How to Journal (Like a Philosopher)

I have been an avid journaler since I was 12 (I am 31), and I recently changed the way I journal. It was mostly stream of consciousness bullshit about the same things over and over. I realized I was dissatisfied with my life, and I was sick of complaining about it in my journal.

So I started making changes in my life. And I decided to start writing more about something significant that happened in my day. I also journal when something makes me think; for example something I read in a book, or a painting I saw. This is a much more reflective way of journaling than what I was doing before, and I am a lot happier because I'm actively looking out for things to journal about, so I am appreciating things more.

Don't journal like anyone or anything other than yourself.

Just open the thing and start writing. You can start with gripe, gratitude, or a story about you. You can lament having no idea what to write about.

Keep the pen moving. The ideas will flow eventually.

On days when you do want to write, open the journal and write that down.

Never take a zero.

What fountain pen have you used that's the most comfortable for journaling for an hour or so? I prefer the MB 146 or the Pilot Custom 823, since they have large ink capacity and write's smooth. But I'm still looking for a fountain pens that is more ergonomic :)

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Amazing video! I've been waiting for some kind of motivation to start writing about myself. Thanks!

I started this 5 days ago and already I can feel my anxiety brain shutting down a bit as I know these thoughts will have time to come later when I write them down. And often, I can then understand and deal with these thoughts better and use the anxiety as a motivator to tackle the problem instead of it paralyzing me.

Journals with lines—- or without. I just cannot decide

I love this journaling video. It’s very helpful and I also jornal too.

This video is so good

I recently took up journaling, and what kicked me off was .. collecting typewriters. I needed a reason to type, and journaling gave me a reason to use a typewriter every day. If I am feeling like a jabber jaw, I click it to single space, and if I am feeling less "typity", then I double or triple space it. So fun, so healthy, and very enriching.

Hi jared I learn english love I am study is videos wacth I am 42 years old

👏​👏​👏​

Just recentlu started journalying thanks man❤

Jared - Excellent video. Many good points about journaling.

I'm in my 70s and just re-started journaling. I have two particular “needs” that caused me to start again:
* I frequently want to recall "when" something happened.
* I want to track change in some topic to confirm improvement in my life.

It seems I do not write as much detail as you and other people who publish videos on journaling. I think the distinction is because others are interested in documenting their thoughts, while I am interest in tracking particular topics / events in my life.

I realize there are benefits to handwriting, but I use a spreadsheet. It is a more effective way for me to meet my “needs”. The spreadsheet has these columns:
* Topic - Examples are: My health, books I read, food / beverage consumption, socializing, logs of problems with merchants, etc.
* Who - This is the name of the primary person associated to the topic / event. (These are typically my wife, my son, and me.)
* What - This is a description of the event and/or details about the topic. (It’s typically 10 - 100 words.
* When - This is the date & time. (Filled in by the spreadsheet app.)
* Where - The location of the event.

So, instead of ending up with one or more long paragraphs for each day, I commonly end up with 2-6 line items. - - - Both methods likely end up with the same amount of documentation, but my method allows me to search the history to find things.

When I want to search for something, a specific event, or track my progress on some topic, I just select it from the drop-down menus.

Do you ever go back and read through your journals?

Thank you for the tips

What if my diary or journal contain real life and fictional things of my life like a movie or TV?

I write my story 'for me' in my journal...and am damn sure that nobody will be able to get it other than me, cause those are my letters to a better me

Brilliant advice Cheers Jared!

I started journaling this week, and I love it. I just write down things I need to remember, or notable things I've done throughout the day. Or just random ramblings to myself. I'm finding it so therapeutic and freeing, like once it's down on the page, I don't need to worry about it anymore. I was skeptical before I started but honestly, I love it and it's something I intend to carry on doing.

Behold, a system error has caused the transaction to venture to an invalid email address.

really he is reading marcus aurlius (meditation) and wring his own journal

Here is a summary of the key points from the video transcript in bullet points:

- The three basic steps to start journaling are to get a journal you like, a pen you enjoy writing with, and make a habit of writing regularly or when inspired.

- When struggling for things to write about, follow a structure: describe an event from the day, something you did well, something that didn't go well.

- Zoom out to consider how the day's events fit into the larger narrative and logic of your life story. Many philosophers view persons as storytelling beings who construct narratives about themselves.

- Journaling allows you to take a more intentional role in authoring your life story and considering your life as a coherent whole, which ancient philosophers saw as central to ethics and human flourishing.

- Following this format can help those struggling to start and maintain a regular journaling practice.

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Thank you

Ooh! Great❤

I also like to have a "rose and thorn" section. My rose is the highlight of my day, and thorn is least favorite part of the day.

Thank you Jared, love your videos! ❤

I usually write about my thoughts, I read bible every day and when a have an ideia I pull it down on paper... I'm learning english now and I try to do this in english to improve my write

I discovered that my favourite way of journaling is through envelopes. I write my pages as I would write a letter to a dear distant friend.

I find this method really useful in order to explore more important topics and add the little poetry touch I need in my writing..also the feeling of writing to a distant friend makes these letter so warm and precious

awesome video dude keep it up!

This advice coming in useful more sooner than I expected

Amazing advice on Journaling

So ashamed why people call me a disabled😢

great

Very helpful video. I have been journaling since 2013 and changed my life now take it another level.

I always come back to this video

you should list your fountain pens, too, in the description

Took me 39 to start journaling regularly. It’s a game changer for mental clarity and reducing stress and anxiety. I just free flow usually, writing whatever pops into my head. I do make it a point to write what I’m grateful for and what im excited about to keep me thankful for what has passed and hopeful for what is yet to come.

Years ago I developed a daily journaling habit, and it's evolved over time. I now use it, in part, to create content I post daily and have managed to monetize (not much yet, but it's a stream).
But the benefits to my soul and mental health have been invaluable. I can trace all the growth of my life back to this daily habit.

Bravo!!

Thank you Jared. I have been journaling myself for a couple of years now and have come to enjoy and look forward to it each morning as part of my daily routine.
However, some days it’s hard to sit down and put pencil to paper (especially when I’m in a funk). When this happens, I notice my journal becomes this place where I put all of my frustrations and come to blows with myself… and this can be a bit discouraging when you string together several days like this.
However, with this template in mind going forward, I believe that i can still do this (review my frustrations) but zoom out and appreciate/evaluate alongside this narrative you mentioned and that i continue to seemingly stringing together day by day. Additionally, i agree with you in that it’s a great idea to force ourselves to write about the things that are going well for us, especially when things are tough, even if that’s a challenge in the moment.

Anyway, my thoughts after watching your vid. Thanks again!

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A question. What should you do with your journals when they are done ? I mean the old one do i stack them up or burn them , any ideas?

Excellent. Journaling will surely shapes your thinking and enriches your personality development

Man I put like everything in mine from how to make stuff,thoughts,art,and stuff I can't find in print never know when the Internet might shut down to a event of some kind