Keeping a Journal or Something Like It

Keeping a journal or diary is good mental exercise and has the advantage of generating a record of what’s happened in one’s life, amplifying and clarifying memory of past years. Putting thoughts and observations on paper requires you to organize, sharpen, and in some respects revise your thinking. As the playwright Ionesco said, “I write to find out what I think.”

I recently received a copy of the latest volume of a journal a friend who has been keeping a journal for decades. Turns out it makes for great reading. I’ve never been motivated to follow his example, but I think I’ve achieved some of the same benefits he has from writing a daily blog and books and essays.