How to keep a diary correctly: 10 golden rules

The volume of information and the degree of its accessibility today are so great that it is simply impossible to remember everything that we learn every day. And if we add to this the busyness of a modern person and the huge number of tasks that he has to do, we get that even at the right time, “getting” some information from the corners of memory becomes problematic. This is why many people use diaries in school, work, business and everyday life. But for this to give results and really simplify life, you need to be able to format them correctly. Next we will talk about how this is done.

What are the benefits of a diary?

Almost every businessman, as well as representatives of any other profession that requires time planning, has a diary. Why is a diary so popular, and what are the benefits of keeping a diary? Let's highlight just a few of the main reasons.

Helps you prioritize

With its help, you can separate the main tasks from the secondary ones and determine the degree of importance of each task at the moment. Calculate the approximate time required to complete a certain task and compare it with the actual time spent. This is how you learn to analyze and plan further work.

Strengthens motivation

It would be correct to highlight not only the pages on which you will record work tasks, but also those related to your free time. This could be a hobby: gym, swimming, cycling, hiking, sports classes, attending personal growth training, handicrafts. In addition to everyday tasks, set aside a separate page for your own achievements , where you write down your personal successes, even if they seem insignificant to someone.

Practical advice

It is better to highlight the most significant matters and dates with a colored marker so as not to miss them. Ideally, to make using the diary as convenient as possible, you should use different markings for different types of entries. For example, you can use an orange marker for memorable dates, and a green marker for business meetings.
To develop the habit of keeping a diary, you need to make sure to write every day. By postponing over and over again, you must understand that in this way you are postponing your dream, leaving it along with doing things for later.
If there is no desire at all, or thoughts appear that you can postpone the recording until tomorrow, just remember your goal and that returning to your old life without planning will certainly not gain anything positive.
In order not to lose particularly important information, set aside several pages (perhaps at the end of the diary) for entries that should always be at hand, or leave a bookmark in those places that are most often used.
It is much better to set fewer goals for yourself and achieve them than to take on overwhelming work. Also, having completely completed all the tasks (even if there are few of them), you will receive greater moral satisfaction from completing the assigned tasks. Leaving even a small number of things to do, you will go to bed with a feeling of incompleteness, which, deposited in the subconscious, will slowly undermine your self-confidence.
In order not to stretch out the completion of items throughout the day, set a time frame that you will not go beyond. It is better to do fewer things with greater efficiency, thereby managing your time correctly.
You can make it a rule to cross out tasks that have already been completed. This will help you see the amount of work done, and in addition, it will give you pleasure from crossing out lines.

Make planning things in your diary a healthy habit

At the end of the day, make it a habit to review your work, even if it didn't work out. Having taken into account all the mistakes, the next time you fill out the diary, you will be able to better determine the use of time and set priorities.

When distributing plans, divide your diary into the first and second parts of the day. Try to do the most unpleasant and difficult work right away, without putting it off until later. In any case, having done some work, you will want to take a break and postpone actions that require maximum concentration.

Be sure to give yourself a break, don’t forget a short break after busy hours. Only after regaining your strength will the following actions be most effective.

Also, don’t forget to reward yourself with small nice things. For example, stopping by your favorite boutique on the way from a successfully held conference, or simply eating ice cream after getting an A+.

Of course, you can plan the whole week at once, but only highly organized people who have some experience in distributing tasks can do this. Ideally, you should fill out the diary in the evening, setting aside a certain time for this. By turning filling out your personal organizer into an enjoyable ritual, you will be happy to return to it again and again, thus creating a habit.

If you started a diary to achieve a specific goal, break it down into days and talk about it every day, especially in the morning. This will improve your motivation and make your goals clearer, and the path to achieving them easier and more enjoyable.

Let keeping a diary be a new hobby for you that will help you realize your life. And don't forget:

How to choose the right diary?

What to look for when buying an assistant for planning tasks? The main rule is that the diary should be visually pleasing. This will act as additional motivation to conduct it correctly. Be guided by your own taste, while not forgetting that your new assistant should be compact. You will have to carry it with you everywhere, which means it should not take up much space. Situations in life are different, so take this into account when choosing a diary.

You are buying it for at least twelve months, so the paper must be of high quality so that in the process of taking notes you do not encounter such a phenomenon as page burnout. You can also order a diary based on an individual project, which will best highlight the characteristics of its owner, regardless of gender and age. There are leather-bound diaries, with pages numbered or not, with the ability to enter contacts and phone numbers, which will not be amiss.

How you keep notes is up to you, but time management should be fun and develop a strong habit of not giving up on it in the first days. Therefore, the choice of this item must be taken correctly and with full responsibility.

