#for the record each journal covers abt a span of 0.8-1.25months but ymmv

[noisytenant]

i started daily journaling/de facto bullet journaling in may and i've kept it up ever since with at most ~a week downtime. this might be the longest i've held onto one organizational habit. sharing my strategy in case it helps anyone else...

i purposefully bought multi-packs of really cheap crappy ~5x7 lined paperback journals (in my case moleskine, i know they're shit but that's the point) so i wouldn't feel any preciousness toward using them. i can take them anywhere in my bag and i don't care much if they get banged up (though they hold up well). i started numbering and dating them on the front as well.

they're both task journals (to-do lists etc) and personal journals. i scribble anything i want in there. i take notes from conversations and write down peoples' contacts in there. i write entries stating what i did during the day and sometimes i have neurotic breakdowns in there. it's like a boring survival horror diary LOL.

i will say this isn't an effective reflective/introspective journal. it's essentially notetaking on my own life; it isn't the kind of journal to meditate on and reach deep insights about my psyche. that's okay.

i think "journaling" is sometimes touted as a tool for self-expression and deep emotional healing, but that assumes a very particular mindset, approach, and skillset within the writer. personally, i can't think much about how i feel when all i can think about is what i need to do during the day, so the first step in taking better care of myself emotionally is simply equipping myself to get those things done--to free up mental space.

there's also a lot of talk about whether "introspection" as discussed in the modern day is a means of mindfully reflecting your inner experience, or more an attempt to individualistically define and externalize all aspects of yourself so you're an easier customer. i think it can be both, but the point is it isn't a universal good. ...but i digress.

the journal works because i don't try to preemptively filter my thoughts into different locations. oftentimes my feelings+experiences reflect actions/tasks and vice-versa. i don't think i could use a journal that was only to-do lists, or a journal that was only my feelings. but now most of my notable thoughts and experiences are all in one place.

anyways, for the to-do lists, i write one every night as one of the last things i do before the next day.

i rarely get everything on the list done, but i don't necessarily need to (consider adding ABC(DE) prioritization labels; i do this mentally). what i take from bullet journaling is that i reference the previous to-do list (and sometimes go a few lists back) and copy over relevant tasks while allowing myself to leave things unfinished and to drop tasks completely. if i do something i didn't plan on my list, i add it and immediately cross it off.

when you notice yourself rewriting the same tasks for several days, usually it's because there's some hidden step you're missing or a subconscious reason you're avoiding it. the art of defining and scoping tasks is a really important skill that i won't get into here, but the point isn't to get frustrated when something keeps getting kicked along--it's to get curious and to try different approaches.

in general, i think a lot of the skill is in striking a balance between what emotionally feels good for you (what triggers a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, what makes you feel insecure and demotivated) and what you need on a technical level to maintain progress. for example, you want to balance setting manageable task scopes with not overwhelming yourself. you want to celebrate the little things without feeling like you're fluffing up your list with inconsequential tasks. you want to figure out how much work you need to frontload without making the act of task-writing itself a chore. and you'll definitely need to plan for your practices to evolve based on your current needs.

something my friend told me when getting started is to start a to-do list with a box that says "make a to-do list" so you always have one thing checked off from the start LOL. i think trying little tricks like that helps you test the waters of what feels good for you.

if i were to add anything to my practice, i'd like to get into making a monthly backlog like what the original bullet journal guy suggested (IIRC), where i've recorded every task for the month in one page and i can review what hasn't been done by the end. sometimes i drop something because it can't be a priority for the next 1-3 days and then have to circle back, and it might be easier to do that if i referenced a more clean-cut page. but i can be neurotic about page space allocation so i've held off. maybe i'll start it this month o'december...

but yeah. it's kind of crazy to have been doing this for this long, and though i'm still often struggling with executive dysfunction, i feel it's borne some tangible benefits and generally has made me feel a lot more in control of my life during a difficult time. hope you can find something that works for you as well. smiles :)