{"id":335,"date":"2018-04-12T04:46:23","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T04:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/diary\/?p=335"},"modified":"2018-04-12T04:46:23","modified_gmt":"2018-04-12T04:46:23","slug":"keeping-a-journal-quick-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/keeping-a-journal-quick-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping a journal – Quick Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cTake care of all your memories, for you
\ncannot relieve them\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Think about your food memories: we all have that memorable
\ncake that mum used to bake for us, don\u2019t we? Food has a way of transporting our
\nminds back to the past, like a very basic time machine that makes us feel the
\nway we felt back then. It is almost magic. Yet, there is another way of doing
\nthat, and that is to keep bits and pieces of our life, our thoughts, our dreams
\nand our hopes stored. Some call it a journal, others prefer to call it a diary:
\nit\u2019s a collection of our thoughts made by us, for us. Somewhere where we can go
\nback down the aptly named memory lane and retrieve a string of words, a picture
\nor a song that will trigger some distant emotions and feelings again, if just
\nfor the shortest time. <\/span><\/p>\n

Where were you in the past few days? And
\nwhat were you doing, and feeling, a few years ago? In this everchanging world
\nof Facebook feeds and Instagram profiles all we are left with is a projected
\nimage of ourselves, that does not portray what we really feel. A journal is the
\nbest way to set your own rules and write down what you really feel, in a
\nconfidential, effective and unobtrusive manner. By writing down your thoughts
\nyou achieve both the creation of a digital backup of your inner thoughts, but
\nalso a mental exercise that is proven to help rationalise the good and overcome
\nthe bad situations in life. Everyone\u2019s life is a book worth reading, especially
\nfor the owner of the feelings within it. 
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

1. How to start a journal?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The best way to start a journal is to\u2026 just do it. All
\nthe questions, and all the answers to them, will come natural to you. There is
\nno set rule when writing a journal: you don\u2019t need to write things perfectly,
\nor worry about the spelling of a name. This is YOUR world, where nothing is
\nwrong if you say so. Having said that, let us try and point out the \u201chow to\u201d on
\nhow to start a journal, effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Do I need a schedule to write my
\njournal?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Especially in the beginning, it is very important to
\ntry and stick to a time schedule for writing your thoughts down. Over time, you
\nwill effortlessly turn this into a habit with no time constraints, but reminders
\nare the best way to \u201ceducate\u201d your mind to do just that at a certain time.
\nRemember that you are doing it for yourself, so in due time it will be the same
\nthing as \u201ctaking a break\u201d and you will be looking forward to it!<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Should I have a special place where
\nto write?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

You can, and most likely will, end up writing from
\nanywhere. But when you begin, it is helpful to create some kind of ritual.
\nChoose a place where you feel protected, relaxed and free, and where you know
\nyou can think of your memories and let them flow. Make sure to be physically
\ncomfortable and if you can, make a point to focus on the task of writing,
\nwithout any external distraction.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. So, what happened in your life today?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Maybe nothing immediately springs to mind, and that\u2019s
\nok. Not every day is special, and they don\u2019t have to be. But what was really
\nhappening during the day beneath the surface? Did you have a romantic dream
\nthat made you feel happy and bubbly? Or did the rain make you blue and feel
\nlike staying at home? And what about that random act of kindness you witnessed
\nthat warmed your heart? Was that worth remembering? In the end, you are the
\nonly one who knows what mattered, and why: so look for those visions, emotions,
\nfeelings in your heart and just let them flow while you write them down.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. What to write on a journal entry?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Some say the best form of keeping a diary is to begin
\nevery entry with the word \u201ctoday\u201d. Others argue that making a bullet journal is
\nthe quickest way to effectively keep your thoughts organised, but the truth is
\nthat there is no right or wrong way to write a journal. One day an entry could
\nbe a poem, another day it could be just some initials or a coded word that only
\nyou could ever understand. No day is like any other, and no thought can be
\ncategorized logically into something that must be recorded one way or another.
\nThese moments were, and still are, yours: express them accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. How long should I be writing for?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Unless you are writing your memoirs, you might want to
\ngive yourself a reasonable time frame, from a few minutes to half an hour is
\nideal. Of course you can write for longer on an eventful day, or skip a day
\nentirely if so you wish. Timing yourself is probably the best way to keep the
\nmotivation going: if you know you have problems focusing make your effort very
\nsimple by forcing yourself to write for just 5 minutes. Once you feel more
\ncomfortable with it you can double or triple the time you dedicate to writing:
\nas usual, you set the rules instead of just following them.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Should I check what I wrote? <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Most definitely yes,
\nyou really should. Analysing your own words is crucial for you to understand
\nyourself. You might want to also write something about your own entry at the
\nbottom of it, expressing the feelings that it brought back and giving your
\nfuture self an extra key to interpret those memories.<\/span><\/p>\n

8. Should I Sign-up for Diaro or use a
\nphysical journal?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

This is entirely up to you. Some people will always
\nprefer pen and paper, and considering that the ultimate goal is to make you
\nfeel comfortable we will definitely want you to choose what your heart feels is
\nbest. Diaro<\/b> offers you an easy way
\nto get started in no time, quickly set a schedule and automatically get
\nreminders, as well as taking care of security, storage and device independence
\nissues. Signing up for Diaro<\/b> will
\nenable you to write from anywhere, all you need is an Internet connection. Just
\nwrite: everything else will be seamlessly taken care of. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cTake care of all your memories, for you cannot relieve them\u201d Think about your food memories: we all have that memorable cake that mum used to bake for us, don\u2019t we? Food has a way of transporting our minds back to the past, like a very basic time machine that makes us feel the way […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":336,"href":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions\/336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diaroapp.com\/faq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}