Ask HN: Do you keep a journal? And Why? - zabana
======
pawelwentpawel
Pinning this thread:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13492501](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13492501)

------
makmanalp
Personal journal aside, I love the benefits of keeping a technical journal.
Every day, I have these sections:

    
    
      Today I worked on:
    
      Today I figured out / debugged:
    
      Problems / Thoughts:
    
      Other:
    

I'm fairly lax about not doing it every single day, since it can become a
chore or waste space. If it feels like I have nothing of substance to report,
I just skip.

This is interesting because it helps me introspect about the work I'm doing,
whether I should be doing it that way, whether I keep running into similar
issues, whether I can fix things systematically, gauge happiness and stress
levels, etc.

I've returned to this many times and often found it to be super helpful - the
information that goes in here is hard-won details, and those are also the kind
that are very easy to forget. It also sometimes helps with the "why had I done
this this way" questions.

Perhaps I do need a personal version of this too.

------
toxican
I had a really bad day a few weeks back and in my 'rage' I quickly created a
dead simple, self-hosted blogging platform in PHP for myself to keep a
journal. But by the time I'd finished it, I'd calmed down and didn't see a
point in writing to it. Which is in part due to the fact that I'm incredibly
bad at making new habits, so while I've tried a few times in the past to
journal, I just don't actually do it. My parents actually have quite a few
(embarassing) journals I wrote when I was a kid. They're all scattered around
my childhood because I never stuck with it.

My grandfather on the other hand, has kept a journal every day going back
decades. In fact, as a gift to my parents when I turned 18, he shared with
them the journal entry from the day I was born. He's now working on turning
his journal into a self-published book for his children, grandkids, and great-
grandkids.

That, and my increasingly shitty memory of small details, makes me want to get
into journaling.

------
turtleofdeath
Yes, I keep a journal for a few key reasons.

One, because without writing them down, my thoughts seem to take on actual
weight in my head. Putting them into my journal seems to remove the weight
while helping me to sort through things, sort of like talking to myself in
real time.

Two, because it helps me to stay practiced with Vim. I started just one single
file called journal.md, separated by markdown headers/dates and keep it in a
folder that gets backed up instantly (though I'm thinking of moving it to
Dropbox so that it also gets versioned in addition to immediate backups).

Three, because it keeps me writing. As someone who is continually writing
short stories, it's important to keep the words flowing out of my head, even
if I'm not writing about something that happened to someone else, real or
imagined.

------
Overtonwindow
Yes. Alms or every day since 2002. I don't really trust memories, especially
as I get older. My journal not only helps me vent, and work through my
thoughts, but it's a record I can look back on someday when my memory really
begins to fade.

------
wernsey
I don't keep a journal per se, but I use Evernote to write down ideas and save
links to interesting articles and websites.

I do this for two reasons: \- These notes may come in useful in my hobby
projects, or at work. I have also been able to help my colleagues with
information. \- I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the number of open tabs in my
browser. Saving links allows me to close the tab, knowing that if I ever need
information on that topic again, I have some notes somewhere.

Evernote is not the perfect tool for this. Years ago I used Wiki On A Stick
for this purpose because it allowed me to cross reference ideas and notes.

~~~
pragyajswl
Hey!

Check pocket. ([http://getpocket.com/](http://getpocket.com/)) It has
definitely helped me with the overwhelming feeling from the number of tabs
open in the browser.

Doesn't really help with writing down ideas, though.

------
vkazanov
I keep a daily work + personal note journal in Emacs using org-journal. All
the files are synchronized using Dropbox between my machines.

The journal is a mix of a TODO list and a diary. I also have a tagging system
for all the entries which allows convenient searches/stat building.

Benefits:

1\. Allows to do primitive daily planning.

2\. Having my daily plans/notes in searchable format allows to do all kinds of
mass retrospectives (I know what movies I saw, music I enjoyed, things I did
for both personal/job-related projects).

3\. Being able to go back to a certain date and see what was done sometimes
even helps to sort out various job-related issues.

------
nextweek2
I keep a log/todo list at work. They stretch back years. Its more bullet
points than a journal.

I started after a manager kept claiming they had asked for something, or
getting me to revert things they had asked for but claiming they never asked
for that. Back then it was my word against theirs.

If I am asked to do something, the first thing I do is write it down and who
its for.

My work is now free of other peoples bad memories and recollections. I am the
go to person to settle disputes and provide reasoning for decision making.

------
esaul
I do. I find that I can think clearer when writing out my thoughts and have a
habit of writing for 10 mins every morning.

It started out mainly as a way to manage my anxiety and feel more in control
of my days (it has definitely helped). I find it really useful in managing my
thoughts and reflecting on what happened the previous day.

In case you're interested, I use the Mac Notes app. I've set the order
preference based on date created (the default is date edited) and tag each
entry with #journal for easy searching.

------
pjc50
Work or personal?

I don't have a personal journal, but I do have a workflow that involves
gradually collecting TODO notes on whatever I'm working on - then when it's
done archiving the whole slab of text at the top of another file. Low-effort
and surprisingly useful.

I've worked with people (software developers from a scientific background)
that keep "daybooks", which are extremely helpful if you want to file patents
in first-to-invent jurisdictions.

------
swalsh
I don't keep a journal in the "today I kissed my boyfriend" sense. However I
do keep a log of all my thoughts, and tasks related to the projects I work on.
I started as a way to lay breadcrumbs to easily pick back up where I left off
in case I was interrupted. However it's proven useful to be a good back
reference.

------
SolaceQuantum
I keep a dream diary, if that counts. I have fairly lucid, vivid dreams about
societies and fantastical worlds. Writing them down allows me to examine for
common themes and unconscious thinking. They often turn into great writing.

------
tlackemann
I've been using jrnl ([http://jrnl.sh/](http://jrnl.sh/)) to write an entry
each night. Love it because it's simple and out of my way

------
big_spammer
I wrote software for this that helps me. The main reason is that I felt I
wasn't learning anymore after leaving grad school. This helped me keep
learning. If anyone wants to try it leave me your contact info.

------
skierscott
Yes, to write down my thoughts. Writing them down makes me think about the
situation and resolve any feelings I may have.

------
cdumler
I use a variation of bullet journaling for my work. I have to track a lot
details, and I off-load them to paper.

