“That is the way I’ve always done it.”
This is a fine answer to explain why I do the things I do, but I’ve been trying to say it less so I can lead my life with more intention.
Instead, I want to ask myself “why am I doing it this way?”
I was reminded of this when I was challenged in the way I journal.
My way of journaling for the past 4 years has been to write whatever was on my mind. A stream of consciousness. Just let it all out.
This is very aligned with Julia Cameron’s method of morning pages that she talks about in her well-renowned book The Artist’s Way.
Morning pages consist of journaling 3 pages every morning with whatever is on your mind.
Author Greg McKeown discusses journaling in his book Essentialism. His approach intrigued me.
McKeown suggests applying the principle of “less but better” to your journal.
He challenges to start an “essentialist journal” and write 1 sentence a day answering the question of “what’s the most important thing that happened today?”
It made me consider, what if I only wrote down the essential things? What if I journaled about only the most important things?
This approach could give me a lot of clarity on what my time and energy should be spent on, and could realign my focus.
Here are some others things I started considering:
Feeling All The Feelings
I will say that writing a stream of consciousness has given me permission to explore every feeling about everything in a safe space.
But the approach of only writing down the essential things could help me realize what is not worth feeling stressed, frustrated, or annoyed about if it has not been declared essential.
The Hardship of the Task
Showing up to journal whatever is on my mind is daunting sometimes. I feel like there is so much I need to write down and I can make the task harder than it needs to be.
Showing up to write down the essential things can make it feel more manageable and you might be more likely to do it consistently.
Structure vs. Play
Writing down whatever is on my mind allows my perfectionist brain to run free and not feel like things have to be a certain way. Some unexpected things get discovered.
Writing down the essential things could bring a little more structure to entries if that is what I like, but leaves less room for play. However, it could be easier to see trends or your evolution of growth over time.
Memory
Writing down what is on my mind has helped me process and capture a lot of memories.
Writing down only the essential events could help me remember the most important things from my day or life, like being together with family, instead of writing down something annoying someone did that is not going to be important a year from now.
–
So do I keep going about journaling the way I always have, or do I change course?
The important question to ask myself is why am I journaling? What is your purpose for showing up?
For me, I need a place to check in. This means I could maybe see myself writing out what is on my mind, but closing out the entry recognizing what is actually important from the day.
When we start asking “why” more often, our habits start aligning more to our purpose.
