What are the habits that you like to tend to, for the benefit of no one but yourself?
Last week I began a series of writings touching on these habits which I call my: Self-Care Routine.
The first piece I wrote was entitled: Double-Clicking on Anki.
This week I will focus on what is, in my opinion, the most important for my self-care: Writing a full page in my personal journal everyday.
Do you ever write to yourself?
I have been writing to myself everyday dating back to October 2017. 10+ scattered notebooks have been filled page-by-page since, and looking back I am so proud of the person I have become in this time.
Writing to myself is a habit that I am convinced has drastically changed my life.
The only condition I set as it relates to my writing is this: I have to write a full page (every line filled) in my personal journal each day.
Based on my microscopic writing, as well as my current notebook’s page length (college-ruled notebook for those curious), writing my daily page takes me about 10-15 minutes each day to write.
Is there a best time to write to yourself?
My hypothesis is no.
Just as there is no best time to start working out, meditating, or learning a new topic.
However, my one piece of advice is to simply start with a page a day.
Initially when I had started doing this, I had always tended to write at my desk before I hit the hay, putting all electronics away beforehand.
Then I progressed to doing it first-thing in the morning, which I have since developed a preference for. The main reason being: as I journal my initial thoughts in the day, I am thinking ahead as to what my day will entail… and actively planning for it.
“getting a workout in sounds nice”
“reading the Ethereum White Paper last night blew my mind”
“dang I could really use a shower”
(You get the point.)
Building out a system of repetition for starting your habit of writing personally is a good idea.
Start by picking a location to write your daily page.
Followed by a set time you would like to write during the day. (Morning or night?)
Finding/buying a very basic notebook, as well as something to write with.
Begin journaling. Fill a pages worth. Tend to this daily!
Just as with most habits, the true power of writing daily doesn’t express itself until you’ve reached a critical mass in terms of your output.
Writing as a time traveler’s exercise
I like to think of writing each day as a balancing activity.
If I don’t take the time to process the information/events I encounter in the day, I have no idea how I’d be able to function. Especially as it relates to the longer term.
Writing to no one but yourself is a meditative activity.
There is a humbling power in reviewing where you once were in terms of time & place mentally, physically and spiritually… to then realize how far you have come.
It is quite insane how reviewing one’s old writing can reactivate that particular feeling you had in that one vulnerable or rather proud moment in your life. Reflecting on that feeling and how it applies to the present moment is also a very fulfilling/thought-provoking activity. It allows one to get more in touch with themselves.
Writing for pattern recognition
Taking the time to read, write, and review the things I have written over the span of the last four years has enabled me to retrieve my ideas from the past. In other words, it has enabled me to recognize patterns in my thought I, otherwise, would be unable to if I had not written them down.
When taking the time to actively think through our present situation whether this involves work, love, health, society, art and so on… we give ourselves the space to discover our identity. Our identities that emerge from the pages, sentences, and most importantly the words we have written.
Writing is a stake on the world, (our personal view of the world), which enables us to craft the narrative of our life.
Framing something like the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as the worst thing to happen to you, or framing it from a perspective of optimism in that you have learned so much over the past 1-2 years … is a way to practice positive framing while writing.
You come to realize that there will always be hot takes out there, but what truly is your take on a given situation? Do I have to go with the status quo?
Writing to yourself enables you to develop something very important: an opinion.
Opinions overtime accumulate into beliefs. Beliefs transform lives.
Lives are transformed by the actions we take in pursuit of our beliefs. The stories we tell ourselves in pursuit of our goals is the torch that leads the way.
Not taking the time to craft our stories actively everyday, creates the opportunity for someone else to tell you your story.
Writing a page a day, is in essence you shaping your life narrative. Or dare I say you creating your life vision.
The words in which we write to ourselves transforms.. into the words we share with others.
If I didn’t take the time to write to myself chances are I would be…
still working a job I really despised.
not taking care of my mental health.
spending time on things that didn’t matter.
not working on music, writing, art (despite that being the thing I really love to do)
Writing is a message to the future
The future that we hope and dream for.
I have been amazed by the times looking back at my writing, how it feels as though I was foreshadowing moments to come in my life. It makes me wonder how my past thoughts impact my future thoughts? Mentally nudging myself a day at a time, to go on the path less-trodden.
What message do you want to leave behind?
When your (biographer) goes to write your story, how do you want to be remembered?
How do you want your loved ones to remember you?
At the end of the day, how we write to ourselves, is how we talk and think to ourselves. Writing to ourselves is the act of shaping our relationship with ourself.
Cultivating a meaningful relationship with ourselves through writing enables us to have the confidence to chase and claim the future that we hope and dream for.
But more importantly, writing is the guidepost to direct us towards the future we are working to create.
Our life stories cannot be written in a day. Nor should we desire them to be.
The joy of writing daily is in creating a sense of upward direction in your life. To know that only you have the ultimate power in shaping your story.
Everyday is an opportunity for growth from writing to yourself.
So please reader do start writing today.
Writing your life story, starts one day at a time.
Future you will thank you.
(You will also give your biographer great source material on you :) )
Cheers to lifelong learning,
Adam Bartley
PARTING NOTE
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