Post: #1

I have learned an incredible amount from this forum so I decided it is time to at least try to give back. One thing you should be doing is keeping a daily journal where you write down what you did that day and grade the day from 1-10 in the sense of how well you used it.Keeping a daily Journal has provided me with value and I am sure it will provide you with some as well. Here is why--

1. It gives a sense of accountability. Spending a day playing video games or watching movies may seem like a good idea at the time but when you look back at a journal entry and all you see is "Played video games and jacked off", you start to reduce the time you spend in such activities (at least I do).

2. It gives you the hard, cold facts. Memory is hazy and quite often we remember what we choose to remember. Having a Journal keeps you grounded in reality and tells you what you actually did on a particular day rather than what you think you did.

3. It helps you achieve your goals. I write my goals for a particular time period above the day from when the time period begins. The goal can be anything, from finishing 3 units of pimsleur to being able to do 15 pistol squats. After a couple weeks or so of tracking down your progress in your journal, you start to get a broader perspective of how well you used your time in achieving your goals and how far you have progressed.

4. It helps improve your ability to articulate your thoughts and it improves your writing skills. As some in this forum have pointed out, writing on this forum gives the hidden benefit of improving your writing skills. The Journal does much the same and it can prove very useful in the long run.

There you have it, the Panda's tips on keeping a Journal. I might not have covered all the benefits and dimensions of keeping a Journal so you can feel free to add any tips you have in a comment. Hope this helped.

Post: #2

Word document or actual physical journal with long hand?

I type up stuff daily, I'm thinking i need to at least print them out and put them in something physical.

WIA

Post: #3

I kept a journal when I was a little younger but I didn't update it too often, and I cluttered it with a mess of thoughts on what was going on at the time and emotional ramblings that I would cringe if I saw them again. I think I'm going to reboot my journal, this time with just the straight truth about what I did that day without any side-commenting input.

Post: #4

WIA: I keep a physical Journal but word document wouldn't be too bad I guess. A physical Journal is easier to organize and look back through and writing it down like that also improves your handwriting and your writing speed.
Narwhal: Adding how you felt at the time would not hurt the journal but just keeping the writing limited to what you did and what happened on that day is much more efficient.

Post: #5

I kept a journal on-and-off from the time I was 11 till 35. One day I pulled out my secret journals and read through them all.
Burned everything that afternoon.
It wasn't because there was anything scandalous or illegal in them. Sitting down and looking at all let me know how pointless and unfulfilled my life had been up to that moment.
I've never regretted the decision.

Post: #6

I've recently started keeping a journal, it's really useful for becoming aware about how you really spend your time and it's great motivation for change.

Seeing just how little you actually achieve on certain days makes you realise just how important this time is, which can either make you depressed or you can utilise it for creative energy.

I write down significant things that happen as well as thoughts which is interesting to look back on. I also have 2 questions I regularly ask:
1) What went well today? (gives you a sense of progress, I reflect on this in a monthly review and it helps you to realise just how much you had done)
2) What didn't go so well today + how to improve? (Any failures, procrastination etc goes here and this really is the most important part - listing and implementing the changes that will bring you the success you want.

All achievements and improvements I make are then summarised into a Monthly Review document, compiled with other monthly info such as total hours writing, income/expenses and progress on annual goals. This I find is be best way to keep track of and stay focused on your goals.

Post: #7

A high school teacher got me into keeping one, and I kept it through college and a couple of years after. Then I destroyed them...hahaha! I actually recommend doing it - it can help you work things out. It doesn't have to be personal drama, but just a way of keeping you on the right track in terms of your life, and maybe even therapeutic, if that's what you need. I may start doing it in some form again.

Post: #8

Great minds think alike??

http://www.returnofkings.com/9896/3-reas...-a-journal

Improve yourself, improve the world.
Datasheets: Chinese Dating. Bitcoin and trading on BTC-E.

Post: #9

(07-05-2013 01:09 AM)Generation21stCentury Wrote:  Great minds think alike??

http://www.returnofkings.com/9896/3-reas...-a-journal

Haha, I guess so.

Post: #10

Perhaps a blog can fulfill similar functions, plus a few extra. Articulating what is on your mind has added challenges when you are writing to an audience. There are matters of being persuasive, interesting, cogent, diplomatic, stylish, and more. As with a journal, it will help you to puzzle things out.

Conversely a journal runs the risk of wasting attention on navel gazing, or running on at the mouth sloppily, which could set up bad communication habits. People don't much care about our achievements and inspirations and emotions. And while clarity and focus of mind and direction are important, there are diminishing returns to going over our personal narrative. A journal makes our story seem very important to us - much more important than it will ever be to anyone else. It can be un-neccessary and even counter productive to be terribly invested in our narrative. The fact that it's boring to others should tell us something - it's actually not terribly important.

