Returning to Center & Leveraging Up
Most self-development gurus reference journaling, but they don’t explain why this is a good investment of your time. After all, we are BUSY busy. We have jobs, housework, kids, bills…. More people want a piece of us than a rock star. So journaling? Pffft. We dismiss it with a flick of the acrylics.
But I beg you to reconsider. Journaling is a practice that not only creates a treasure for yourself and your descendants, it is also a very centering, stress-relieving, productivity building practice. A journal is a record, yes, but it is also a lever. It can catapult you to higher levels of self, faster than you can imagine.
It doesn’t have to be difficult or elaborate or terribly time-consuming. And that blank page doesn’t have to intimidate.
Instead of rewarding the outcome, you are rewarding the process. This is powerful.
Many different journaling formats, themes and rubrics are available, but one of the most useful techniques is made up of five components: Good Decisions, Health, Context, Summary, & Commentary. These standard headers grant a framework to build upon, a structure for journaling practice and a sense of organization.
The first section is headed “Good Decisions and Positive Action Steps”. This is where you can record, and celebrate, the positive steps you take toward your goals each day, the good decisions you make and the good ideas you have. Overcame the temptation to go out for donuts? Goes in the journal. Made a difficult phone call? Goes in the journal. Instead of rewarding the outcome, you are rewarding the process. This is powerful.
Many authors recommend that you re-write your goals every day to keep them front and center in your mind, and this is a good practice, but can become tedious very quickly. I find it more useful to smooth a bit of butter on the tiny daily steps that I take towards reaching those goals. It’s a small amount of happy accountability, and positive reinforcement at the same time. I find myself making better choices as I move through the day because I want to have several things to record on this page of my journal. And it’s wonderful to be able to look back at all the good, right things I do, rather than dwelling on my mistakes and shortcomings. It’s a quite motivating and effective way to keep yourself on track.
The second section is dedicated to your physical health. Record your meals here, keep track of any special dietary goals, like the amount of water you drink or veggies you eat, record your workouts, physical therapy, and check off medications. Again, that little bit of accountability might be just the boost you need to keep yourself on track.
The third section is dedicated to current events. An unusual element for a personal journal, I admit, but jotting down one or two of the biggest headlines of the day will allow you to look back and see the cultural, political, and economic context within which you were operating at the time the page was written. It’s just a fun thing to see the juxtaposition of where you were on that day versus the rest of the world. It also helps to keep you up-to-date on current events, developing your cultural and historical world view.
The next two pages (or so) are titled “Daily Summary”, and this is where you record, in bullet-point fashion, the main events of the day. Don’t go into a lot of detail; simply record a general outline of how you spent your day, and any impactful events that occurred. Some days you won’t fill up a page; other days you may fill three. This section falls more into the traditional concept of journaling—a record of your life. But don’t stress about making a coherent or entertaining narrative. The bullet point format is intentional. It takes the pressure off and grants a gentle nudge of accountability. You wouldn’t want to put down “Netflix binge”, but instead record a productive, focused day. Knowing that what you do will be recorded provides a little push to stay on track.
The final section is titled “Commentary”. Here is where your heart comes into play. The other sections are more rote; this section is emotional in nature. This is where you record & sort through your thoughts and feelings about the events of your life. It is in semi-narrative form; separate topics by bullet-point, but each topic may stretch on for several paragraphs if need be. This practice, the art of reflection on paper, brings a clarity like no other. Some days I skip this; other days, the hard days, I write pages and pages. It helps, it really does.
Making Time
This format lends itself nicely to jotted contributions throughout the day, but I like to gift myself two islands of tranquility in every day. First thing in the morning as I bring myself to coherence with a glass of water and a bit of caffeine, I begin my day by with a planning and journaling session. This is where I review my goals and deadlines, and complete any journaling not finished from the day before. In the evening before bed, I also gift myself some quiet time, recording my day, reflecting on my progress, and giving myself a little credit for a day well-fought. These precious minutes are my time, a necessary retreat into self to recenter, re-order and rejuvenate my thought life.
I challenge you to give it a try. Feel free to modify the format as you feel necessary. As a person who struggled with journaling for many years, not knowing what tone, what audience, what depth I should pursue, I fluttered in and out of journaling for a great deal of my life. Today, I look back on the years and wonder what memories have been lost, what patterns would emerge, what lessons could be drawn, had only the seemingly mundane had been recorded.
