I've Journaled for 100 Straight Days: Here's What I've Learned
Last year I wrote a steemit blog post about my "30-Day Journaling Challenge" in which I had committed to journaling every day for thirty days.
You can find the link here: https://steemit.com/life/@brandonp/30-day-journaling-challenge-and-what-i-ve-learned
Since then, I've journaled a ton and have had to get a new journal as my original one has been filled.
Today marks my longest streak of continuous journaling though: 100 Days Straight.
What I've Learned
Honestly, this is going to be pretty anti-climactic. I don't know if I've really learned all that much.
It's always been very difficult for me to self-evaluate to a fair degree. I'm not the best at understanding myself and noticing internal changes.
Has journaling made me a better self-evaluator?
Maybe... Probably.
Putting thoughts to paper for 100 days in a row has definitely helped me realize some things that I'm better at, and shown me some of my flaws.
I often have a difficult time coming up with what to write in my daily journal.
I think a big part of this is due to the fact that I have a lot of negative self-talk going on when I sit down to journal.
Forcing the words out onto paper has helped.
That negative self-talk isn't as demoralizing.
Remember though, that I've been journaling for over a year and just over three months is my longest continuous streak yet.
I am by no means journaling Jesus.
Am I that much different than I was 100 days ago?
Honestly, probably not too much. 100 days is really not that long. It's just over a quarter of a year.
I'll have many more 100 day periods in my life (hopefully).
What I Haven't Learned
This is probably a better idea to think about.
I started journaling to learn deep secrets about myself. To calm my reckless mind. To bring order to my chaos.
The thing is, not much of that has changed.
I still have a reckless and chaotic mind.
Sure, I've learned about myself and I've definitely improved my handwriting, but does that make journaling some required exercise for everyone?
I honestly don't think so.
I really don't think journaling is right for everyone.
There are much more productive ways to spend your time.
I spend about 10 minutes journaling every morning. That's 1000 total minutes in the last 100 days.
When I do the math, it's only about sixteen and a half hours, which is fewer than I had expected.
That's still sixteen and a half hours that could have been spent on countless other activities. Many of which would have been much more productive.
I haven't become some amazing entrepreneur by journaling.
I haven't solved any life issues by journaling.
I still have bad handwriting.
But I stuck to something for 100 days and to me that's an accomplishment.
Do you use a physical pen and paper? I find myself distracted midthought when I jot random ideas down in my notepad app (usually due to some whatsapp or other messaging update)
Yeah, I have a physical journal and pen. I find it feels like I'm writing a lot more when in reality I'm writing a lot less. It forces my brain to slow down for a minute too which is an added benefit I'm sure.
George Carlin pointed out how important it is to have notes that are well searchable... for me I also only have my notebooks...
Keep writing! Being consistent will do amazing things for you. Try to focus on positive thoughts and let the negativity go. Cheers to 100 days!
it is indeed an accomplishement for sure!
That's really great to know you are quite consistent and that's the great quality with awesome content lots to learn from you thanks for sharing :) about your experiences in between that
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it is indeed an accomplishement for sure!
Wow great milestone!
Congrats on your 100 days! I believe the act of writing a journal is a good first step if you want to incorporate change into your life but it's only one step. You have to also do something. If you write about having a chaotic mind then maybe you journey into guided meditation to attempt to calm the mind or some other mind calming activity. The act of writing an honest journal should bring out your thoughts and point to mistakes you've made or improvements you'd like to make (as well as successes you've had). Then you have to act on these revelations to make the improvements. That's what makes it productive.
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