Are you writing a diary? If so, in which ways does it help you?

I write a very specific diary: a happy thing journal. Every day (well, except for the few days I forget), I write about something that made me happy. It could've been playing a fun game with my partner, graduating from college, or just seeing an owl on my walk at dusk.

I like it because there's not a lot of pressure to write a ton about my day but it still gives me a vague idea of how my life was going when I wrote an entry. It also forces me to focus on the good things in my life, however small, which is better for my mental health than a journal where I can write anything. I know from experience that when things are rough I'll focus on all the bad stuff, and that's not fun to write or read later on.

I've been maintaining a private correspondence with a friend over a protonmail account designed specifically for that purpose for about half a year now. It acts more or less as a diary for the both of us, but we've discussed so many things there that it's not really able to be said to fall into any one category. A lot of talk about ideas worked out between us over other platforms, many of which have to do with our similar interests and the books we've been reading (lately Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Franz Kafka, Edawrd Said). I'm glad for the momentum we've been maintaining in our project and the growth our relationship has enjoyed which has come out of it. I also like being able to experiment with different styles of writing there, think about new and interesting ideas from new and interesting angles, and receive and give critique and feedback for our mutual betterment. Would recommend.

I just use it to gather ideas and solidify notes on projects for the future. Helps me keep hold of my product queue.

I don't keep a diary, per se, but like you OP, I keep a journal where I write down a minimum of two things that made me happy today, as well as one thing that I was bothered by. The idea is to review them periodically after time has passed to reinforce the good and realize how petty and unimportant the bad is.

I got the idea from CGPGrey's podcast Hello Internet. I've only been doing it for about a week so far though.

I have a journal app that I use whenever the thought comes to me. I’ve usually got at least an entry a month, and it’s usually some kind of significant event that prompts it. It could also be in moments of reflection that I’ll write down my thoughts. It’s good for me as an organising system, also as a way for me to remember the different states of mind I go through. It’s also an outlet when I feel the need to write but have not much creative energy or inspiration.

Used to. Should probably start again. It is very therapeutic to vent to a piece of paper that way.

A guy i know has a system i really liked. Every day for the past few years he takes notes in the calendar app about what he did that day and if anything special happened.

Says it really helps him remember some things he would otherwise forget. Also, must be neat to be able to jump to a random date and be like "Oh, i remember this!".

I use a notebook for two main purposes: memorable dreams (and they are often enough memorable) and intellectually stimulating material. Not the same as journaling, but close enough that I figured I should mention it. Any other thing I want to note will get caught up in that, like notes on recent books I found to be especially dense.

As for sharing my thoughts on what's happening on a given day, that's what ~talk is for. ;)

I'm meant to for work but honestly haven't yet. I keep saying to myself I'll start one soon, I really need to just bit the bullet and do it.

I'm a nurse and all through uni we were told to keep a diary because if we ever get pulled up to the corners court they are ruthless and a diary will help when being questioned. We even had reflective writing classes on how to keep a diary.

I find it quite therapeutic as a place where I can be totally blunt and honest as it's just myself, and it helps to write down thoughts that have been rattling around and making lots of noise.

Don't get bogged down trying to have a purpose with it, yo. If you get into a writing habit it just happens naturally and I think that's the best way.

I keep all my notes and shit in a big pile doc. Over the past couple of years it's turned into something I'm pretty proud of. It doesn't have a single subject, it's just where I put writing I do for whatever reason.

I use journaling for a few different things.

First would be a bullet journal that I use to track habits, appointments, make notes about the day, pretty much use it to keep track of life, tasks and what not that I need to do. This 4 minute video gives you everything you need to start. I'm a spacey person and forget a lot of things, I'm also bipolar so keeping track of things like personal care is super helpful.

Second would be "morning pages." This is where when you first wake up, your brain is still switching over from alpha waves for about 10 minutes, so your conscious mind can still talk to your subconscious. Or at least, thats the theory I've heard. Anyway, it helps because when I wake up my mind is a flurry of dreams, things I need to do, and all sorts of anxiety, so just freewriting, mind dumping, whatever you want to call it until I run out of things to say is super helpful to clear my head. Then I do my 5 minutes or so of bullet journaling once I've gotten all the noise out. The physical act of writing things down has a weird effect on your brain.

I also try to write in a journal about the day. Even if its just 3 things that happened during the day. This helps build memory, and helps to remember your life, instead of looking back and being like, do I even remember a single day of that month? I'm super bad at keeping up with it, but habits are like muscles, ya gotta build them.