Years ago, I started journalling. I’ve done it so long I don’t remember when I began—the 80’s? The inspiration came after reading Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way and I just kept going. In the beginning I did it because it allowed me to put my thoughts on paper and think about what I was thinking about. Memories, ideas, lessons, regrets, celebrations…you name it. The last 40 years of life has been largely contained in those pages. Then interestingly enough I came across a couple of articles that explained how keeping notes like that are a wonderful way to “keep the days from blurring together.” Ever felt like that has happened to you?
Now at 70 it is obvious to me, especially now that both Thom and I are retired, to forget what day of the week it is. That seemed impossible when I was 40, 50 or even 60. I had, (didn’t we all?) a schedule to keep and things to do. Christmas and other holidays stood out. Looking forward to vacations always highlighted the year. There always seemed to be responsibilities and obligations. And while, we still have a list of “must-dos”, they don’t feel as pressing or stand out the same.
That’s when I read an article by Melissa Kirsch in the New York Times that explained how keeping a “Logbook” was one way to “unlock a cascade of memory in the future”. That makes sense to me. The idea is that by keeping a simple list of important elements of each of our days, we have access to memories that we just might want to remember sometime in the future. I can attest to this because once in a while Thom will ask, when did we do such-and-such? And I can usually find a date or time by going through my collection of journals. Those journals have become a monitor of how I thought about certain things—of how I felt about things—or what stood out in a day or season.
Of course, Kirsch doesn’t suggest you have to “journal” to make it effective. In fact, she basically suggests just making a list of five or six things that happened on any given day. Some might seem vitally important, others not so much. Even writing down the weather or how well you slept fills out your day. And just like with journalling, you aren’t necessarily writing things down so you will go back and reread them—but your memories of the day are there should the need or desire to remember them arise. More importantly the action makes you “pause” and consider your day.
For example, my notes from yesterday could be:
- It was warm again, but I woke up at 5:45 and took a lovely (and cool) walk after coffee.
- On my walk I ran into another friend Teresa that I had met in line-dancing class. I asked her what she thought about while walking and she said one of the things she did was memorize all the presidents and their number when they served. Who knew?
- About mid-afternoon Thom and I walked over to the pool. The temperature was perfect at around 83 degrees. With my noodle I just bobbed awhile in the shade while Thom did laps.
- We did a Costco run but didn’t really need much because we will be leaving on our trip in a week.
- I tried a new pasta recipe for dinner. It came out okay but not sure I’ll do it again.
- A friend named Becky recommended a book titled Shark Heart. I am about halfway through and really enjoying it.
As you can see from my example, anything that stands out can be included. But perhaps more importantly, the practice of making lists or journaling helps us do something else as well. It asks us to consciously remember the details of our days and remember things that seemed significant to record. Events, feelings and experiences begin to stand out. And has been said, if we want something to be different or change, then we first have to be aware of what we are actually doing. A logbook does that for us.
Author Austin Kleon wrote in his book, Steal Like An Artist that most of us know that taking notes about future projects is important. But we don’t always realize the importance of taking notes from our daily lives and what has already happened. He refers to a quote by a man named Willian Zinsser in his book How To Write A Memoir.” “Writers are the custodians of memory, and that’s what you must become if you want to leave some kind of record of your life…”. But as a writer, any kind of writer, it’s important to notice things, notice people, notice events, notice seasons, notice everything—because everything is fodder for our imagination. So, keeping track of our days which includes what we notice and what’s important for whatever reason, is surely a good incentive to keep a logbook.
Based upon what Julia Cameron taught me years ago I still write three pages of longhand five days a week. But both Kleon and Kirsch says it can be as simple as a list or even doodles. The idea is to collect memories of what is and was important to you today. Some days might seem amazing while others rather mundane. But they are ours. And as always it is SMART to remember that nothing is guaranteed. So, let’s each cherish (and remember) the days we have left.
This post hit home for me. I have also been writing in a journal since the early 80’s. When we recently started our downsizing project and packing to move, I organized my journals by dates and put them in medium size totes. Six+ of them! Yes, they are definitely making the move. I plan to read them in chronological order “when I am old”. ? I love the book The Artist’s Way too. Which reminds me that I am in need of an artist date.
Hey Marian. I think there are millions of us who were encouraged enough by The Artist’s Way to make a practice of journalling, don’t you? So inspiring that one book, one author, has had such an influence on so many of us. Of course there are tons of ways to do it but the practice clearly helps us in so many way. I think I have been doing them since the early 80’s as well…is that when the book first came out? And although I did reluctantly agree to let the first 8 years worth go when we made one big “rightsizing” move, I haven’t since. And we are living so tiny now I’m not sure I will ever need to. I suppose the “release” of them will make for a good blog post at some point of our lives!!!! Thanks for sharing your experience! ~Kathy
Kathy, I too was inspired by Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way to begin a morning journal. My habit is only about 10 years now and I rarely look back at them. I lost a few in the flood as well, the latest ones which had not yet migrated to the rafter’s box of journals. I’ve evolved from the 3 pages longhand… its still longhand, but it actually is more like the 5 things from yesterday that stand out! And often an idea on writing a blog, a thought about something I need to do, or a delve into how I am feeling. Sometimes I capture a dream snippet, sometimes I give myself a pep talk. But it’s nice that my evolution to a “notice important elements of yesterday” is perfectly fine! Oh, and yes, many days I have to stop to think what day of the week it is!
