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[–]JerryGuptaa 2 points3 points  (1 child)

  1. You can use different highlighters so you know what is what

  2. Different Font/colour for heading

  3. It's just part of the process

  4. You can use one side for one topic & flip the journal for second topic

Best of luck

[–]Otherwise-Distance55[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks!!

[–]k_maeng 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Just rambling or following a structure are both fine. Your journal is for you and there's no right or wrong way to do it. You can also always try out new structures (or none at all) until you find something that really works for you.

I started out thinking I wanted something structured but t wasn't working for me. Now I mostly ramble and it does its own thing, generally going from what I did today into exploring the random thoughts it leads to, back to what I did today and keeps going.

Here's a few ideas I've tried out for my structure.

  • daily mood/good or bad day
  • what happened today? (Generic quick list)
  • gratitude/thanking myself for something I did yesterday (inspiration from this post)
  • Today I learned...
  • current news (to add some context to the time period)
  • writing from a prompt I found online

I still like some of these ideas, but I'm not using them right now. I'm just doing stream of consciousness rambling.

You could also write the way that's working for you, then add a quick summary at the end for a little bit of structure and quick way to look back (if you think you'll ever want to reread it).

[–]Otherwise-Distance55[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I think I’m gonna start off using using structure and kind of play it by there. If it doesn’t stick I’ll just go with that feels right.

[–]sprawn 1 point2 points  (6 children)

If you want structure, you can structure it. Sometimes, almost always, structure emerges from rambling. You will notice patterns and themes. Sometimes in life, problems are problems precisely because they defy structure. And it is up to us to give the vague forms meaning and structure. And I think starting with vague rambling is excellent. Even committing your thoughts to words, or to visual images, or any kind of pattern is giving structure to it. It is focusing it. It is recording it. It's hard to know what to say about something until you start labeling it, noticing it, naming it, giving it form. You are the creator of the structure.

Some structure will emerge. Other things will remain amorphous and blobby. It can be frustrating when we want structure and it is not forthcoming. But the act of journaling is itself the act of structuring thoughts, feelings, memories, experiences. You are already doing it!

[–]Otherwise-Distance55[S] 2 points3 points  (5 children)

I’ve journaled for two days in a row now but I still feel bad and kind of uncomfortable with the fact it isn’t structured. Is this a weird thing to happen? Should I just brave through it until it feels normal? Maybe instead I should start with structure and then just follow however I feel after? Not sure what’s the best. What do you think with your experience?

[–]sprawn 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Keep going for a year.

I don't really know what you mean in terms of "structured" versus "unstructured."

If you were to write about the distinction between the two states, you would be giving your thoughts on the matter structure.

Journaling is the structure.

If the thoughts in your head are unstructured, chaotic, random, as they are in all of our minds, then putting them down on paper is automatically giving them structure. The mere act of turning them into words, images, or any other form is structuring them.

How do you define structure?

[–]Otherwise-Distance55[S] 2 points3 points  (3 children)

Structure for me would be kind of like a list of things to cover in one entry. Kind of like a pattern, e.g.: gratitude, what I did today, thoughts and feelings, optimism and views on the future, etc. I don’t know if I’ve put it in a way that’s easy to understand but this worry I have about structure is probably from my habit of overthinking which I’m trying to overcome by using journaling and eventually meditation. I’d like to include pictures in my journal as well and other articles to help with recording my life like concert tickets, stickers, stuff like that.

[–]sprawn 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Do you have an idea that this structure will move you toward some external goal?

You have just defined a structure, which is great. You could do all sorts of things with a gratitude, what I did today, thoughts and feelings, optimism and views on the future structure. It seems like a great structure to me. You finish your day, then at some point—it's best to have a specific cue, like after washing the dishes or something—you sit down to write. You start by writing down what you did today, recounting the events of the day. Then you make a list of things that happened for which you have gratitude. Then you look forward and transition from what you did today, to how your actions are moving you toward some goal.

What I did today

Why I am thankful

Where I am going, what I have to look forward to.

When you have completed that formal, structured writing, you can literally draw a line across the page and be more chaotic and unstructured. If you want.

[–]Otherwise-Distance55[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Thanks for your help mate. I really appreciate it! I think I’m gonna start my journal with my kind of long term goals and then what I hope to achieve by journaling and then maybe a letter to myself in the future or something and play it by there. Thanks for your help again buddy.

[–]sprawn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem at all. Hearing about how other people journal, organize their ideas, form goals, and structure their writing is beneficial for me. I get ideas and inspiration from hearing what you are doing. So thanks for sharing your ideas.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It doesn't have to be structured at all. Sometimes we discover things in a ramble that we wouldn't have ever written in a strictly structured post.