Everywhere you turn, the suggestion for creative people is to “journal every day.” It’s “the artist’s way,” we’re told. Honestly, I felt internal pressure to keep a daily journal way before I ever heard of Julia Cameron. There are multiple books from my childhood filled with pages that start with a litany of excuses for why I haven’t been writing, or announcing my intentions to write more regularly. And, I’m sorry to say, those sorts of entries didn’t stop at the end of my childhood.
Until recently. I’m over it. I no longer feel an ounce of pressure to journal every day.
What changed? Okay, don’t laugh, but I finally realized why I don’t journal every day, but instead swing in to my journal and write at sporadic intervals.
It’s because I’m lazy.
Okay, that’s not fair. Let me be more clear — I don’t write a journal entry every day because I don’t have any desire to read a journal entry every day. My reasoning:
- Ever thought about the paradox inherent in having a perfect memory? As in, if you remember every moment of your life, your remaining time will be spent remembering, and not living? Well that sounds shitty.1
- (This is the real one, and is related to the above.) I want to write about things when I’m compelled, and when I really have something to say. That way, when I go back and read what I wrote, I’m not reading some bull honky stream of consciousness garbage that I don’t care about. I’ve found that, in periods where I managed to journal daily, much of what I write is not worth reading, and then I feel like the time I spent looking at it is time lost. (Why, yes I do value my time greatly. I guard it with every ounce of will I can muster, in fact.)
Of course, I know the rationale for journaling every day isn’t necessarily just remembering. And of course, I’m also not telling you “don’t journal every day, even if it works for you.” Because I’m not a Dummy McAsshat. But if you’re like me, and you’ve felt pressure to plop down in front of that paper every single day, but the act of journaling for its own sake doesn’t seem beneficial for you, maybe you should just…do it when you want, or when you feel compelled to say something to your future self.
I know. I’m a revolutionary. I accept PayPal for dispensing this wisdom.
- Hyperthymesia, or highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), is a real thing, if rare. I definitely don’t have it. In fact, like many folks with aphantasia, I have SDAM, a Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory. So it’s really frickin’ important for me to keep good records of things I want to remember. ↩︎
I’ve tried journaling from time to time, doesn’t stick with me at all. I can understand the advice to journal (like in morning pages) if you are, in fact, a writer. It seems like a good way to warm up, get into a keyboard flow and just get to writing your story, whatever it might be. I rarely find I have a lot to say to myself, so I find little value in keeping a journal.
Or so I thought… Looking back into my phone’s camera roll, sorted by month & year, here I find a lot of value and good memories. Also screenshots and notable items collected over time. Being more of a visual person, I guess. Not all great advice fits all great people.
That makes so much sense. I’ve always loved the idea of a commonplace notebook rather than a journal…and I think a gallery with all your screenshots, photos, etc. can easily function that way.