Journaling As a Form of Solitude

In my last article, I was discussing solitude and how it compares to meditation. Today, I want to talk about journaling as a form of solitude, in the same respect that Cal Newport defines solitude - time to think alone.

There are many benefits to journaling, and I’ve discussed them before. Solitude is something I’ve only recently started thinking about. I knew in the act of journaling that I was doing it in the quiet, and I was thinking the thoughts as I wrote them, but I never thought about it in terms of solitude.

Sometimes in my journal, I even write down thoughts about my thoughts. (i.e. why would I feel like that, or think like that, etc…) I would journal about how my day went (or how I wanted it to go), and how I felt about the events of the day. I guess in reality, my “everyday’ journal counts towards more than just journaling - I manifest, I practice solitude, I practice my penmanship, and it helps my mental health. It also helps me set intentions for my day (similar to the “Planner Perfect Method”, but I’ve been doing this for the past 35 years). I sometimes write about what I want to happen in my day or what outcomes I expect from my day, and it helps me to visualize what I want my day to look like.

Obviously in order to have solitude while journaling, I need to journal in the morning before my kids wake up. In Janes Agenda Masterplan Class, we spoke a lot about distractions the past few months and my kids are my number one distraction. At the same time, I’m at a stay-at-home mom as well as an online business entrepreneur, but being a mom always comes first. (Hence, the early mornings are a necessity for my work life and for my mental well-being).

I use my journal to set my intentions for the day. I have a personal journal and a business journal. In the first, I discuss what I need to do for my personal life, my family and my home life, and the latter, I set intentions for what I want my work day to look like. Writing in my journal helps me gather my thoughts so that I can plan better and sometimes it helps me brainstorm things I need to get done (which I then write in my planner).

In the morning, I set intentions and I write down how I want my day to look like. This is similar to scripting, but I’m not super specific. I write down my hopes and my worries. At the end of the day, I reflect on the events that happened that day, and how I felt about them. Maybe I had a negative interaction with someone, so I use my journal to work through my feelings on it.

Journaling in solitude really helps me in two ways - first, because I’m sitting in silence, I can focus better. I can focus on my thoughts and reflect on why I’m having those thoughts, or, think of tasks I may have forgotten. (Like I said earlier, journaling helps me jog my memory sometimes). When I read back on what I wrote, I reflect on my writing and I can learn from the past - what did I do wrong so I can avoid doing that again. Journaling is a way for me to pour out my thoughts without holding them in or having to burden someone else with my problems. It’s amazing what you can work through if you just sit and think on your problems for awhile.

Thank you for reading today’s article, and I hope you found some value from reading it!

Cheers,

Sandra 🌼