Can you remember what you have achieved?

As a kid I used to keep a diary, I used to write things in it like

"Great day today" or "One of the best days of my life"

And I have no idea why or what I did on those particular days that would tell me, (now years later) what it was that made those days so special. Rather than being a special memory of my childhood, all they were, were a series of bound and dated books with random and meaningless statements in them.

I threw them away.

My diaries and journals of recent times tell me EXACTLY what happened, when and on what day the "special" event occurred. It takes me a few minutes at the end of each day to write down the significant events and is a good way of getting rid of things from my mind that may have (in the past) kept me awake trying to work out just what I needed to do next/ forget about completely.

Once a week I go back and read each daily entry and make a note of anything profound or special, and notes to take forward into the following week. Then I list any significant achievements. Every month I look at the weeklylist. And once a year I do a round up of the entire year.

Why would I bother? Why should you bother?

Well a statement I read on facebook last week went something along thelines of

"I don't feel like I have achieved anything of significance this year"

And then I stopped and began to re-read what I HAD achieved.

One of the problems I have to say for me is this year has been one of fitsand starts. My engine has not been running as smoothly as I would normally like - hence my feeling of not having done enough. But my diaries and daybooks help me put things into perspective. I have for instance achieved around a dozen items off my bucket list this year :-) My diaries and journals- remind me.

Are you documenting your own particular journey through the highways and low ways of life's travels?
Are you making a note of what is working, what is not working and how perhaps you can make the next phase of your journey smoother?
Do you carry a notebook for those "brilliant" ideas,must do stuff and - oh boy I had not forget about ...
How often do you review it?

If you don't have a note book already - please buy one... I use a combination of a small bound one that I carry in my handbag (purse).

AND

I use it.

Would you?