"Today my emotions were extremely this way, and then tapered off to a bland emotionless. I had the insight that it was because of so forth."

Rumination.

Much of our experience can be handled spontaneously and on the fly and then let loose.

Ok, that's all the negatives.

The positives are that yes, absolutely, touching in to pinpointing things with clarity sets up our minds and lives to be more insightful, organized, and productive.

The advantage to publishing openly our thoughts are to get the benefits without the disadvantages, plus to be challenged in a broader more social way. Plus, a blog can add value to other peoples lives, and is a ongoing resume for networking. I judge people by what they have written on blogs and forums and decide if I'd want to engage in friendship or business with them based on that, and I've even invited perfect strangers to meet based on their "resume". Writing for guys is like tits for a woman. I'm attracted to a good set of writing.

Post: #11

xsplat: Blogs are cool although they I'm not sure I would be comfortable sharing my progress on all my goals as well as what I did that day to other people. I don't think I mentioned writing down emotions. I don't have a single mention of how I felt in any of my journal entries, it's simply the recording of what you did and nothing more.

Post: #12

(07-06-2013 09:46 AM)SexualHarrasmentPanda Wrote:  xsplat: Blogs are cool although they I'm not sure I would be comfortable sharing my progress on all my goals as well as what I did that day to other people. I don't think I mentioned writing down emotions. I don't have a single mention of how I felt in any of my journal entries, it's simply the recording of what you did and nothing more.

That's an interesting take on the journal idea.

WIA

Post: #13

(07-06-2013 08:14 AM)xsplat Wrote:  Perhaps a blog can fulfill similar functions, plus a few extra. Articulating what is on your mind has added challenges when you are writing to an audience. There are matters of being persuasive, interesting, cogent, diplomatic, stylish, and more. As with a journal, it will help you to puzzle things out.

Conversely a journal runs the risk of wasting attention on navel gazing, or running on at the mouth sloppily, which could set up bad communication habits. People don't much care about our achievements and inspirations and emotions. And while clarity and focus of mind and direction are important, there are diminishing returns to going over our personal narrative. A journal makes our story seem very important to us - much more important than it will ever be to anyone else. It can be un-neccessary and even counter productive to be terribly invested in our narrative. The fact that it's boring to others should tell us something - it's actually not terribly important.

"Today my emotions were extremely this way, and then tapered off to a bland emotionless. I had the insight that it was because of so forth."

Rumination.

Much of our experience can be handled spontaneously and on the fly and then let loose.

Ok, that's all the negatives.

The positives are that yes, absolutely, touching in to pinpointing things with clarity sets up our minds and lives to be more insightful, organized, and productive.

The advantage to publishing openly our thoughts are to get the benefits without the disadvantages, plus to be challenged in a broader more social way. Plus, a blog can add value to other peoples lives, and is a ongoing resume for networking. I judge people by what they have written on blogs and forums and decide if I'd want to engage in friendship or business with them based on that, and I've even invited perfect strangers to meet based on their "resume". Writing for guys is like tits for a woman. I'm attracted to a good set of writing.

Some great points. I'll only contribute that we often edit ourselves when publishing our "journal" publicly, which can be a downside.

Then again, does part of the evolution of a man necessitate finally syncing your private self with your public self?

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #14

Dear Diary...

I don't keep a journal on a regular basis but I do track my daily activities via excel. I got the idea from this article a while back:

http://www.kratosguide.com/16-habits-you...every-day/

Scroll down to the bottom and you'll see the author keeps track of numerous activities he does on a daily basis. This is what I do.

However, I like the idea of having a journal because it allows for a discussion per se with myself and reflect on not only what I did, but how and why I did it.

Something I need to definitely look into.

Post: #15

I keep .doc Journal for my long introspective and tedious writings. I also have notebooks where I can doodle, write quotes or excerpts from books, and just to practice my handwriting

Post: #16

As this is one of my New Year's commitments, time to bump this thread.

Some additional insight: /thread-40151.html

Now, some questions:

Of those of you who are keeping a journal, which method are you using? Digital or old fashioned paper?

Part of me rather enjoys the old-fashioned nature of writing in a phsyical book, and it is easier to scribble on. You also don't need to boot up your computer or cell phone each time you want to add a note. If you journal at night before bedtime, it is best to unwind, and getting back on our devices defeats that purpose. Journaling in a paper book I think is a good accountability method. It also gives you an opportunity to account for your time and how you spend it.

