Why We Should All Start Keeping a Weekly Journal
The key to unlocking your potential
When I initially began writing a weekly journal, it started off as just a to-do list and a way of noting some of the thoughts on how the past week went. 6 months later it has become an important part in shaping my weeks as well as my perspective in everyday life.
Throughout this blog, I am going to break down the format of my own bullet journal and why I feel like it is important to ask ourselves certain questions on a weekly basis.
There are many different types of journaling methods. Whether its a food journal to track the things that we eat or dream journal to track the things that happen in our sleep. Whatever it is that we choose to journal, we are identifying habits in our lifestyle which we may not have been aware of before.
The method of doing any sort of journalling needs to be simple, otherwise, it may become unsustainable in the long run.
When it comes to journalling, the main thing that people struggle with is consistency. Committing yourself to start a new activity for the next 6 months can be daunting, however, the pay off will soon start to show if you stick with it.
This is why a weekly journal is a good place to start. It is not something that needs to be updated daily, so it won’t start to feel like an assignment
But why is this valuable? And where do we start?
Reflection
The key thing that a weekly journal allows us to do is to reflect and review the week just gone. By asking ourselves ‘What went well this week?’ we are recognizing some of the positive things in our life at the moment. We can look back on the things that we are grateful for, which can make us appreciate them more in the future.
Not only that, but it gives us the opportunity to reflect on some of our achievements, big or small, which will make us feel more uplifted and motivated after.
By reflecting in this way we are regaining control of our emotions and processing them through before we start the week again. This is vital because, when you are forced to put your emotions into writing, you can process your thoughts (whether positive or negative) and feelings at a much deeper level than simply thinking about it.
When we write this down we are clearing our minds, which gives us clarity and focus for the week ahead. This is vital during times like now where it can become easy to lose focus and slip into unhealthy routines.
Journalling forces us to be honest. It is a conversation we are having with our future selves, so trying to hide your thoughts and feelings may be a hindrance.
Aims and Targets
This is an important part of weekly journalling as it is a chance for us to write out some of our priorities for the week ahead. Doing so helps us focus on what is important when we set a goal our attention shifts to what the next steps are.
Having a clear, compelling goal mobilizes your focus toward actionable behavior. This is what will motivate us at the start of each week to get things done so we can achieve that goal. Having it written down means that it constantly there for us to refer to and look at our progress. This creates a sense of self-efficiency and responsibility as we are ones who are in charge of achieving the tasks that we set out to.
Learning and Improving
How many times have you heard an inspirational quote, and then within a few weeks it vanishes from your memory and it’s gone until you stumble on it again?
This is because it is inevitable that we won’t always remember everything that we see or hear. But writing things down tends to boost your ability to retain information.
As a result, it is incredibly helpful for us to keep a record of some of the key quotes or life lessons that we have learned each week. Writing them in a journal allows them to act as a weekly reminder. This can change our perspective on the events that we are dealing with at that moment. It is what aids our self-development and helps us to grow as people.
By being able to look back at what we have learned in the past, it is easier for the life lessons to become habits. We are therefore more likely to implement them into our lifestyle.
Nice Things and Music
It is important for us to reflect on some of the nice things that we do for people and a weekly journal gives us the opportunity to do so. It can remind us of the importance to help people week in, week out.
I also really like the idea of keeping a record of the music that we listen to each and every week. This is something that is nice to look back on, as it shows us our thoughts and feelings are reflected in our music taste.
Whilst journalling may not be for everyone, I feel it is important for us to find time in the week to reflect and think about how our lives are at that moment.
With the ever importance of self-improvement, writing a weekly journal can be one of the best tools for that.
