Journaling

[Rooke]

I'm considering starting two journals next month, by day one.

The first journal would be very straight foward, and I'd just keep track of goals I have. For instance if I wanted to not-procrastinate for at least four hours every day (most likely studying), I'd report if I managed to do that in this first journal, much briefly.

The second journal, that excites me the most, however, would be meant to register my ideas and thoughts. This would be the very opposite of straight foward: there would be countless pages of carefully choosen words about every detail of every little thing that caught my interest.

I think I need the first journal because if I have a really hard time following through my plans (or planning at all) then working on that is what I need the most.

The second journal will be beneficial for several reasons:

1 - I will record my ideas, so they are not gone if I die
2 - By writing things down I'll take them off my head instead of reevaluate every little thing over and over again until I think myself to death
3 - I won't have to think about an issue twice if
4 - I maybe set time during the day specially for thinking, instead of doing so when I'm supposed to be doing other stuff

I'll try that for 90 days. If it doesn't fit me, I'll drop the habit.

I'm not if I should use paper and ink, computer, or audio recordings. I'm inclined to use paper, because I have this very elegant black notebook I bought that I never used, it's almos like it's begging to being written on.

 

[Happy]

I'm considering starting two journals next month, by day one.

The first journal would be very straight foward, and I'd just keep track of goals I have. For instance if I wanted to not-procrastinate for at least four hours every day (most likely studying), I'd report if I managed to do that in this first journal, much briefly.

The second journal, that excites me the most, however, would be meant to register my ideas and thoughts. This would be the very opposite of straight foward: there would be countless pages of carefully choosen words about every detail of every little thing that caught my interest.

I think I need the first journal because if I have a really hard time following through my plans (or planning at all) then working on that is what I need the most.

The second journal will be beneficial for several reasons:

1 - I will record my ideas, so they are not gone if I die
2 - By writing things down I'll take them off my head instead of reevaluate every little thing over and over again until I think myself to death
3 - I won't have to think about an issue twice if
4 - I maybe set time during the day specially for thinking, instead of doing so when I'm supposed to be doing other stuff

I'll try that for 90 days. If it doesn't fit me, I'll drop the habit.

I'm not if I should use paper and ink, computer, or audio recordings. I'm inclined to use paper, because I have this very elegant black notebook I bought that I never used, it's almos like it's begging to being written on.

This is a very good idea.

My suggestion for your project based journal is to look into some personal management software, especially if you rely on you're smartphone. I personally use Omnifocus on my MacBook, iPad and iPhone using the GTD method by David Allen.

I use software and GTD in my personal time, but at work, I manage myself with a basic, spiral-bound notebook. Each day gets one spread (more if I need to take meeting minutes or something). The left page is used exclusively for timekeeping - writing down what I do and when, which helps me track time spent on tasks (although the primary function is for recording billable time). The right page is used for taking notes, making to do lists, etc.

I'd also suggest that when you're working on projects, that you need a place to store information pertaining to these, so you should consider a solution before the start of next month, when you intend to commence. I like to use a software package called Scrivener for this. It's technically a writing package, but I find it works well for projects too. I've come across people who also use it for this purpose. This is only a suggestion. A binder may be more your style, or even just a Dropbox folder or something if you were to take the digital route.



My input regarding your dilemma between physical/digital is that you should choose whichever you find more enjoyable.

Hand writing is a wonderful haptic experience, but is rather slow, especially if you're a meticulous perfectionist like myself. However, it's nice to be free from formatting hindrances you'd find in a digital medium - you can just draw some little diagram in the corner or draw a mind map or whatever. And once you write or draw something, it's there to stay, which is nice.

A digital medium on the other hand, allows you to type your thoughts, which is a great deal more efficient, but is somewhat detached from the senses, and in my opinion, is much easier to forget, due to the lack of emotional resonance you get from physically inscribing your thoughts. That backspace button is seriously useful though...


I hope there's some helpful take away in that.

 

[Rooke]

This is a very good idea.
My input regarding your dilemma between physical/digital is that you should choose whichever you find more enjoyable.

Hand writing is a wonderful haptic experience, but is rather slow, especially if you're a meticulous perfectionist like myself. However, it's nice to be free from formatting hindrances you'd find in a digital medium - you can just draw some little diagram in the corner or draw a mind map or whatever. And once you write or draw something, it's there to stay, which is nice.

A digital medium on the other hand, allows you to type your thoughts, which is a great deal more efficient, but is somewhat detached from the senses, and in my opinion, is much easier to forget, due to the lack of emotional resonance you get from physically inscribing your thoughts. That backspace button is seriously useful though...


I hope there's some helpful take away in that.

I did quick pro-con list of each method.

The physical version have three major pros: I can draw, it's relaxing (writing at night maybe help me wind down to sleep) and I idealize the idea of having a notebook with real pages and an elegant black cover in my shelf

But there are so much more cons: expensive, can't edit later, hard to organize, can't add more content to texts I've previously written, I can't just ctrl+v parts of it case I want to share somewhere.

If I use a computer folder I won't have any of those problems and, on top of that, I can mix audio files with text documents and sync with whatever I perceive to be useful.

Yet, I won't have a very good grasp on the real cons and pros until I start journaling. I could give each method a try for 90 days. Or I could journal one journal in paper and other in the computer, I see how I feel about it. Either way, I still have ten days to choose the best strategy.

 

[Hadoblado]

I think paper works better. It's a more powerful medium (in that you can go straight from writing to drawing, it's mobile, you can play with the format without it feeling like work). The main downside is that it's more difficult to edit, but since this is your personal journal, you only need to live up to your own standards.

Journaling is awesome. It made me human again.

I don't think you should wait until the start of the month. Start now in a disposable capacity. Waiting until 'convenient' times to form habits is just procrastination. Maybe start in your nice diary next month, but until then play around with a computer format. It'd also help you make up your mind

 

[ruminator]

You sound exactly like me. That post could have come from my head =P

 

[Rooke]

I think paper works better. It's a more powerful medium (in that you can go straight from writing to drawing, it's mobile, you can play with the format without it feeling like work). The main downside is that it's more difficult to edit, but since this is your personal journal, you only need to live up to your own standards.

Journaling is awesome. It made me human again.

I don't think you should wait until the start of the month. Start now in a disposable capacity. Waiting until 'convenient' times to form habits is just procrastination. Maybe start in your nice diary next month, but until then play around with a computer format. It'd also help you make up your mind

I already have a virual journal. I just don't take it very seriously. I was really talking about taking it more seriously by august.

 

[vanJoseph]

I love paper journals and writing is an awsome experience.

I turned all that down for digital journaling I used Google Keep. I have it on my phone, I can access it online. I prefer digital journaling cause you can add labels to different messages and perform various data Analysis on your entries. like time periods you was most active and what you wrote mostly about. When I do write on paper I usually take a photo of it in put it in my Keep account with various labels.

Virtual journaling is superior in my eyes for analysis.

 

[Brontosaurie]

I started a dream journal a while back but only kept it up for like five recalls. Probably i'll start again when i return home. I love dreams. A waking journal is a good idea too.

 

[reloaded]

I always use the notes on my iPhone, but I lost it all when my phone died. However after getting a new phone, I still chose to write digitally. It's faster, and I tend to get frustrated when writing on paper, because although I am considered a fast writer, by the time I reach the next sentence, my thoughts have already moved on. In other words, I write too slowly. When typing, I also think too fast, but I'm usually like two or three sentences faster. When writing, my thoughts tend to be three paragraphs too fast.