Journaling
What to write in a journal
Write what happened today, roughly when, and how it felt. Start with facts: what you did and who you saw. Then add a line about how it felt and one thing for tomorrow. Details such as times and names make an entry useful later.
Last updated
Reviewed by Mohammed Raqeeb
Ideas
What to write in a journal.
Here are 12 things to write about, grouped by what they record: the facts of the day, how it felt, what you learned and what comes next. Pick one from the first group and one from any other, and you have a full entry.
What happened
- 1The day in order, from waking up to now, with rough times.
- 2One thing you finished, and how long it took.
- 3Who you spent time with, and for how long.
- 4Where the evening went, hour by hour.
How it felt
- 5The moment today when you felt like yourself.
- 6What drained your energy, and what gave it back.
- 7One worry, written down so it stops going round.
What you learned
- 8Something you would do differently, and what you would do instead.
- 9A decision you made today, and why.
- 10Something you noticed that you usually miss.
What comes next
- 11The one thing tomorrow has to hold, and when it will happen.
- 12What you will say no to tomorrow.
A real test
The same evening, written two ways.
Why start with the facts? Because detail is what makes a journal entry useful when you read it back. To show the difference, one evening is written twice below: once in feelings only, and once with what happened. Both were run through the Think in Numbers parser, the part of the app that reads your words and turns them into hours.
“Long day. Felt tired and a bit behind on everything. Work was busy and the evening went by too fast. Hoping tomorrow is better.”
What the parser said
“Could you add a bit more detail? Mention specific activities and roughly how long each took. For example: 'Had meetings from 9-12, coded till 5, gym for an hour.'”
Real output from the part of Think in Numbers that reads your words and adds up the hours (version v21), run on with the app’s starter categories. Stored exactly as it came out, not edited.
Written with what happened
“Up at 7. Work from 8:30 to 6, back-to-back calls until 2 and the client deck after that. Gym from 6:30 to 7:15. Dinner at 8. Then about two hours on my phone, which is why the evening went by so fast. Felt tired and behind. In bed at 11:30.”
The hours it became
- Work9h 30m
- Sleep7h 30m
- Using Phone2h
- Fitness45m
- Food & Meals30m
- Unaccounted3h 45m
20h 15m of 24 hours accounted for. Unaccounted is the time the words never mentioned.
Real output from the part of Think in Numbers that reads your words and adds up the hours (version v21), run on with the app’s starter categories. Stored exactly as it came out, not edited.
The specific entry accounted for 20h 15m of the day, including 9h 30m of work and 2h on the phone. The vague entry accounted for none of it, because it never says what happened or when.
A simple shape
A simple shape for any journal entry.
Putting that together, any journal entry works in four short parts. First, what happened, in order. Second, roughly when, even if it is only “after lunch”. Third, one line on how it felt. Fourth, one thing for tomorrow.
Both entries above say the evening went by fast. Only the specific one says why: about two hours on the phone. The feeling is the same, but only one entry points at something you could change tomorrow.
On paper, finding that one thing means adding up the hours in every entry by hand, and few people keep doing the sums.
Everything on this page works in a notebook. If you write in an app, look for one that reads the facts in an entry as hours, with no timer and no form, so a specific entry points at what to change without any adding up. Most journaling apps are built for the feelings part, and that part matters. What they leave out is the facts part, so an evening that went by too fast never shows where it went.
One app built for this is Think in Numbers, a smart journaling app with time tracking built in.
You write or say your day in your own words, as it happens or all at once. The app reads what you wrote and counts the hours that went to each part of it: work, the evening, time with people, your phone, and the time you never mentioned (shown as unaccounted). Then it shows those hours over days and weeks. For the days you do not know what to write, it has daily prompts.
For iPhone and Android. Try it on your own day before you pay.
What not to worry about
What not to worry about when you write.
Many people put off journaling because they think it has to be well written. It does not: spelling, length and style do not matter in a journal, because nobody grades it and nobody else has to read it. A missed day does not matter either; just start again the next evening.
If you are new to it, read how to start journaling first. On nights when you would rather answer one question than face a blank page, use the journal prompts. Real entries written this way are in the journal entry examples.
Keep reading.
- Time journalingThe method: write or say your day in your own words, then see it as hours.
- How to start journalingSeven small steps for the first week, and an example first entry.
- Journal entry examplesFour real entries, each shown with the hours it became.
- Journal promptsPrompts by moment and goal, many ending in something you can count.
- Where did my week go? calculatorEnter a typical day and see your week accounted and unaccounted.
Questions
Questions people ask.
What should I write in a journal every day?
Write what happened, roughly when, and how it felt. A few sentences of facts and one line of feeling make a complete daily entry. Add one thing for tomorrow if you have it.
What do I write in a journal when nothing happened?
Write the ordinary day anyway: when you woke, what you ate, where the hours went. Quiet days are worth recording, because they show where time goes when nothing is planned.
Should I write about feelings or facts?
Write both, facts first. Facts are easy to write and useful to read later. A feeling tied to a fact, like being tired after two hours on the phone, tells you what to change.
Is it OK to write the same things every day?
Yes. Repeating entries are a finding, not a failure. If every entry mentions the same late night, the journal has shown you a pattern.
What is the difference between a journal and a diary?
A diary usually records what happened each day. A journal often holds thoughts and plans as well. In everyday use the two words mean nearly the same thing.
Try it on my day.
Write today down in your own words, and see where the hours went.
For iPhone and Android. Try it on your own day before you pay.