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When I went from being an employed club manager to someone
who was trying to figure out how to become an employed club manager or
something else, I read a book called "Write it Down and Make it
Happen", by Henriette Anne Klauser. One of the ideas I got from
the book was the concept of journaling. I had heard about people who
write in a journal. I guess I thought that I was so busy already that I
didn't see any way I would have time to journal. This rational made a lot
of sense to me when I overfilled my days as a manager of a club, but at
the time of reading the book I was not working. I began my practice of
journaling.
I have filled a number of journals now and something I love
to do is go to a coffee shop and see what ends up on the pages of my
journal. Often when I am at a coffee shop someone will approach me and
ask what I write in there. I have had people comment on how it looks. I
have had people speculate that I am writing a screen play or I am
planning something big. They could be right.
In a recent client session I asked the client about their agenda for the
session. The response I got was "One thing I would like to talk to
you about is the concept of journaling. Why do you do it? What do you put
in there? Do you think I should do it?"
Let me answer the last question first. Whether you decide to
journal or not is entirely up to you. It is your decision and like most
decisions, you would be better off if you make it for your own reasons
rather than what someone else thinks you "should" do. Since you
only have a finite amount of time in a day, it makes sense to be very
selective about how you use your time.
I can tell you now that I journal because I enjoy it. I like
getting things out of my head and on to paper. I like that I am enjoying
some solitude during this time. I think it has helped me enjoy my own
company more, and I like the fact that I am not quite sure what is going
to be on the page at the end of the day's journaling. I like the record
of my thinking and my experiences.
Here are some of the things that are in my journal!
I write about plans for the future. This is sort of the screen play of
the life I would like to live. I have goals at the front of each journal.
I write about my vision for the future of my life and my business and my
family's life. It is interesting to see the similarity to the life I am
living and the things I have written in my journal over the past seven
years.
I write about what has happened. My goal on our 25th Wedding Anniversary
was to give Rose a gift for each year of our marriage. This idea came to
me when I was journaling. One of the gifts was eighteen large journal
pages with small print recounting the amazing holiday we have just
experienced.
I write about what I am learning. I guess it helps me pay attention to
the lessons that are available whether I am taking a course, meeting with
one of my mastermind groups or simply having daily experiences.
I draw. If you looked inside my journal you might see mindmaps or
diagrams or page layouts or maps.
I do "mind dumps". This is the practice of sitting down with my
journal and emptying out my thoughts onto a page. This really helps me
organize what can seem like a thousand things I have to do. It helps me
to decide whether or not to let them go or realize the important few on
which to focus.
If I am not near a computer I may write an article, a newsletter, a
speech, content for a program or a chapter in my journal.
I have written my thoughts, eulogies, tributes, and lists of things for
which I am grateful.
Here's the message. You can put whatever you want in your
journal or you can decide that a journal is not a good use of your time.
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