Why keep a diary every day and they do not throw their records

Writer and entrepreneur James Clear says daily reflection on the benefits and how a simple record system can do this ritual simple and enjoyable.

What does writing down their thoughts

Keeping a journal has played a big role in the career of many famous people: writers, inventors, scientists and politicians. Their ideas and reasoning daily recorded by Mark Twain, Vladimir Nabokov, Charles Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, George Washington and Winston Churchill.

Oprah Winfrey, the world-famous TV host and social activist, also applied this daily ritual. A well-known philosopher Susan Sontag He statedThat in the diary she "created himself."

Feel the benefit of taking notes and everyone can, because there does not need any special skills and knowledge. It's just a free reflection on his life, which gives a number of advantages.

Makes you learn from their experiences

Return to written in the diary like rereading a favorite book. You pay attention to a completely other details and see the past in a new way. Only in this case, you re-read the story of his life.

So, looking at his old records, the writer Virginia Woolf He notedThat it is often at the same time, "there is a special sense where before it did not notice."

It allows you to remember more

When Cheryl Strayed wrote the bestselling book "The Wild", she relies heavily on her diary. Author recalls"In my diary I have been described in detail the who, what, how, when and why - all I could forget. But there was something more I could see his own frank and unvarnished portrait of 26-year-old girl, which I no longer would not be able to find anywhere else. "

Time inevitably change not only your appearance but also your thoughts. You do not even have time to realize it. With the experience of our creed changes in the diary, they are imprinted forever. You do wonder to look at your old photos: they remind you looked before. But even more surprising to read their old records. From them you can learn as you once thought.

Motivated to take the best of each day

Realizing that you are transported back to the events of the day the paper, you will try to make at least one useful thing to sunset. The desire to write something nice - a great incentive.

It provides evidence of your progress

Writing that good things happened today, you will create a charge of inspiration to those cases where the feel prostration and you will feel depressed.

we tend to forget in particularly bad days, what successes already achieved. Diary also helps to maintain an adequate assessment of what is happening. It is only necessary to look at the entries made - and here they are, prove how much you have grown in recent months or years.

How not to throw the diary

Despite all the advantages of written expression of his thoughts, there is one important issue. Many people like the idea of ​​keeping a diary, but very few people get to do it regularly.

Even Oprah Winfrey recognizedThat once threw their daily habit to record a few things for which she is grateful. This ritual made her find joy in simple moments and gave her strength. Trying to understand why earlier, even during periods of strong employment she turned to find at this time, she came to a simple conclusion.

I just did thanks to his daily priority. I spent all day in search of what you can be thankful for, and that is something always was.

Oprah Winfrey

Most people know that the diary is useful, but very few people get to allocate at this time. Clear blogger James wondered how you can get this benefit without perceiving how exhausts daily reflection duty? And I found the answer.

Keeping a diary does not have to take a lot of time and effort. You can record your thoughts wherever and however you want. All you need is a sheet of paper or a new document on your computer. A single "correct" way to keep a diary no. But there is a way simple.

Write one sentence a day.

The main advantage of this approach is that it makes the process of keeping a journal easy and pleasurable. It becomes much easier to feel his success.

If each time, closing her diary, you will feel satisfied, not exhaustion from having to write, you'll want to come back to it every day. In the end, Useful habit It need not take a lot of effort to benefit.

What is written in the diary

James has developed its records system Habit JournalTo simplify the daily diary. It begins with the section "One line per day."

Accordingly, for a month, you will need 31 row - one for each day. To start keeping a diary, all you need to do - is to identify the theme for this period, and write a few words on a daily basis. That's what you can write:

• What happened today (diary of events).
• What are you thankful today (blog thanks).
• What is your most important task for today (productivity blog).
• How did you sleep last night (sleep diary).
• How do you feel (mood diary) today.

And the process is so simple that you will be hard not to write every day.