What is the Bullet journal system

The Bullet Journal or BuJo system was created by Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer based in New York. Problems with learning and concentration prompted Ryder to come up with a way to help him focus on tasks.

“Instead of taking notes like other people, I figured out how to organize and sort information the way my mind works.”

Bullet journal is a system for organizing records using points and blocks, from the English “bullet” - bullet, point. Designing a Bullet journal will help you create a convenient map of goals, create a list of ideas and thoughts, keep a diary with tasks, and compile collections.

Which notepad to choose for Bullet journal

There are special marked BuJo diaries, but you can take any notebook that is convenient to use. It will be easier if it has numbered pages.

The size should be such that it is convenient for you to carry it with you, but it is better that about 30 lines fit on the page - the number of days in the month. If you plan to take the notebook with you and make notes in transport, choose a hard cover.

First, we’ll look at what a notebook in the BuJo system consists of, and then we’ll explain the process of filling it out on Bullet journal spreads.

Diary structure

BuJo consists of related modules:

Index - content with a list of modules and an indication of the pages where they are located. It is filled out as you go.
Plans and goals for the year - several pages, usually divided by month.
Monthly journal - calendar of the month and page for results and plans.
A diary for plans and tasks for each day, usually filled out in the evening or in the morning.
Collections - collections with a list of books, ideas, films, insights.

Maintaining BuJo involves a thesis description of tasks so that you can look at the list on the go and understand what remains to be done. There is a system of symbols for this.

To-Do List Conventions

The creator of BuJo came up with icons that visually separate items:

tasks - dot;
events - circle;
notes - dash.

Making notes
For each task, the state is indicated; the signs are selected so that the original designation of the task - a point - can be easily transferred to another sign;

the task was set - period;
task completed - crossed out dot;
moved to the to-do list for the next day - the > sign looks like a right arrow;
sent to long-term plans in the to-do list for the month - < sign, left arrow;
added priority to an important task - ! or *.

Registration of task status
If these designations seem unusual or incomprehensible to you, come up with your own. For example, as user @_c.ti_ did:

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Posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Cristina Golovina (@_c.ti_) March 29, 2022 at 2:56 PDT

Types of diaries: with or without dates?

There are two types of diaries: with and without printed dates. A dated diary is designed so that its owner will clearly structure his working time. This type of notepad will allow you to solve more problems with increased efficiency, thanks to the correct distribution of time resources and the use of personal energy costs. If you need to plan events, meetings, events for several weeks or months in advance, a dated diary is suitable for you.

Diaries without dates are designed for people who are not very keen on planning and are not fans of restrictions. Such notebooks are loved by creative individuals who do not need to plan events or meetings several months in advance. In addition, such a diary is perfect for those who are not going to plan every day, but can sometimes skip days, making them free from planning.

Do it

If you don’t like to make plans for the future, but always write down your upcoming tasks, then the Do it app will become your indispensable assistant. Here all tasks are planned only for the current day and the next. Nothing except. The app's interface is as simple as its function. It looks like a simulator of two pages of a notebook. On the left side are tasks for today, on the right - for tomorrow. With the same simplicity, you mark completed tasks (they are simply crossed out). Everything is clear and very simple. Download the application for iOS, for Android

Types of diaries: paper or electronic?

By type, diaries are divided into electronic and paper versions. If you are a fan of modern technology, then using a paper diary can raise a lot of questions. Dont be upset. There is no need to rack your brains about how to properly keep a diary, because the manufacturer has taken care of you by creating the program in electronic form. The choice is yours! The advantage of such a diary is that there is no need to allocate additional space to carry it; it will be on your phone, computer or tablet. This is an undeniable advantage, and keeping such a diary is a pleasure. The undeniable advantages of the electronic version of the diary are event reminders, intuitive controls, nice design, easy document editing, and the ability to add multimedia information.

Oddly enough, most people today prefer paper diaries. Their convenience and simplicity, apparently, have not yet been surpassed by any electronic program.

Let's start training

Indeed, you have to learn how to properly keep a diary so that it brings benefits and not just takes up space. First, it is recommended to monitor your schedule for a week. That is, you literally fill out the schedule for each day, minute by minute. From the moment the alarm clock rang until you went to bed, you will need to record minute by minute what you did. This will allow you to analyze how much time is spent on unnecessary things.

So, the week has passed. Review your notes and create a graph that shows how much time was spent on each activity. If watching TV or talking on the phone is in the lead, and you complain about the lack of time to clean the room, you clearly need to reconsider your schedule.

How to become even more productive?

