I've done it ... I've kept a journal for over 2 weeks now and trust me when I say, THAT'S A BIG DEAL!! I've mentioned in one of my earlier blogs that I'm not really into writing diaries and putting my emotions and thoughts on paper. Therefore, this task was quite a challenge for me but I'm proud to say that I've stuck with it and succeeded in keeping a journal.
I have tried various ways of writing my journal and I figured out that I prefer some to others. I'll start with the ones that really suited me.
It's probably a bit unusual but my favourite one was writing a List. It gave me the chance to just brain storm what happened during the day and to just get it all out of my had. With this method I was able to see what was most present in my mind and what stayed in the back of my head for the whole day because those were the things I put down on paper first. Unfortunately, my initial list was mostly a bit chaotic therefore I usually had to put it in order and write it down a bit neater but than again, this just gave me another chance to put everything perspective and put those things first I thought most important.
In combination with writing a List I usually also did an Evaluation of the things that happened during the day. I felt like it gave me more of a chance to figure out what to work on, what things I can do better, anythings that needs improvement, etc. When I only did an Evaluation of my day, I felt like it lacked something. I only put down what I need to work on and what, in my opinion, went well but I didn't actually have an overview of the whole day so the events where just events and not tied together.
The same thing applies to Description and Initial Reflection. I didn't feel like they worked for themselves but in combination with another one, they offered a much more detailed a varied way of writing. Though thinking about it, Description is actually part of all the other ways of keeping a journal. In one way or the other, you always describe what happened throughout the day. So I guess I would have to say that my favourite way of writing my journal was Description.
Probably due to my lack of interest and, yes I admit it, knowledge in mathematics, I struggled hugely with writing a journal entry in Graphs, Charts and Diagrams. To be completely honest with you, I only tried it once and gave up after half an hour because it was one of the most frustrating things I have done in a while. At first, I didn't know where to start and once I decided to just go for it and try it I just got REALLY confused and annoyed with the whole thing that I almost threw it out of the window. So, yeah, I think it's safe to say that I'll NEVER to that again!!
This leads me to the last two, What if? and writing from Another view. I just don't see the point in thinking about what ifs. Everything that has happened, happens and will happen is for a reason and I don't like sitting down at the end of the day and thinking about what could have happened differently, better or worse, if I had done something in a different way. Honestly, I've tried it once and I just felt drained and a little depressed afterwards. It didn't actually help me reflect on the day.
And the same thing goes for writing from Another view. I tried writing from the perspective of my sister which wasn't too bad. I didn't actually enjoy it but I thought I'll give it a try and see what happens. I struggle to stay in the other persons mind and to write about it the way I've seen the day, although I do have to say that it still sounded very much like me.
What I tried and absolutely failed at was writing from the perspective of my handbag. The whole time I was writing I was just thinking, "Bags don't think. They don't have a brain.". Therefore it ended up being a very short resumee of the day and not a very good one!!
I think in future I'll still stick to keeping my journal although I probably won't be writing in it every day. The recipe for keeping my successful journal will be writing a List with a hint of Description and Evaluation.
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