I found this old journal at a thrift shop a few years ago, it has taken me awhile to actually write in it. I am naturally attracted to books and journals both. This one is interesting to me because of its age and also because of the items tracked within the pages. There is a counting house calendar, a page of legal holidays according to the different states, an address book and memoranda section and also what looks like a place to track cash flow. The journal even has a page for Railway Express Data, the 3rd class rate for a package was .02 for each 2 oz. or fraction thereof.
There are skinny red stickers to be used as reminders. The gummed stickers have messages such as “tomorrow is your mother’s birthday”, “tomorrow is your wedding anniversary”, “tomorrow is your wife’s birthday” and there are also “tomorrow is _________” fill in the blank stickers. A fun way to stay organized and not miss an important event.
I have read that daily writing can help clear our minds. I am not good at pushing myself to write for pages and pages every day, but I know I can take on the challenge to write a little bit daily. This year the dates/days line up with this little journal so I finally started using it. Now I daily write random thoughts, gratitude entries, lessons learned the previous day, affirmations, and memories. Basically, I write about anything that comes to mind except my to-do list.
I find that this writing exercise as small as it is does trigger new thoughts, clears my mind, has me refocus and is enjoyable. It does not feel like a chore and now that I have been doing it for 4 months I look forward to writing daily.
This is a good reminder for all of us to start small when we are trying to either start or maintain a habit. Not all techniques will work for everyone. Building a new habit or breaking an old one does not have a “one size fits all” type method. So, do what you can, what is meaningful to you using what you already have and enjoy the process. Before you realize it you will be enjoying your new self-growth habit.
