Dear Diary: A Private Writing Practice

In addition to my blog and writing projects, I also keep a journal.  If you follow me, you know I’m a big fan of Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning and his Life S.A.V.E.R.S.  The last S in the acronym stands for scribing or journaling.  I didn’t get serious about keeping a journal until a few years ago when I participated in a fat loss challenge.  The first week’s challenge was to keep a basic journal to track what I ate and how I felt.  Documenting both of these things helped me collect trends that I couldn’t have understood otherwise.  Consistently logging when and how much you eat and sleep, mood, energy, hunger, and satiety helps you tell a story.  Reviewing the information collectively, you can really tune into how your body responds to things like too little or too much sleep (is there such a thing?).  Journaling gets you to pay attention.  If you notice that the high carb meals always make you sleepy, next time, you can make an educated choice to swap the high carb item.  I could go on with the examples, but you get where I’m going.  Journaling is an insanely helpful practice to help you see where improvements can be made and to measure progress. Your journal can become your best reference tool.

If you don’t currently keep a journal, you have a few options to get started.

First, decide on the format. Will you write on hard copy or electronically? If electronic, you can use any notepad app on your phone or a Word doc. I am also a huge fan of Evernote, which is an app that allows you to create collections of notebooks and you can also create tags in your notes for even more organization. If you go hard copy, just grab a pen and notebook!  If you prefer hard copy, you can have a lot of fun shopping for writing tools.  There are entire sub-cultures out there dedicated to journaling.  Google “bullet journal” if you want a glimpse. Search at your own risk; it’s a veritable rabbit hole! 

If you don’t know what to write about, I encourage you to draw from the headings that are mainstays in my journal (the image above).  The reflection section is wide open.  You can write about what happened yesterday, something you’re looking forward to, the to-do list that needs to get done, literally whatever is on your mind. This is your private space to put your thoughts on paper. Have fun with it. Still no ideas? Google “journal prompts” for suggestions.