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How to Turn Journal Ramblings into Viral Articles
I’ve been journaling for the past 9 years and written about the several reasons journaling has changed my life HERE.
People often ask me how I journal, wanting my specific methodology. The problem is, I don’t have much of a methodology. I just write stuff down in a very disorganized fashion.
I carry one journal at a time, fill it out, then grab another. I don’t use separate journals for goals, school notes, writing ideas, and recording my history. It all goes in the same notebook, only organized by the date I was writing.
For example, the image below shows some random thoughts I was thinking followed by a list of potential articles (including this one) I may write in the near future. Not exactly sure why I went from writing about an idea to creating a list of potential articles— the mind is a complex thing! My journal is just my way of capturing my messy thoughts which then allows me to translate them into a more neat and tidy reality.
Here are a few staples in my methodology:
- I write in my journal every morning, usually 10–30 minutes.
- I mostly write about my goals, my ideas, and what’s going on in my life (for example: this week my wife and I went to court related to being foster parents. I’ve recently launched an online course and I’m thinking a lot about how to make it great. I’m trying to be more spiritual. I’m trying to get my schedule better so I can spend more time with my kids. These are things I’ve journaled about this week).
- I often write in my car while parked, right before I go into the gym. If I’m at a desk, I’ll usually plug-in some head phones and listen to a classical Pandora station or a particular song on repeat. I listened to this song on repeat while writing this article.
The primary benefits I get out of journaling:
- Journaling is how I “mentally” create my future. I write about my dreams and goals. I’m a believer that you have huge control over your future. I create my own future through my…
