Daily Journaling: How Can It Help You?
It helps to transfer the thoughts from your mind to the paper thus reducing the mental burden
“No man is free who is not a master of himself.” — Epictetus
Daily journaling has become my daily routine.
Many individuals like Ryan Holiday and Tim Ferriss have mentioned the benefits of daily journaling.
“I don’t journal to “be productive.” I don’t do it to find great ideas, or to put down prose I can later publish. The pages aren’t intended for anyone but me.”- Tim Ferriss
According to a Harvard Business School study, participants who did journalling had a 25% increase in performance compared to those who did not journal.
Another Cambridge University study shows that journaling improves well-being after any stressful event.
It has helped me in many tiny ways I did not know earlier was possible.
Benefits of Journaling
- It helps me to free my brain from all the thoughts and put it on paper. It automatically lightens my head.
- It makes me realize that most of my concerns are not real problems. They are all stories of my monkey mind.
- I can think about the solutions for all the actual obstacles.
- In journaling, I can write about the baby action steps to solve the problem.
- Journaling brings me closer to my true self.
You can segment a day into three parts — Morning, Afternoon, and Night.
Morning Journal
Before starting the day, I write down how I want to run the day and how I will respond to all the uncertain and unpleasant people and situations that visit me that day.
Benefits
It gives a mini plan to manage your mental state for any sudden situations of the day.
“At the start of the day tell yourself: I shall meet people who are officious, ungrateful, abusive, treacherous, malicious, and selfish. In every case, they’ve got like this because of their ignorance of good and bad. But I have seen goodness and badness for what they are, and I know that what is good is what is morally right, and what is bad is what is morally wrong; and I’ve seen the true nature of the wrongdoer himself and know that he’s related to me — not in the sense that we share blood and seed, but by virtue of the fact that we both partake of the same intelligence, and so of a portion of the divine. None of them can harm me, anyway, because none of them can infect me with immorality, nor can I become angry with someone who’s related to me, or hate him, because we were born to work together, like feet or hands or eyelids, like the rows of upper and lower teeth.”
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.1
Afternoon Journal
I take a 5–10 minute break to reflect on the day till afternoon.
- What went well?
- What situations or which people disturbed my mental peace?
- Do I need to recalibrate any of my strategies?
- How did I feel about myself?
- How do I want to end the day after work?
Benefits
It helps you to visit your morning plan and see where you are going wrong.
You can do the fixes on yourself for a better second half of the day.
“Every day and night keep thoughts like these at hand — write them, read them aloud, talk to yourself and others about them.”
- Epictetus, Discourses 3.24
Night journal
Before winding up the day, I write all the honest feelings I have had that day.
A few questions that I ask myself daily are
- Does the work I do align with my soul’s purpose?
- Am I taking the necessary steps to live the life I want?
- Am I being honest with myself?
- Tomorrow, what shall I do to get closer to my dream life?
Benefits
- It is the sacred time where you can be honest with yourself.
- You can find what made you feel good during the day. Your feelings are the compass of your life.
“Admit not sleep into your tender eyelids
Till you have reckoned up each deed of the day —
How have I erred, what done or left undone?
So start, and so review your acts, and then
For vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad.”
- Epictetus, Discourses 3.10
Conclusion
To sum up, journaling is a simple daily habit that can help you understand your thoughts and how real they are.
It is a dialogue between you and you. It allows you to get closer to yourself.
You can start daily journaling by writing every morning, afternoon, and night to understand how you feel in each segment of the day.
It helps you to make mental adjustments to have a better day tomorrow.
It allows you to be your authentic self.
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