The digital journal has the advantage of being faster (assuming you're fast typist), plus you can add multimedia to it. For the Big Picture Ideas, I'm now using Evernote, which is available on iOS, Andriod and Windows/Web versions. You can quickly add a picture and embed it as part of your notes. Each file you create is its own "notebook" so it is easy to keep track of your thoughts. It is certainly more organized than a paper journal. That's why for business planning, or setting general goals or trying to work out concrete ideas, I think a digital journal works best.

I'm going to stick to the paper journal more so to keep records of No Fap, hitting the gym, introspection, prayer, etc.

Also, are there any notebook publishers that have nice covers on them that you can buy in bulk? I'd love a Costco size pack of personal notebooks with nice leather or faux leather binding on them. My goal is to create a collection of writings that I can share perhaps as "wisdom for a son" once I have my own child. Anyone found a good price on quality notebooks in bulk? I've also thought about using 3 ring binders with cheap binder paper, but that's more clumsy due to the larger size, plus not nearly as polished looking.

Chime in, any ideas?

Post: #17

I consider keeping a journal one of the most important things a man can do for self-development. I've written at least 100 thousand words in the past two years, and I don't intend on stopping.

I could talk more about it later. I don't just ramble to myself; I use journalling as a log and a way to properly gather my thoughts.

Post: #18

(07-01-2013 03:59 AM)Valentine Wrote:  I've recently started keeping a journal, it's really useful for becoming aware about how you really spend your time and it's great motivation for change.

Seeing just how little you actually achieve on certain days makes you realise just how important this time is, which can either make you depressed or you can utilise it for creative energy.

I write down significant things that happen as well as thoughts which is interesting to look back on. I also have 2 questions I regularly ask:
1) What went well today? (gives you a sense of progress, I reflect on this in a monthly review and it helps you to realise just how much you had done)
2) What didn't go so well today + how to improve? (Any failures, procrastination etc goes here and this really is the most important part - listing and implementing the changes that will bring you the success you want.

All achievements and improvements I make are then summarised into a Monthly Review document, compiled with other monthly info such as total hours writing, income/expenses and progress on annual goals. This I find is be best way to keep track of and stay focused on your goals.

It's funny to see this post several years later.

I've kept up the habit since then and it's been incredibly useful to me in terms of maintaining happiness, high productivity and quick implementation of things I learn or realise.

(01-02-2017 07:39 PM)John Michael Kane Wrote:  Of those of you who are keeping a journal, which method are you using? Digital or old fashioned paper?

Digital. That way you can encrypt it, back it up, easily edit it on multiple platforms, travel without bulk and search the document by keywords or dates. I don't really understand your point about bedtime use, personally I'm pretty used to using my phone right up til the moment before sleep to set alarms as well.

For people who want to start this habit I'd recommend using a simple text document as it's simple and allows easy customisation to your needs.

If you're like me you'll slowly start to create your own way of formatting it into a more standardised document so you ask yourself certain questions each day, or keep track of certain things. Makes it much easier in those moments where you're not sure what to write.

Post: #19

(01-02-2017 07:57 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  I consider keeping a journal one of the most important things a man can do for self-development. I've written at least 100 thousand words in the past two years, and I don't intend on stopping.

I could talk more about it later. I don't just ramble to myself; I use journalling as a log and a way to properly gather my thoughts.

(01-02-2017 10:45 PM)Valentine Wrote:  [quote='Valentine' pid='480921' dateline='1372669183']
I've recently started keeping a journal, it's really useful for becoming aware about how you really spend your time and it's great motivation for change.

Seeing just how little you actually achieve on certain days makes you realise just how important this time is, which can either make you depressed or you can utilise it for creative energy.

I write down significant things that happen as well as thoughts which is interesting to look back on. I also have 2 questions I regularly ask:
1) What went well today? (gives you a sense of progress, I reflect on this in a monthly review and it helps you to realise just how much you had done)
2) What didn't go so well today + how to improve? (Any failures, procrastination etc goes here and this really is the most important part - listing and implementing the changes that will bring you the success you want.

All achievements and improvements I make are then summarised into a Monthly Review document, compiled with other monthly info such as total hours writing, income/expenses and progress on annual goals. This I find is be best way to keep track of and stay focused on your goals.

Quote:It's funny to see this post several years later.

I've kept up the habit since then and it's been incredibly useful to me in terms of maintaining happiness, high productivity and quick implementation of things I learn or realise.

What advice do you recommend for journaling? Any particular method for organization? Or is it more just a stream of consciousness?

A friend of mine who is an English teacher has always told me that writing is the best way to organize a man's thoughts.

Quote:Of those of you who are keeping a journal, which method are you using? Digital or old fashioned paper?

