Benefits of a daily diary and topic journals

Benefits of a daily diary(ˈdīərē) and topic journals(ˈjərnl)

By Derek Sivers

You know those people whose lives are transformed by meditation(ˌmedəˈtāSHən) or yoga(ˈyōgə) or something like that?

For me, it’s writing in my diary and journals. It’s made all the difference in the world for my learning, reflecting, and peace(pēs) of mind.

After 20+ years of doing this, here’s what I do and recommend(ˌrekəˈmend):

A daily diary

If digital(ˈdijitl), use only plain(plān) text(tekst). It’s a standard format(ˈfôrˌmat) not owned by any company. It will be readable(ˈrēdəbəl) in 50 years on devices(dəˈvīs) we haven’t even imagined yet. Don’t use formats that can only be read by one program, because that program won’t be around in 50 years. Don’t use the cloud(kloud), unless you’re also going to download it weekly and back it up in plain text outside that cloud. (Companies shut down. Clouds disappear. Think long-term.)

Every day at some point, just open up this diary, write today’s date, then start writing. Write what you did today, and how you are feeling, even if it seems boring.

It works best as a nightly routine. Just take a few minutes and write at least a few sentences(ˈsentns). If you have time, write down everything on your mind. Clear it all out. But if you miss a night, make time the next morning to write about the previous day.

This is important because years from now you might be looking back, wondering if you were as happy or as sad as you remember during this time. So don’t only write the drama(ˈdrämə) or dilemmas(diˈlemə, dīˈlemə). Include the daily facts of life.

We so often make big decisions(dəˈsiZHən) in life based on predictions(prəˈdikSH(ə)n) of how we think we’ll feel in the future, or what we’ll want. Your past self is your best indicator(ˈindəˌkādər) of how you actually felt in similar situations. So it helps to have an accurate(ˈakyərət) picture of your past.

You can’t trust distant(ˈdistənt) memories, but you can trust your daily diary. It’s the best indicator to your future self (and maybe descendants(dəˈsendənt)) of what was really going on in your life at this time.

If you’re feeling you don’t have the time or it’s not interesting enough, remember: You’re doing this for your future self. Future you will want to look back at this time in your life, and find out what you were actually doing, day-to-day, and how you really felt back then. It will help you make better decisions.

Just put aside a few minutes to write what you did and how you felt today.

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https://sivers.org/dj