📓How Journaling Can Change Your Life...🤔And Why You Should Start Now

TIME TO READ: 5 mins

WHAT’S INSIDE?

• Signature Story

• Quick Start Actions

• Resources (A few of my favorite things)

I don’t journal every day, but I do write daily.

Social media is filled with volumes of blog posts, videos, shorts, and other content on journaling routines, emphasizing its importance for mental health, mindset, and overall well-being.

However, I did not see the value of building a habit to journal daily. This belief stems from how I have approached journaling.

Over the years, I have kept a number of journals from middle school, early adulthood, and even now. I don't journal very often because the thought of just writing about my day, as I go back and read my work, doesn't really give me perspective on deep thoughts. I always found my writing to be shallow and not to provide depth into who I am.

Journaling is a nice-to-have, but what if you can think about it differently, with direction to have it support you?

I recently watched a Youtube video from Struthless “The Journaling System that changed my life”. There were some great nuggets and a good framework that I have started using elements of to increase my writing frequency. 

Key Video Takeaways

The VOMIT Perspective for Journaling:

V= Vent - Write what makes you angry. Mind dump effect - get the mess and put it on paper.

O= Obligations - Mind dumping our responsibilities and to-dos. We don't want to use our brain to store problems. We use our brains to solve problems.

He gave a great example of a story from the UK rowing team. The coach said that in training, he would ask the team a guided question - will X make the boat go faster? As it relates to journaling, ask the guiding question - What thing if done would make everything else easier? He advises creating a list of the bare minimum things that will give maximum value and then a "killing it" list of to-dos after you get those done.

M= Mindset - Training your mindset by reframing, exploring possibilities, inversion, perspective, discipline, gratitude.

Reframing or perspective helps you find ideas even in bleak experiences. A great prompt is “how is this the best thing that has ever happened to me?” Your brain starts looking for answers. Mindset is also about exploring the possible. To do this, gather evidence to validate or see gaps to create change - I am X "because". Another concept is inversion. How can I do more X? How can I do less X? Ask the opposite of the question. Perspective is also a great way to look and find solutions in a new way - What would X do? Another part of mindset is discipline. He used the example of attaching one thing to build discipline for another. To do less social, he put his writing app in the same place as his social media app. Finally, mindset is about gratitude. A gratitude practice can be 3 things to be grateful for.

I= Ideate. Learning how to have great ideas is not a “born with” but it can be a learned skill.

You can learn to have more ideas. A writing practice that he recommends is to write a question and for 5 minutes, write 30 answers without editing it. Also, writing, how would X solve this problem. One of my favorite ideas in the video was the “open the loop” concept. Our brains love to solve the question loop. Ask your brain the question and then your brain will close the loop.

T= Trajectory. What is your life direction?

This could be journaling for your day-to-day or looking at macro vs. micro directions. Ask yourself and then journal your vision for your mental, physical, emotional, or overall life wellness. Are you moving away or closer to your “X”? Gather evidence through writing it down and adjust accordingly. The video also discusses the importance of metrics. Hidden metrics vs. visible. Hidden can get ignored because you can't count it, but it's still important. Journaling makes them visible. Finally, ask yourself daily questions to develop self-awareness through self-assessment - What excited me, what drained me, what did I learn?

Some of My Favorites:

• Asking the opposite question

• Asking guided single questions

• Micro-reflections - what excites me, what drains me, what did I learn. I do something similar (what worked, what didn't, improve), but this gives it a fresh perspective.

Conclusion:

Journaling doesn't have to be a formal process. Find tools that resonate with you and experiment and explore using them in ways that stick. What matters is to get things from your head to the page.

• Create a Quick Journal Entry (5 mins):

  • Favorite Idea Integration: Use the "open the loop" concept - pose a question like "What worked well today?" and list three answers without overthinking.

  • Grab a notebook or open a digital document.

  • Write down one thing that made you angry (Vent - V in VOMIT).

  • Jot down any responsibilities or to-dos you need to tackle today (Obligations - O in VOMIT).

  • Reflect on a positive aspect of your day, reframing any challenges (Mindset - M in VOMIT).

• Prioritize Your Tasks (3 mins):

  • Favorite Idea Integration: Apply the concept of a "killing it" list - add a couple of tasks that would make your day exceptional.

  • Make a list of the bare minimum things you must accomplish today.

  • Identify a couple of tasks that, if completed, would make everything else easier (inspired by the UK rowing team story).

• Practice Gratitude (2 mins):

  • Quickly jot down three things you're grateful for today (Gratitude - G in Mindset).

• Ask Yourself a Powerful Question (5 mins):

  • Favorite Idea Integration: Apply the "30 answers in 5 minutes" concept - quickly generate ideas on how to make your day more productive.

  • Pose a question to yourself, such as "How can I make today the best day ever?" (Ideate - I in VOMIT).

  • Write down 30 quick answers without editing (Ideate - I in VOMIT).

• Set a Daily Intention (5 mins):

  • Reflect on your life direction (Trajectory - T in VOMIT).

  • Write a brief vision for your mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

  • Adjust your approach based on your reflections, ensuring you're moving closer to your goals.