9th year of journalling

Nine years ago I started writing things down. I had no grand plan, just a notebook and a habit. Looking back now, it's the best decision I've made.

Journaling didn't change my life on its own, but it gave me a place to think clearly, and clear thinking changed everything else.

In nine years I've built a career I'm proud of, moved house, and had three more children. I got fit, took up hurling, and learned to get a grip on my emotions instead of letting them run the show. None of it happened by accident. Every one of those changes started as a line on a page: something I noticed, wanted, or was fed up with.

Writing slows you down. When I was angry or overwhelmed, putting it on paper took the heat out of it, and over time I got better at pausing before I reacted. That's the real reason my emotions feel like my own now.

It also keeps you honest. It's hard to fool yourself when you can read what you wrote six months ago. I could see what was working, what wasn't, and what I kept promising myself and never did.

And it taught me to plan. Once I was writing regularly, I started thinking in years rather than days. Now I keep a five-year plan and a ten-year plan, and I check in on both in my journal. The big goals stop feeling like fantasies once they're written down and broken into steps.

Nine years, three more kids, one new sport, and a lot of notebooks later, I'm grateful for the habit. If you've been thinking about starting, just start. Five minutes and a pen is enough.

Future you will thank you.