Hi Pat! Good for you for doing the Artist’s Pages. And I agree that it makes sense for our practice to evolve as we do. Plus wouldn’t you agree it fills so many of our needs depending on where we are at the time. When I started nearly 30 years ago I was focused on my writing so that filled much of my pages. Now obviously that has changed. But probably most importantly it has become both my dearest friend AND my therapist through the years. I can’t imagine I will ever stop. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. ~Kathy
The idea of journaling like Julia Cameron advocates, always made me twitchy. I admire that you have been able to keep it up like you have and I know you’ve come to value the exercise greatly. Since we retired, I have kept a paper calendar for our daily activities and have found them immensely valuable when we need to look back over the last 11 years for a specific date/event/activity.
I really like Kirsch’s idea of writing down a daily list of five or six things that have happened, or what was important, or what was memorial. Very doable and useful both in the moment and for the future. I’m going to try it and see if I can actually keep it up. 🙂
Hey Janis! Well? Did you actually start? :-). And are you doing it at the end of the day or the morning? I’d never manage my “journaling” at the end of the day. If I don’t do it first thing it likely won’t happen. With a cup of coffee it seems like a great way to start my day. In many ways I think it’s a lot like exercising. Sometimes getting started is the hardest thing to do. Oh, and the articles recommended that you find yourself something fun, easy or even pretty to write in or on. That will give it special significance and draw you to it. Good luck! ~Kathy
My parents did their “daily diary” for years. It was more factual than feelings. Yes, they did and could look back and see what happend a year ago,when did this person get married, what they did when Gary was home for the weekend or whenever.
A good friend of mine has done this religously for many years and find it helps him in the same ways you mentioned above.
Hey Gary! How interesting that your parents did a daily diary for years. Did you mom write them or your dad or both? I imagine there are different reasons for doing it but now that I’ve reached a certain age it seems like a great idea! Maybe now you want to start? ~Kathy
Kathy, this ties in completely with what Lisa Genova says in her non-fiction book, Remember. Writing things down, especially lists, is one step further than her suggestion to mentally attach importance to the memory by adding details like the time of day, who was present, etc.
While walking yesterday, I had a few thoughts about future blog posts. I knew I wouldn’t remember any of them, so I recorded a video on my phone. It was easier than stopping to type notes. Old dog, new trick.
My takeaway from this post is to ‘pause and consider your day.’ Practical, sensible, meaningful.
Hi Suzanne! I love that idea of recording your thoughts about blog posts. I used to save articles and scraps of paper in a folder until it got too big and I could never find anything. I also write short notes on my eye phone but can’t always remember what it was that caught my attention. If I had written a blog post for every idea I had recorded in my journal and elsewhere I would probably have about 2,000 of them! As it is, after 14 years, I am only about 350. More than enough when I think of it! But good idea about a voice recording! ~Kathy
You have inspired me to get more regular with logging or journaling. I have a tiny 5 year journal called “Five Lines a Day” and it is fun when in a date page to look back over prior years recordings.
I’m glad you are enjoying SharkHeart. Maybe a book club pick?
Hi Becky! I think Five lines a day would be a great intention to set for yourself. And not too hard either. Do you do it in the morning the day after or the evening of the day of?
And yes, I think Shark-Heart could be an interesting book club pick. It is VERY unpredictable and I like that. It would be interesting to see what the rest of the group thinks of it! ~Kathy
Hi Kathy,
These are all very good points. The only negative I can think about regarding journaling, note taking, writing diaries, … is that it’s time consuming. For me anyway. But I always have to “overdo” everything. 🙂
I’ve been writing a daily diary for 35 years now (right) and while it started with a hand-written page a day, it has evolved to about an hour of writing and proofreading every single day. That’s how much happens in this lifestyle. For good or for bad.
I do enjoy the writing but I find that if I skip a day or wait too long to fill out my latest daily reports, I forget a lot about what happened since some events are repetitive. So, I try to create a heading with the highlights every evening. I use that framework to create the actual entries the following day(s).
Not only are these diary entries a good time for reflection and a tool and potential entertainment for the future (like you, I’ve found answers to questions in these diaries), but I feel they also help make my writing and editing skills better. It’s just… very time consuming. 🙂
Hi Liesbet! hahahaha! I had to laugh when you admitted that you do tend to “overdo” things. Really, there is no wrong way to do a logbook. Anything that works, works. And maybe instead of every little thing you pick out five highlights and limit yourself to that. Of course I’m pretty “wordy” myself so I know that is easier said than done. And I imagine you have pretty extensive notes in case you want to do another memoir. I think my post is just a reminder to do what you can. ~Kathy
The daytimer serves this purpose for me. Appointments are noted; they ground the week. Then there are the birthdays & other anniversaries to remember. The menu is recorded. And most notably, the highlights of the day which may include the first robin or bluebird sighting of the season; bear sightings tally; the day the river opened up; a sky laden with smoke from wildfires; event to look forward to & attended; visitors who dropped by or planned dinner parties. In an attempt to have a response to that common question, “What’s new?” or “What have you been doing?” I can review the calendar & have a response. “I finally found a handyman to help with some of the heavy lifiting on this rural property” & “The veg garden is planted & the flowers are transplanted & some repairs have been done.” There’s always something; there is no “nothing”.
Hi Mona! One thing I really appreciated from those article I read was that there are no rules. Whatever works for you. A journal, a diary or yes, why not a daytime! The idea is to notice and record the unfolding of our days. And I love your statement, “There’s always something; there is no “nothing”. ~Kathy