It's difficult to read self-help or productivity articles for very long without learning about the wonders of journaling. I've read this advice at least a hundred times by now.
Whatever the flavor of journaling happens to be, they recommend making it habit and rolling it into a daily routine.
Looking back on the past year, I recognize the importance of journaling not because of what I did, but because of what I didn't do. It's scarily easy to lose track of a whole year without some kind of ongoing records.
A highlight reel of a year for others
Our pastor has had a highlight reel of a year:
- He switched jobs to pastor our church, and the church has grown since taking the helm.
- His son was called to pitch major league baseball.
- He became a grandfather for the first and second time via his two daughters.
- His son got engaged.
- He baptized his son himself (a pastor's dream basically).
He had a lot in his life to be proud of this past year.
I don't know if he journals or not, but preparing for sermons and delivering them is, in a way, journaling, because he's candid and pours a lot of his life into his sermons.
For me? It took a while to think of anything
A high-school classmate who's unfailingly supportive and positive on Facebook posted this challenge:
Please brag to me about a thing you did in 2023 that you are proud of.
A number of comments were quippy or amusing:
- “I didn't throat-punch anyone”
- “I survived”
- “I managed not to kill anyone”
Others were inspiring:
- “I fought cancer” (x2)
- “Paid off all my debt”
- “Took back control of my life”
Then I thought of what I did that I was proud of in 2023.
I had a lot of trouble with this:
- My health is arguably worse than it was at the beginning of 2023. I acquired more pills to take every day and another machine to use every day to monitor things. My weight is basically the same as it was a year ago.
- My jobs (my main one and my side one) are where they were. At the end of the year, I question whether either one of them is headed in a good direction.
- People that I once thought of as friends are proving to be disinterested acquaintances at best.
- Our daughter is doing well and has a lot to be proud of over the past year, but I can't take credit for that.
I finally came up with something: “Broke $1,000 in profits playing online poker.”
Maybe cool — 75% of online poker players don't profit — but nothing terribly breathtaking or inspiring about earning $0.60/hour over 3+ years and over 2,000 games.
But that's literally all that I could come up with beyond “I survived 2023.”
Journaling regularly would have made this way easier
I mostly journaled when I was depressed. Heading to my journal was a cry for help when I was down on myself.
And I didn't journal regularly. Here is the list of dates for the entries in my so-called personal journal from the past seven months:
- June 4, 7, 8, 10, 13, 18, 28
- July 2, 11, 27, 31
- August 1, 6, 29
- September 15, 24
- October 3
- November 28, 30
- December 3, 24, 28
Twenty-two days out of 210. Just more than 10%. That's it.
I did get some good journaling done in June. We were on a cruise and I got some writing done outside on our balcony. But a lot of the rest wasn't even really journaling. It was mainly to-do lists because I had the notebook handy.
Journaling was a last resort when it should have been a daily practice. That wasn't giving it the respect it deserved.
I want something to be proud of at the end of this coming year.
That's the main reason why I'm going to be journaling more in the coming year.
I don't want to be caught with my fly down if the same Facebook friend asks next December what I did that I'm proud of.
Also, I want some tangible reminders of something I've done that's worthwhile.
After being married to someone who journals, you'd think I'd have gotten it through my head by now. My wife can go back into her journals to find out when things happened, including her successes. I've seen her do it many times.
I'll be journaling more, with a focus on successes
I'm starting with a few bullets each day. I didn't get a fresh journal because (a) I had only written in about 15 of the pages, and (b) I wanted there to be a visible contrast between what I did (basically nothing) to what I'm doing now (something).
I'm also focusing on the good, on the successes. The nice talks I had with my mom. The specific things I'm doing on my websites to move them forward. The blessings of a safe trip home. Those kinds of things.
It's all too easy for me to dwell on the negative. A few minutes of journaling about the good gets me out of that place and into a better one.
Focus on input and track it
I have some goals related to input. I can control what I do. The output (more followers, more money, etc.) follows from the input at some point, but I won't know when.
As James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, said “Your outcomes are a measure of your habits.” Journaling about what I'm doing to hit publish will give me the evidence that I'm actually creating stuff. This will be regardless of whether I make whatever per month or whether I gain so many subscribers or get so many visits.
I've got to believe that if I put stuff out there and analyze how it performs, my work will become more effective with time.
Above all, I'll be gentler on myself
We're all hardest on ourselves, aren't we?
I'll aim to journal something every day, and I'm starting out really easy, like a few bullet points.
But if I miss a day, yeah I'll be bummed but I need to be better company for myself.
If nothing else, that will be something I can be proud of.