I’ve been maintaining journals and planners for many years, and here’s what I learned so far.
Jotting Tasks
Writing tasks in my journal/planner lessens the risk of forgetting them, whether I have done them or not.
Remembering Things
My journal/planner keeps track of the important things I’ve seen, listened to, tasted, felt, and read. So, when I read a past entry, I remember the important stuff I just wrote, and then some.
On Filling Pages
It feels great to fill one page per day, but it’s also fine to just write something as simple as, “It’s not really a great day.”
Mood Tracking
The calendar also serves as my mood tracker; I mark the day’s mood with a dot of color using one of my color pens. (For example, yellow means happy, blue means sad.)
Sidebar: Even if I didn’t write anything during the day (which rarely happens), I never skip my mood tracker because it’s just a simple task. One dot, and that’s it.
Journal Systems
The more elaborate the journal system, the more pages I write, but it’s not really sustainable in the long run.
The simpler the journal system, the more sustainable and less pressure it is to maintain.
On Change
Just like time and my journal system, plans, tasks, notes, situations, and feelings change for the better or the worse.
Header image courtesy of Manuel Cortés.
Ian Pasicolan 