from the very beginning, we have been keeping a journal about our journey to become minimalist. and the process has been incredibly helpful. specifically, here is how journaling has helped us minimalize:
- journaling serves as a permament record. success can be quickly forgotten. it can become too easy to look around our home on messy days and feel like we have not accomplished anything despite all the effort and energy that we have put in. during those times, it is helpful to look back and be reminded of our past successes. the photos are even more helpful than the written word… i wish i had more.
- journaling requires us to think through the why’s and the how’s. when you sit down behind a blank computer screen and begin to write out what you accomplished that day, you are forced to think through your process at a deeper level. the writing process causes you to answer the questions of “why did i get rid of that?” “why did i keep it in the first place?” and “what thought process did i employ?” the answers to those questions are not just hepful as you move forward (to repeat successes and avoid mistakes), they can be therapeutic as well.
- journaling shows how we solved problems in the past. and those solutions are valuable in the present and the future.
- journaling inspires us. the very thought of a blank screen awaiting me in the evening has, at times, forced me to accomplish something. sometimes, just anything – no matter how small. just so that i would have something to record that evening.
- journaling reminds me to think beyond the obvious. always looking for “material to journal” has caused me to see the value of simplicity and minimalism in areas that i would not normally have seen it. whether it be an article in the paper, an advertisement on television, or a conversation with a friend, the value of simplicity is all around us… and the more i look for it, the more i notice it.
- journaling has helped our story to inspire others. i suppose that’s what happens when you make your journal public.
When you become attuned to a specific subject, it becomes more acute on a daily basis. When you’re involved, the subject at hand appears to you in different ways. Applying yourself in a certain direction can be very rewarding.
Very good points! I am finding that keeping a blog is a great way to gather thoughts together and keep a record of progress. And it helps to keep me thinking creatively and have something to report.
Comments instigate more alternatives.
Hi. I am a new fan, and am starting to minimalize my home. Tee hee. I keep journals. Any suggestions for what to do with the journals? I figure that by the time I’m 80, I’ll have a bazillion of them. Hmmmm.
You can digitize your journals and throw away the notebooks.
To save space, journal weekly or monthly rather than daily.
It also let us be remind of the thing that how we be maturer and maturer with time goes by~
View growth and regression.
Just wanted to drop by and say that your journal here has helped inspire me to start my own journey and online journal. I am hoping to be as diligent over the next year as you have and to stay as accountable. Thanks for putting your story out there, I hope that this positive attitude and self-evaluation/improvement can spread across the globe! :)
It instigates discipline, patience, honesty and other virtues.
I love the idea of journaling and am trying to cultivate the habit. It seems like the biggest benefit is that it encourages mindfulness. Whether you are keeping track of your finances, fitness goals, dreams, or journey to minimalism, journaling forces you to slow down and actually pay attention to what you are doing.
I like how you pointed out that journaling is a way to notice what you have already accomplished. I never really thought of that and it is so easy to get discouraged with a percieved lack of progess.
Thanks for the article.
It stimulates creativity and alternatives.
When I was forced to be on my own with 2 small children, I began thinking about how I would accomplish everything. Once focused, it became easier and easier.