Journaling Organizers Notes Todo Lists Logs

[zetreque]

I am curious if anyone wants to share whether they
Journal,
Keep a log,
a to do list,
Blog,
or etc
to keep track of their life,
release their thoughts,
get stuff done,
be more efficient.

Do you have any techniques that you use?
Do you have any insights to this topic at all?

Let me try to explain.

I keep a physical journal book of a lot of my ideas, or notes I take on significant events or topics I learn about. I also from time to time make to do lists. Especially these days when I have so much going on in my life that I am multitasking on different projects #building things, #researching things, and #maintaining things. I keep folders and notes for each project I am working on that way I don't have to relearn the entire topic when I go back to it later on. I also keep a dream journal going back many years, and then a private journal that I don't write in that often. I also have kept a precipitation log for over two years now that has been useful to my research and now useful for a water collection system I am working on. I have a couple other logs for certain things too.

My dad died last year. I am still sorting through stuff. Tonight I gathered all of his daily journals into one location. He kept a wallet size journal with him that he used. I just put it all together and it goes back almost continuously for 33 years which was almost half his life. I find it impressive and incredible that I can go back to any day in the past 33 years and there is a good chance I will find notes for what he was doing that day. My dad accomplished a lot in life across a multitude of talents.

It got me to thinking about how I can better my system of getting things done in life since this has also got me to thinking how little time I have left of it to accomplish everything I want to. I am thinking about how to improve my to do to list which is a daily thing but I don't want to go overboard. There is a point when it can be overkill and a waste of time.

I also need to improve a system where I keep track of my goals in life. I have worked on some mind maps that I keep in my main journal book, but they need to be more in the forefront and dynamic.

I am curious what others think of this topic.

[BadgerJelly]

Well, great!

I am working on, and have been working on, my routine. There are many, many ideas out there. I have found some things of youtube that are helpful; usually made by students at university, but the principles are the same.

It would be silly of me not to mention Jordan Peterson here. His ideas about getting things done in life are obvious, but also quite hard hitting if you're in a slump - his talks can be good, cannot recommend any particular one though and if you're not into Jung already they may not sink in?

Another thing I heard, strange and random as it may seem, was a piece of advice Billy Connelly got from a Buddhist monk. He told him to write three things down that he wanted to do on a piece of card and keep it in his wallet as a reminder. He then said that all these three things would happen in the next three years, and that everyone he knew who'd tried this confirmed it worked. I see this as a piece of really nice solid psychological conditioning. I;ve done the same thing, and two years left (about). What I;ve found is that I am slowly easing myself into a position where I can fullfil this little self-promise. It apparently works best for substantial goals not tiny little things.

First off take a good hard look at yourself. That is the hardest thing to do. Again, I am very taken by Jung so I regard "individuation" as extremely important for everyone, and as a serious personal challenge.

My biggest issue at the moment is structuring my routine. I am still struggling to feeling out a basic structure I am happy with, but I have put together my superhuman ideal (I have done this by writing an essay on "How to make the best schedule possible and stick to it." Simply writing about something is increbily useful and I;ve often found myself writing something I never realized I knew, or never realized I thought. From there I can then either apply or dismiss the thought depending on how it takes me.

Once I have my "superhuman schedule" in place I then move toward it. For projects I was setting out a ridiculous schedule for myself and trying to manage my day hour by hour ... I reach too far too quickly and found myself to be extremely disappointed with how much I could manage. After this slump the most important thing is to not give up, to take the failure as a necessary adjustment toward a greater future.

My plan for an essay I have now set futher into the future. I want to have the first draft of an essay written by the end of April at the latest. I am not scheduling my hours, but looking at progress on a month by month basis (and partly week by week basis too) instead so I don't feel too much pressure, and just get on with the task at hand.

Over all I keep up a two directional view of my situation. I look back and look forward. I assess what I have managed to get done last week/month and prais emy own achievements (no matter how slight) and then berate myself about what I have not managed to get done. Using these in combination I then negotiate the week/month ahead and think about my ideal position next week/month and my likelihood of achieving it. Then I move forward with purpose and positive action.

I am already proud of myself for not diving into all the new books I;ve just had delivered. I'm sticking to three and only on occasion dipping into two others (once or twice a week.) My reading habits have been an annoyance of mine and I've still got a lot of work to do in that respect (it is more about my concern with taking notes and paraphrasing what I've read and spotting references I'll need in the future.)

Streamlining is hard! I am so tempted to go in several different directions, but I know myself well enough to admit that if I was to continue acting in such a way I'd get little to nothing done very quickly.

At the moment I have the bones before me, but I've yet to construct the skeleton. I;ve made some attempts and its fallen apart. I think by the end of next month I will have a better structure in place.

My advice is write down EVERYTHING you wish to have in your life. Create the goal and understand it. Know what you want - a hell of a lot more complicated than it initially seems!

I have found it is best, for me at least, to look back over what you've done yesterday in a harsher light than what it is you will do tomorrow. Use the past to guide the future, pluck out the positives to apply to and create a better way to frame the future.

Another thing. This is strange. I read a paper a long time ago about how people who revealed their goals to others were less likely to achieve them. So, keep your dreams a secret.

Reading Jung is a damn good idea too ;) It is increbily sad that so many people attach his work to "New Age" nonsense.

For reading I would say Nietzsche for a slap to the face, Jung to struggle with the idea of "self", and read everything else you can as inter-related patterns (Jungian.)

Physical exercise, relationships, intellectual pursuits and artistic outlet. My main focus has been on "intellectual pursuits" and my neglection of the other three has diminished by capacity to get to where I want to "intellectually" - ironic and a hard truth to face. More and more I find that what I wish to do the most is often propelled further by the things I am paying the least attention to.

Other than that I recommend writing something, somewhere, in some capacity everyday. Writing helps you see what you think and structure your thoughts better. It also allows you to see those ambiguous thoughts that lie beyond the words (hence my inclination toward Jung's works.)

I know most of this, maybe all of it, is obvious enough. The obvious is so obvious we tend to disregard it. Those sentiments are what I found in Husserl and why I find him so intriguing.

Good luck! If you have any ideas or plans you'd like ot share PLEASE DO! I am always interested to hear how people structure their lives and reach for their dreams. It is something that takes a great deal of courage and dedication, and there is nothing more meaningful than oneself.