Quote:Digital. That way you can encrypt it, back it up, easily edit it on multiple platforms, travel without bulk and search the document by keywords or dates. I don't really understand your point about bedtime use, personally I'm pretty used to using my phone right up til the moment before sleep to set alarms as well.

For people who want to start this habit I'd recommend using a simple text document as it's simple and allows easy customisation to your needs.

If you're like me you'll slowly start to create your own way of formatting it into a more standardised document so you ask yourself certain questions each day, or keep track of certain things. Makes it much easier in those moments where you're not sure what to write.

The research I've read suggests you ideally should not be using any electronic screen device (laptop, cell phone, etc) approximately 1-2 hours prior to bedtime, lest it mess with your sleep quality. I usually reserve before bedtime space for reading an old-fashioned paper book, hence why I thought it might not hurt to write in a paper book in case one didn't want to get hooked on late night cell phone distractions.

All the other points you made about journaling being more effective on digital are valid. I'm just wondering if there's a case to be made for a hybrid approach.

Post: #20

(01-02-2017 11:44 PM)John Michael Kane Wrote:  What advice do you recommend for journaling? Any particular method for organization? Or is it more just a stream of consciousness?

A friend of mine who is an English teacher has always told me that writing is the best way to organize a man's thoughts.

See my original post for how I organise it. Since then I've added other questions which are more individual to me and added reminders to do certain things such as meditate. I also have a daily journal document separate from a socialising-only related one, where I track stuff like mindfulness, conversation, what went well, what didn't + how to improve.

Quote:The research I've read suggests you ideally should not be using any electronic screen device (laptop, cell phone, etc) approximately 1-2 hours prior to bedtime, lest it mess with your sleep quality. I usually reserve before bedtime space for reading an old-fashioned paper book, hence why I thought it might not hurt to write in a paper book in case one didn't want to get hooked on late night cell phone distractions.

All the other points you made about journaling being more effective on digital are valid. I'm just wondering if there's a case to be made for a hybrid approach.

Use f.lux or similar on your electronic devices to reduce blue light (that's what stops melatonin release which harms sleep quality) or wear blue light blocking glasses to stop it completely.

I get the point of using a single-purpose device (a book) that will have less chance for distraction than a multipurpose one. For similar reasons I still prefer digital books though too.

I usually journal a few hours before sleep partly to avoid the impact of such distractions, also because it's easier to rationalise that you're too tired to journal if it's right before sleep.

Post: #21

It's got to be on paper. I started, like you, this year. So I'm only on my third day, and I'm using a hardback diary (as it already has the dates for each day written in) that has 2 days per A5 size page, and then I just cram as much in as I can.

For example, yesterday I wrote down some notes related to an eBook I'm reading, and then just added a general summary of how I thought the day went (it was fairly unremarkable). However on New Year's Day, I had something on my mind so I just wrote and wrote my thoughts on to the paper.

I'll be using only paper, nothing digital. I feel like if it is digital, then I'm more likely to give up the habit and forget about it. If there a photos I want to include, I'll print them off and stick 'em in the diary.

Post: #22

I've tried keeping a journal a few times. I'll do a good job of writing in it for a while, but eventually I'll stop updating it. I've let two things, primarily, keep me from doing better about keeping one:

1.) Fear of others reading it

Any journal worth keeping is one in which you're writing about some highly personal shit. While it wasn't a journal per se, I once had a girl find a list I'd written (and hid in my glovebox along with insurance documents) of girls I'd fucked. Thankfully I hadn't added her to the list yet, so I was able to deny it being what it actually was. She knew better though, but as Alonzo Harris famously stated in "Training Day" -- it's not what you know, it's what you can prove.

2.) Looking back versus moving forward

Reflection is no doubt important, but writing takes a long time -- well, at least to write well. I found the time I spent looking back took away from the time I could spend working to better myself in the present whilst keeping an eye toward the future.

Of course now I wish I had kept journals, but hindsight is 20/20 -- and who knows? Perhaps if I'd spent more time writing, I'd have spent less time doing and had fewer adventures worth writing about in the first place.

Post: #23

I tried starting a journal a while back but got too in-depth and abandoned what turned into an excessive time commitment.

I like the idea of something like this as it keeps time investment low while still having room for key points - one page per day, split into three lines or so per year. Best part is when you get to the end and start over again and you get flashbacks.

https://www.amazon.com/One-Line-Day-Five...0811870197

Post: #24

Writing things down physically on paper actually makes me memorize things much more easily as I can have muscle memory to attach to a thought. I don't actually go back to re read much of my written stuff, because I can take a quick peek and know what I wrote way back.

As for people who say it's a huge time commitment, you can just pen something down every day or once a week as long as you write something down it's good to know what happened.