Monday 10 September 2012

Journalling School Session 8: Keeping Things Fresh

Welcome to the eighth session of Journalling School. In today's session we'll be looking at how you can keep things fresh when you get into a journalling rut.


It is a good idea to introduce new elements into your journalling from time to time, because keeping things fresh makes it easier to maintain your interest and commitment.

So, when things are starting to become a little stale, here is a way to find new inspiration.

Have a look at this web page.



The author lists 50 things he has learned in 50 years. Some of them are humorous, some profound, but every single one of them provokes thoughts and reactions.

I used to have a printout of that article folded and tucked inside my journal. Not every day, but whenever I felt like it, I picked an item - the next in the list - wrote it in my journal and then noted my reactions and explained how my experiences related. This article of fifty points lasted me about three months. Before that one, I worked my way through several similar articles; the web contains thousands of them. Many are themed ('Twenty ways to be a nicer person' or '25 ideas that will make work more enjoyable', for example) and these can provide an interesting focus to your journal for a few weeks.


Homework

Print off the article linked above, or a similar one. Fold and store it in your journal. At least twice this week, take it out and write about one of the items in the list. First, introduce what you're doing. Then write the item and then react to it. Write down your thoughts - do you agree with the idea or not; have you any relevant experience of having tried something like it before; how would you implement it tomorrow if you had to?

After you've done this a couple of times, decide whether you want to persist with this particular article, or find one that means more to you (Google to find some possible candidates.)


That was the eighth session of Journalling School. In the next session we'll be looking at some questions that have arisen in comments so far, along with other frequently asked questions about journalling.

Feedback, thoughts and ideas are welcome, as ever. Please share your experiences in the comments.



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