4 ms·

Ask HN: Do you keep a journal/diary?

8 points by curiousgal 10y ago

dctoedt 10y ago
Saving emails does much the same thing at zero additional cost. (Of course, if you save work emails and have to leave them behind if you change jobs, that can defeat the purpose.)
cauterized 10y ago
I don't keep any sort of "this is what I did today" journal. A combination of email, calendar, slack history, and asana basically covers that. I do keep notebooks that I write in whenever I need to work out my emotional state, but that's not necessarily daily. I've recently begun a habit of journaling (in the "this is what's on my mind and distracting me from actual work" sense - writing it down seems to get it off my mind for a few hours) and meditating every morning as a focus-enhancing habit, and that's been pretty effective.
- MikeTV 10y ago
  Same here. I carry a pocket notebook to jot down ideas and non-work to-dos. Writing it down lets me clear it out of my head and get back to work. Then, whenever I have some downtime waiting in line or whatnot I can go over old ideas and explore them or cross them out. Been doing this for about a year, and I've noticed that writing down every idea does seem to have increased the generation rate of new ideas -- but that's not a bad problem :) Two other benefits from carrying a notebook: 1) I've never been good at placing events in time, so noting significant events and the date helps me retain a life timeline of sorts. If particularly inspired I might note a thought or feeling about the event, but never more than a sentence. This is the closest I get to journaling. 2) Jotting down a note on paper appears to be more socially acceptable than taking notes on a phone. Typing on my phone has the appearance of ignoring the other person, and giving an explanation can derail the conversation. A notebook is self-explanatory.
CyberFonic 10y ago
I've tried to keep journals as computer files, but I can't just flip through them like you do with a notebook. So I have adopted a hybrid approach. I keep a journal for ideas that are evolving and to capture ideas without going off on tangents. Once ideas are firmed up I write documentation for the project. The commit logs give me a record of progress, etc.

8 points by curiousgal 10y ago

Saving emails does much the same thing at zero additional cost. (Of course, if you save work emails and have to leave them behind if you change jobs, that can defeat the purpose.)

cauterized 10y ago

I don't keep any sort of "this is what I did today" journal. A combination of email, calendar, slack history, and asana basically covers that. I do keep notebooks that I write in whenever I need to work out my emotional state, but that's not necessarily daily. I've recently begun a habit of journaling (in the "this is what's on my mind and distracting me from actual work" sense - writing it down seems to get it off my mind for a few hours) and meditating every morning as a focus-enhancing habit, and that's been pretty effective.

MikeTV 10y ago
Same here. I carry a pocket notebook to jot down ideas and non-work to-dos. Writing it down lets me clear it out of my head and get back to work. Then, whenever I have some downtime waiting in line or whatnot I can go over old ideas and explore them or cross them out. Been doing this for about a year, and I've noticed that writing down every idea does seem to have increased the generation rate of new ideas -- but that's not a bad problem :) Two other benefits from carrying a notebook: 1) I've never been good at placing events in time, so noting significant events and the date helps me retain a life timeline of sorts. If particularly inspired I might note a thought or feeling about the event, but never more than a sentence. This is the closest I get to journaling. 2) Jotting down a note on paper appears to be more socially acceptable than taking notes on a phone. Typing on my phone has the appearance of ignoring the other person, and giving an explanation can derail the conversation. A notebook is self-explanatory.

CyberFonic 10y ago

I've tried to keep journals as computer files, but I can't just flip through them like you do with a notebook. So I have adopted a hybrid approach. I keep a journal for ideas that are evolving and to capture ideas without going off on tangents. Once ideas are firmed up I write documentation for the project. The commit logs give me a record of progress, etc.