Journaling

“Create an environment where you’re free to express what you’re afraid to express.” — Rick Rubin

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Why? While life is short, it’s too long for our memories.

• 比起模糊的記憶，模糊的紀錄總是比較好
• 留下生命的軌/足跡，把每個時刻的自己給快照 (Snapshot) 起來，相信「未來的自己」一定會很感激「現在的自己」有留下紀錄，就像是「現在的我」很感謝「過往的我」都有回顧覆盤的習慣一樣。(Memory is everything. You’re doing this for your future self. Future You will want to look back at this time in your life, and find out what you were actually doing, day-to-day, and how you really felt back then. It will help you make better decisions. Future You will thank Today You.)

Wins I Achieved

• “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

Use daily diary as a place to ask yourself questions, then question your answers.

Journalling is a time machine. It freezes your brains thoughts. You realize the value of this when you get to see them 5-10 years later. Your brain usually creates a false narrative of the past. It’s only when you thaw old thoughts out from the freezer do you see what your brain used to look like.

E.g., feelings, emotions, thoughts, memories, special moments/occasions/events

Advantages

• Helps to imprison the cluttered mind and racing thoughts (梳理腦中的想法)
• Helps to offload emotions/worries/anxieties
• Gives the brain a moment to rest
• Significantly increases cognitive functioning

Principles

• General 4-step cycle
  • Recall (by writing down)
  • Reflect (by reviewing what you wrote down)
  • Refine (by finding insights and takeaways)
  • Respond (by taking actions accordingly)

Approaches

• The 1-1-1 Method by Sahil Bloom
  • 1 win from the day
  • 1 point of tension, anxiety, or stress
  • 1 point of gratitude
• The Five Minute Journal
• Bullet Journaling (Bujo) by Ryder Caroll
  • A chronological record of the day
• Gratitude Journaling (感恩日記)
• Shadow-Work Journaling (陰影日記) by Keila Shaheen
• Morning Pages (晨間日記) by Julia Cameron
  • Three pages of unfiltered, longhand, and stream-of-conscious free writing (自由書寫).
  • About anything and everything that crosses your mind.
• Interstitial Journaling (間歇式/流水帳式日記) by Tony Stubblebine
  • Combines note-taking, to-do lists, and time tracking in one unique workflow.
    • Similar to The “Done List”
      • During your day, journal every time you transition from one work project to another. Write a few sentences in your journal about what you just did, and then a few more sentences about what you’re about to do.
      • The times between work projects (i.e., when you take breaks) are the interstitial moments when you should write in a journal.
      • This approach provides a touchstone to track your progress throughout the day. It offers a sense of security, helping you avoid the misleading/false feeling of “never enough” and allowing you to internalize how much you’ve accomplished.
• Atomic Journaling
  • Jog down any thoughts and emotions anytime and anywhere throughout the day, rather than sit down to write in a journal at a specific time each day.
• Homework For Life by Matthew Dicks
  • Write down those “story-worthy” moments that happened during the day. Save the beautiful life memories. One day, those memories might save you.