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If you're not Bridget Jones, what's the point of a diary?

Wednesday 10th February 2010 | No comments

I'm running a mini-workshop this afternoon for people who are staying in Sydney while having cancer treatment. I am delighted to accept this invitation from an old client, who asked if I would share some ideas about telling your story and writing a journal as a way of expressing thoughts you might not want to share with others face-to-face.

We will be telling some stories, and also talking about journalling - because a journal is a great place to express feelings and thoughts.

It's very helpful in sorting out experiences and starting to see the patterns in your life and in your relationships. Through a journal, you can start to make more conscious choices and decisions. You can work through changes, dealing with blocks and persistent patterns along the way.

It is also a great place to capture your ideas, or make a snapshot of how you were thinking and feeling at a particular time in your life.

Journalling can be a great way to tap into your creative thinking, to experiment with ideas and thoughts in a safe environment, before exposing them to the wider world. (So it has a business function as well as the Bridget Jones approach...)

You can write in it diary fashion, but why not try other forms of writing like prose, poetry, ideas or even jotting things down in dot points. You can draw in your journal, or stick things in (pictures, photos poems. newspaper clippings, leaves). Use diagrams or symbols, or play with abstract images. Try lots of media - paint, pastels, journalling, different pens...colour is great for expressing yourself.

You need no special skills or talents, as it's about process not technique - there is no wrong way to journal.

Try these exercises, if you're looking for inspiration:

Journal exercises

Every day, write 250 words (or write without stopping for 10 minutes if you prefer) about one of these:

1. Your first day at school, new job, overseas, as a parent, at university
2. Smells you love - or hate
3. Visiting a particular city you love (or hate)
4. Christmas day
5. 'I remember...'
6. Your latest rant (bad drivers, global warming, young/old people today, traffic, the education system)
7. Your favourite place (in your house, neighbourhood or the world)
8. A book that changed your life
9. Saying goodbye
10. Your best friend
11. Your workplace
12. A great (or awful) holiday or travel experience
13. Your favourite (or worst) meal
14. Something you could never give away or give up
15. The blues

Any other ideas?

Tags: journalling, reflection, stories

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