I write my journal as though I’m talking to myself in the future. If it’s a detail I think I’ll forget, I write it down. I have a general rule that I don’t show people that journal, simply because I know I’ll be less honest if I do.
Technical notes: I make a new document every six months, and I write in it pretty much every other day. Usually I write about my state of mind, examine why I’m feeling whatever it is I’m feeling, and what I did that day. It was originally an attempt to remember things, since I have a notoriously bad memory for dates, events, and the like. The current six-month diary is kept on my computer, password protected. I made it accessible because I don’t want minor inconveniences to prevent me from writing in it. The old ones are kept on a flash drive (encrypted, password protected) and I’ve put it somewhere safe. Six months because three is safer in terms of “if someone steals my computer or something, keeping three months is less information” but its a hassle to get the old versions out, and I use it to monitor how I change over time. A year would be ideal for that, but that’s too much information to keep in one place, so I settled for six months.
To the point: Write frequently, and to your future self. Don’t make it so accessible that anyone could get to it, but have it accessible enough that you will write in it.
I write my journal as though I’m talking to myself in the future. If it’s a detail I think I’ll forget, I write it down. I have a general rule that I don’t show people that journal, simply because I know I’ll be less honest if I do.
Technical notes: I make a new document every six months, and I write in it pretty much every other day. Usually I write about my state of mind, examine why I’m feeling whatever it is I’m feeling, and what I did that day. It was originally an attempt to remember things, since I have a notoriously bad memory for dates, events, and the like. The current six-month diary is kept on my computer, password protected. I made it accessible because I don’t want minor inconveniences to prevent me from writing in it. The old ones are kept on a flash drive (encrypted, password protected) and I’ve put it somewhere safe. Six months because three is safer in terms of “if someone steals my computer or something, keeping three months is less information” but its a hassle to get the old versions out, and I use it to monitor how I change over time. A year would be ideal for that, but that’s too much information to keep in one place, so I settled for six months.
To the point: Write frequently, and to your future self. Don’t make it so accessible that anyone could get to it, but have it accessible enough that you will write in it.