Write 5 Things About Your Day Everyday

It’s a simple exercise for your brain; just write 5 things about your day everyday. What happened, what you felt, what you thought about during the day. Just recall your day before going to be. It’s a reflection on yourself and also a reminder on how you’re going to face the next day.

I think I picked this up on ZenHabits as a mind exercise. The instructions were just to write 5 things but I made mine in to a journal because I found that I have so much to say that couldn’t fit in to one sentence. No one is ever to old to start writing a journal about their life. In a way, this practice helps me to unload some of the mental stress or things that I wasn’t able to say to others. This also made me realize that even if my day seems too standard and routinely, there is always something that stands out that I can remember. I find myself thinking of ways to make the day different everyday not just because I want to write it down but also because I see things in a different perspective now.

I’m in my 3rd month right now and I missed only a couple of days but I plan to finish this until the end of the year and then continue for the rest of my life. I found out that it’s better if I write it down with a pen rather than using a computer. When I’m facing a notebook, I don’t get distracted compared to when I was doing it on my laptop. One can argue that it’s just a matter of self-control but “old school” writing gives me more satisfaction when I finish a page. Also, when using the laptop, I tend to write too much. On the notebook, I try my best to fit everything in just one page and not get carried away with random thoughts.

I recommend this to all of you. All you need is a pen, a notebook and your brain. It only takes a small amount of time. You may want to just list down 5 items, nothing more, nothing less. Just make sure that your notebook is near your bed so that you would remember to write. It's a simple discipline by itself.