Surprising learnings from my 8 year daily journal

From Jan 2015 to today

I’ve kept a daily digital journal since 2015.

It’s seen my high school years, my university years, and my transition into a digital nomad (17 countries and counting).

Today I’ll share why I do it, and what I’ve learned.

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Why keep a daily journal?

I always thought I had a bad memory, so I started my journal out of fear.

I was scared of:

  • Forgetting and losing important memories

  • Getting Alzheimer’s (so my journal would help me)

  • Letting life pass me by without reflecting on anything

Tips to keep a 8+ year journaling streak

I’ve had busy periods in my life.

Sometimes, I wouldn’t properly journal for a week.

Here’s what I did instead to make the process faster:

  • Typed down point form notes on the day (I’d type out the full entry later - like on the plane - because point form notes helped me remember)

  • Looked through my photos to jog my memory

  • Used Audionotes to transcribe my voice notes into entries

What I learned from daily journaling

How to improve my life

  • Processing what happens

  • Reliving my days/weeks - makes life feel slower like it’s not passing me by

  • Following up on things I said I’d do throughout the day but forgot about (until I journaled it)

  • Practicing gratitude

  • Remembering fun memories with friends to put in birthday cards

How to improve my skills

  • Better memory

  • Better writing/faster typing

  • Better speaking (noticed I cut out a lot of my "um” filler words when I started using voice-to-text journaling)

  • More mindfulness and self-awareness (reflected on what I liked/disliked and reminded me to live in the present)

“Your work is amazing, how did you make this?”

That’s what my previous boss - who doesn’t use Notion - told me after I showed her my Notion database.

And now I use Notion to document all my work.

I’m teaching you how to do the same, and my friend Alice will be teaching you how to plan your travels using Notion.

RSVP to the free workshop: https://lu.ma/x1yi0zuf

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Jennifer

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