On Writing a 100-Word Daily Journal by David Guerra

On Writing a 100-word Daily Journal by David Guerra, MA, MBA

If you have been following along with my Daily Challenge videos on Facebook and YouTube then you will remember on Saturday February 04, 2017’s entry was “START WRITING A 100 WORD DAILY JOURNAL.”

On Writing a 100-word Daily Journal by David Guerra

If you know me, then you know that I am a huge History buff. Having played a role in Cold War History, I know the importance of the keeping a journal (a diary, a log, a blog, an archive of events) to remember the past and to remove the vagueness and fog that comes with the passing of time. Everyone should keep a log or journal of their everyday lives.

There are many reasons people have for keeping a journal. as many reasons that people have for reading other people’s journals/diaries. One reason, is to experience the past the way others lived it. I cherish the notes, letters, and writings that I created when I was living in Berlin during the mid-1980s. While the notes themselves are NOT great literary works of art, they are priceless to me.

I bet that most people that know me do not know that I have kept some form of a journal since 1985. I have never been completely faithful to the entry part of keeping a journal but I have been faithful to having a place to write down names, events, exchanges, notes, and what not. For the most part, when I did write I wrote about what struck me as noteworthy on that day. I know some would be surprised at the level of detail that a few of those entries contain. Then again, there are some entries that are quick and to the point such as “September 18, 1986: walked to Andrews with Farrell and picked up two doner kebabs” (it was a Thursday by the way).

There is an old quote from Spanish Philosopher, Essayist, Poet and Novelist: George Santayana in his book “Vol. I, Reason in Common Sense” answers this question: “Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

IS IT DIFFICULT TO KEEP A JOURNAL?

At first, it appears to be a daunting task but once you get started you can you can have a good time capturing moments. 2017 compared to 1985 there are more tools available to you than I had then in Cold War West Berlin. Most of us have instant (24/7) access to blogs, video, audio recording options on our smart phones and of course, we still have pen and paper (my journaling weapons of choice).

The only difficult part is getting started. So get started, today! Right Here, Right Now!

WHY 100 WORDS?

100-words is about two paragraphs. Summarize the day, the Highlights. Good or Bad. Sad or Happy. The content does not matter what matters is that you start chronicling your day, every day.

Then one month from now go back and review what happened. Then six months. Then one year. You will start to see things, trends that you thought were never there or happening.

Once you see the trends, spot the problem areas, and you act on them. Once you act on them is right there that you can begin to make change. You make REAL SUSTAINABLE CHANGE.

WHAT WILL YOU NEED TO START A JOURNAL?

Real Simple. If you are purist then all you need is pen and paper. I have hard cover paper journals that I use. Then when I am on the move and I want to put something down, I use a digital portable voice recorder. I love those things.

I love portable voice recorders because I can speak my thoughts and they are recorder until I delete them or move them to a more permanent storage.

If you are not comfortable with pen and paper then find what works for you. Yet, do not let what does not work for you stop you from journaling. It is one hundred words for Pete’s sake. Keep journaling!

Once you find what works for you, and then give it all you got and start banging out those 100 words. Before you know it you will be banging out 500-word journal entries or more.

I hope this helps. Let me know what you think by email: [email protected] or Twitter: @daveguerra