MacSparky – Blog – Journaling with Day One:
I can only think of two reasons why I might want to keep a journal:
- Therapy for myself. It seems a good way to collect and deal with my thoughts about whatever is happening in my life. This is particularly true if I create the entries before ending my day.
- Nostalgia. It may be interesting in a few years to go back and see where my head was in 2011.
David’s first reason is a great one. Writing can be great therapy and help you find your center again after a busy day, record important events, and focus on the days ahead.
I can also get behind David’s Reason #2. For years I have wanted to begin a 5-year journal, also known as a book of days, and Day One can certainly serve in that capacity. Haven’t heard of a 5-year journal? This excerpt from “How to Keep a Journal” posted at levenger.com explains how it works:
Of her book of days, Darlene [Kostrub] explains: “I only put something there if it’s significant—when somebody dies, is married, if my kids broke up with somebody, or where we spend our family birthdays or the Fourth of July. I can tell you where we were and what we did.”
Each year, on her close friend’s birthday, the two of them go out to celebrate. This year Darlene told her friend what they had done for each of the last five birthdays, “She couldn’t believe it. She was really impressed; it was gone from her mind,” Darlene says. “I tell people to keep this kind of journal, and nobody values it until they do.”
My first goal is to nail down alarm intervals that remind me to write rather than nagging me to do so. I look forward to joining David and keeping a daily record using Day One and encourage you to keep a journal to suit your needs.