Friends, starting to keep a diary is a huge step forward in increasing personal effectiveness, but it is only half the success. The second half of success is setting goals correctly and moving in the right direction. If you want to become significantly more effective in work and life, learn to set goals and accomplish more in less time, I recommend the “Goal Setting” course from Vikium.

This course will help:

Not only to dream, but also to realize
Get inspired for new goals
Be more positive on the way to your goal

What does the training cost:

6 lessons
Practical exercises and recommendations
Video materials
Graphic diagrams and tasks

You can:

Achieve your goals
Don't waste energy
Carry out your plans
Setting new standards in development
Fulfill your dreams

Remember, friends: the most valuable investment is an investment in yourself!

If this is your first time doing this

The first question that arises is: how to design a diary. It all depends on your desire and mood. You can buy a ready-made diary, which is already lined, where the chapters are marked, and you only need to paste photographs and pictures and keep notes. But this option turns out to be very limited. It is much better to buy a regular notebook and line it the way you want.

Another option for organizing a diary is to buy a universal organizer. This is a thick notebook, on one side of which there are numbered sheets for each date, and on the other - just blank pages that can be used as you wish. This makes it possible to use it for study and work, as well as for personal purposes.

How a diary changes your life for the better

Scientists believe that planning your workday promotes self-organization and the development of discipline. Correctly maintaining a diary helps develop self-discipline, as well as increase the efficiency of professional activities of a company employee. It is extremely important for a business person to control the dates for submitting reports and develop the ability to properly distribute working time. Such measures help develop stress resistance, because no one is immune from force majeure, and a diary helps you learn how to react correctly to such situations.

Over time, you will see how useful the habit of keeping a diary and organizing your own day has been. You will have more time for your own hobbies, and work will no longer cover all areas of life. It’s not for nothing that the concept of “occupational hygiene” was introduced, but, unfortunately, not all people understand how important proper rest is. By keeping a diary, you will be able to properly distribute time resources, increase your own productivity, without harming your personal interests.

Time management is the future, so let's keep up with the times and become more productive in all areas of life!

LeaderTask

A simple planner for managing affairs, both work and personal. The application allows you to structure tasks and control their implementation. In the free version, the user has access to the following functionality: adding, editing and marking tasks, access to a calendar for the years ahead and much more. You can run the application both online and offline - everything is synchronized via the cloud. Edits and changes are immediately displayed to the entire group that is working on this task. Download the application for iOS, for Android

Success Journal

At the end of your planner, set aside a few pages to write down your accomplishments. Every day it is recommended to write down at least ten points of those cases in which you showed your best side. In a week, a piggy bank of 70 points is collected, where you are great. Reviewing your success journal regularly is a great boost to your self-esteem. Try to correlate your achievements with the goals and objectives that you set for yourself. This will allow you to start wanting to do more and more every day.

Method for numbers lovers

Its emphasis is also on setting priorities. To begin, give each task a score from 0 to 2. They are ranked by importance. 2 – the primary task that must be completed today, 1 – the task is important, however, as a last resort, it can be completed later, 0 – everyday affairs and minor duties that need to be remembered. To make your work even more efficient, at the end of the day, rate the completed items on a five-point scale.

5 – job done perfectly. 4 – the task was done well, but there are minor flaws. 3 – the task was completed poorly or only half completed. 2 – nothing has been done at all. 1 – nothing has been done and it will negatively affect you in the future.

A little life hack: in order not to force yourself into rigid limits with all these assessments, get into the habit of placing small comments next to tasks. For example, “Keep it up!”, “It’ll work out another time,” or “Who needs this grumpy client anyway?”

And finally, it is worth noting that for successful work, the diary must bring you positive emotions. Otherwise you will stop looking there altogether. Therefore, add some creativity: for example, you can accompany your notes with small drawings or sketches. Or just buy multi-colored pens and markers and have a blast in your notebook!

Personal experiences and feelings

This is an equally important block that allows you to better understand yourself, your actions and actions. Most often, such entries are started by young girls who are overwhelmed with feelings. What does this mean:

The need to deal with yourself.
The need to speak out. Not everything can be said to a friend or mother, but the paper does not blush and will endure everything. This is associated with growing up, the first feelings that are not only difficult to understand, but also impossible to express. The diary does not correct, does not criticize, it allows you to be yourself.
And some people just like to write. It's interesting and enjoyable. And then, after some time, you can re-read your story.

The next day

We continue to talk about how to learn to keep a diary. The next item will be writing assignments for the next day. Develop this habit for yourself, it will be the first step to success. When you get up in the morning, you will already know what you need to do today. Start the day with the most important and difficult tasks, otherwise by the evening you will no longer have the energy to do them. Be sure to include an estimated completion time.