A New Direction for The Journal Keeper

I am sure you have noticed that my attempts at this blogging thing have been a bit random and haphazard.  I had great intentions when I created The Journal Keeper.  I wanted it to be a place to share what I knew about the craft of journaling, and how I used journal writing in my daily life.

I immediately had two problems:  1) It turned out that I didn't know as much about journaling as I thought.  I had been writing in my diary/journal on and off for as long as I could remember, and had learned many things along the way, but found that I didn't really have enough knowledge to keep the blog going for an indefinite period of time.  2) As much as I love the act of journaling and what I know it can do to improve my well-being, I had not been doing it as faithfully as I should.  In fact, my journal writing had long since taken a nose dive over the past several years, so much so that I had trouble calling myself a journal writer at all without feeling like a fraud.

I've had a dream for a long time of facilitating others in journaling for empowerment, whether it be through workshops or a newsletter or a blog.  I really loved the idea of blogging -- I would love to say that was because it would be a great way to practice my writing.  In reality, though, I think I loved the idea because I wanted the attention.  I wanted to gain a loyal following of readers who hung on my every word and left adoring comments on every entry.  I wanted to make friends that would last a lifetime.  After all, I read several blogs written my people who have done just that.

But it's just not working for me.  I've put way too much pressure on myself (in way too many areas of my life -- not just the journal blog area) and lately I have felt way too overwhelmed.  So I'm cutting things back.  And that includes the Blog About Journaling.

Instead, though, I will keep this blog as my personal journal.  I'm making every effort to "go electronic" in that area.  It's not going well (that's for another entry), but I think I have to give it a fair try.

So here's to a new direction for The Journal Keeper.

Weekly Review - 6/6/10

Something I have done for years is to review the past week.  Usually this is done in my planner and/or journal, but since I am trying to ween myself from both of them, I am hoping to share my review with you here.

My weekly review consists of going through my planner for the past week to see what I've done, what I've accomplished, and where I still need work.  I would also go through my journal and read the entries from the past week to see what I was feeling and doing. 

What this is supposed to do for me is keep me on track with my goals.  I should be able to see at a glance where I am exceling and where I am falling behind.  It is supposed to be an empowering exercise.  Unfortunately for me, the last several months have not been very productive, and therefore my weekly review ended up just being another way for me to feel bad about where I am and what I DIDN'T do.

I need to regroup, though.  I need to refocus on the good things I am accomplishing.  And if my weekly review reveals that I am falling behind in an area, then that should just be a reminder of what I need to work harder to focus on in the coming week.

So today, in light of the horrible week I have had, I am not going to put myself through that.  Rather I will spend the day reflecting on my goals and revisiting my plan for getting where I want to be.

Do you have a regular ritual to help keep you on track with your goals and/or responsibilities?  I'd love to hear from you!