This was my week. If ever there was a 'Wake Up!' experiment designed for me, this was the one. I screamed with delight when I heard what I was going to be doing, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, I love writing. Love it. I could quite happily fill my day with either reading or writing and to do nothing but one or both of those activities.
Secondly, I spend a lot of time in my head, just thinking. That's all. I'm often teased because of the distracted look that occasionally appears on my face whilst people are talking. It's not that I'm bored. My mind just gets lost in the different stories that are playing out in my head. Writing helps me get those thoughts out of my head in a constructive way, and putting them down on paper helps me to make some sense of them.
Thirdly, I'm an introvert. And as an introvert I'm not really one for lengthy 'tell all' conversations. I'm not always comfortable with discussing my deepest thoughts with others. I much prefer to write them down and find that this helps me to process things in my own way.
I do like to journal every now and then. For me it's a useful way of exploring different aspects of my life. When I write, I tend to focus on specific topics. Free writing, which is what this experiment required, was a different way of doing things. Writing whatever came into my head would be interesting. When I've tried it before I've struggled, running out of things to write about quite quickly. But looking back, I suspect that I was putting myself under pressure to write a certain amount which probably didn't help.
So this time I wanted to relax and just write as much as I felt like writing, whether that be half a page or five sides, and then stop when it felt appropriate to stop. No pressure. And this turned out to be a good decision because it made it a lot easier and much more enjoyable.
I completed my journalling exercise first thing each morning, which helped to set myself up for the day. Looking back over what I wrote, I can see that I followed a similar pattern. Each day I covered my intentions for the day, how I was feeling, any worries I was experiencing, potential solutions to those worries, progress I was making, as well as expressing gratitude for the good things in my life.
In many ways it helped me to clear my head, as well as enabling me to check-in on how I was feeling that day.
Overall I really enjoyed this exercise and found it a useful way of managing some of those thoughts that go around in my head by getting them down on paper. It helped me clear my mind a little, free up some space and generally feel lighter and more ready for the day ahead as a result.
2 Comments
Preeti, you have inspired me to restart my journalling. I find it so helpful and like you I set out my intentions for the day....... Another great piece of writing from you
Your enthusiasm certainly put a smile on my face. I love seeing/feeling peoples passions and your passion for writing is infectious! It makes me want to write more myself. Cheers.