A 30-minute daily post
On the one hand, I am not one for resolutions. On the other hand, there are many habits documented to be beneficial, others to be detrimental, and we make daily and by-the-minute choices for each. Like the personal diet of a fitness coach, it is perhaps more challenging to having completed a degree with courses on the psychology of goal setting and coached others on approaches to planning.
In a conversation with a colleague leading to the end of the year, we discussed favouring principles over resolutions. Resolutions are a projections of intent on our future self, whereas principles are beliefs by which we make decisions.
The turn of the calendar and decade offers as good an opportunity as any to reflect on principles that matter. There are also many programs that build communities of accountability around goal setting and daily habits. I would encourage you to pursue those if you feel that would help. Peak Persona is one such course.
There is a shopping list of daily habits many swear by. A far-from-exhaustive list includes: 60-second cold shower, making your bed, exercise, meditation, reflective journaling, bullet journaling, gratitude journaling, goal-setting, eating schedules, pomodoro time management, meal prep, and more. I have done all and none of these at some point in my life, individually and all at the same time.
I know what works for me, and public writing is one of those functions. Most of my work is in the form of long-form research pieces, which I released 18 of in 2019.
A daily journal is thirty minutes of free form, top of mind for the day. The benefit, particularly over a private journal – which also has value – is that it gets thoughts in a format that is ordered for public consumption. It also helps to set intention and act as a public placeholder of views at a given time.
The principle is based on a desire to share, lead and learn; to continue to develop writing; and build community through feedback. Like any experiment, there needs to be parameters. This includes a rough time limit, location, and how long for. We will commit to 30 days for this one and see what is working.
Reflecting on what has and has not worked for this particular experiment in the past, there are also a few risks. One is that the post gets too involved, invariably turning into an epic research piece. One example of this approach is my current 3 year blog post on innovation, otherwise known as a PhD thesis.
Another risk is balancing authenticity with the escape of an unfiltered and existential inner monologue. I feel inner challenges need to be processed a bit before being launched in the public and permanent domain of the internet. Others seem to manage an unfiltered stream of consciousness. Me, not so much.
A third concern is time. I would be interested in a study on the number of “I’m going to write every day” posts that pop up in January, only to go by the wayside on return to work, school, or otherwise demands on time.
Finally, we have a finite amount of voice. Choosing to document in one area comes at the expense of others. Spending 30 minutes here comes at the expense of work on my thesis, that presentation and proposal that needs completion, those papers that need writing. The benefit of a daily post should contribute towards achieving the end goals.
As to what to write about, the focus is related to my main area of work which is currently regional innovation and economic and community development. There will be the occasional introspective posts such as this one, but will try to keep those to a minimum.
So there we have it. Post #1. Thanks for reading. If you have experience with your own journaling process, feel free to share.