With 2022 coming around at full speed, I found that my life has been moving quite fast and changing rapidly. After watching some EDC videos mentioning carrying a journal, I decided to try it out. This article is to document and describe what I found beneficial from journaling.
I’ve been journaling now for the past 3 weeks, and it is something that I wished I had started doing earlier. Let me explain why…
When Do I Journal and What Do I Write Down
As much as I like to have a to-do list for everything I have to do during the day, I don’t see a specific journaling time as necessary or even functional. I journal whenever something “key” happens during my day. That being said, I find that I most often journal during the late afternoon after I’ve gone through a good portion of my day. And lastly, right before I go to bed, I get an overview of what I’ve completed throughout the day as well as a general plan for the next day.
Regarding what I write down, I split my journal into 2 sections. The left side is my weekly split that contains a little section for each day of the week. On the right side is a blank page.
For each day’s section, I will jot down a few points:
- To-do list
- Amount of Money I made
- A few notes on “noteworthy” events, (i.e, a new internship, project, connection, etc.)
- End of the day rating
On the blank page I cover a few main sections:
- “This Week’s Main Goals”
- “Accomplishments”
- “Improvements”
- “New Things To Work On”
- “End of the Week Reflection”
This page is something that I will fill out throughout the week, pretty self-explanatory. It gives good coverage on everything that I deem “important” and I just have an overall great time filling this out!
Biggest Benefits I have Found
Journaling has almost become something “therapeutic” for me. I don’t know why I find it so helpful, but just writing a review of my day just sits really well with me.
I find writing down key moments of my day is really helpful to keep me pushing throughout the day and motivating me to keep working on my projects and side hustles.
I have also found that this is a great way to plan out my day. Writing down a “plan” the night before helps me schedule out my days, making me as productive as possible. I find that physically writing things down makes me much more engaged when compared to a digital to-do list.
Writing my weekly reflections and improvements also makes me much more aware of things that I still need to improve. Looking back on the prior week’s notes and reflections allows me to see if I have changed or stayed the same.
This has not been time-consuming or something that I have to “force” me to do. That is always a plus. I really enjoy journaling, and I hope that it is something I’ll continue to do in the near future.
Conclusion
Just because I journal does not mean it is something you need to pick up! The main reason of writing this article was to share my experiences with others, whether that’s for someone who is thinking of journaling or someone who hasn’t even thought it of it. I hope you were able to find some sort of valuable information from this and I hope to see you in my next article!
If you were wondering what journal I currently use, it is the Moleskin Classic 12 Month (5" x8.25"). Another brand that I came across that I may pick up for other notes is Mochi Things. They have a variety of journals/notebooks made very nicely.
*Note: I am not affiliated with either company. This is also not a paid promotion or linked with any affiliate links. Just my personal opinion.
