quotes I hear and like on the radio or TV. The biggest benefit of Roam, for me, is the fact I always have it with me. It doesn't matter whether I'm at home, at work or in the bathroom I always have a device on me. At the least it's my phone, at the most I have my phone, laptop and iPad all within touching distance, all loaded with Roam ready for me to start typing my thoughts or experiences.

It doesn't need to be High Tech

Alongside Roam, I have a notebook. A simple notebook with dots on every page, giving me the space to write, sketch and graph anything I want. I'll admit I don't use this as much as Roam but it is incredible when you want to sit with no distractions; just you, your notebook, your pen and your thoughts. Using a notebook is a lot slower than typing which can actually prove to be of great benefit. I often find myself entering a type of auto-pilot when I start typing and often I end up writing lots of waffle rather than actually putting what I'm thinking or feeling at the time. By handwriting your thoughts you are not only getting them out of your body you also give yourself time to process and come to terms with how you're feeling and why.

Dear Diary...

We've all seen the films where (usually) a female character grabs their diary beginning each entry with "Dear Diary," as if they are writing to someone who is actually going to read it. While you may look at this and think "how corny" this method will work for some people, just like how for some people going to a gym is the best way to stay healthy while others prefer to go running on the road. It doesn't matter how you journal, it doesn't even matter if you give it a go and think "journalling just isn't for me", the only thing I am 'pushing' with this post is that you give it a go.

"Chris Mear is having takeaway for dinner, he is happy about this"

Time for some controversy... You can use social media as your journal. Sort of. Now I know what you're all thinking "great, Chris is going to be posting photos of every meal he eats for the foreseeable future." Don't worry, you don't need to unfollow me just yet. I am not a fan of people posting every meal they eat, or every problem they have on social media but sometimes it's great to put an idea/thought out there. For example, you could say "had a great call with person, really looking forward to our joint project on example project." This small sentence may not seem a lot but in actual fact just sharing with other people that you are looking forward to working on something with someone can fill you with gratitude, particularly if you don't typically take the time to sit and think about the things you're grateful for regularly.

What is there to learn from Journalling?

The honest answer is I don't know. Each person will learn something different. I look back on a lot of decisions I have made in the past and judge whether they were a good or bad call. Journalling has helped me to see the context of decisions and helped me to realise that for the vast majority of decisions I make they are well-founded and the 'best' decision I could make at the time, with the information I had. That has been a big breakthrough for me in not constantly looking into the past, wondering what may have been different. Rather than thinking "but what can I learn from journalling", instead think "I want to see what I can learn from journalling". Give it a go, what have you got to lose?

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Photo by Peter Jones on Unsplash