J Wick,
Your Journal is yours. You can do whatever you want with it, however you'd like. For me, I think these are some important elements. Think of your journal as an engine for self-improvement.
Three Major Requirements
Inspiration
Giving a fuck. This is the affinity for turning the engine on (the spark, the oxygen). If you don't have this element, you're not gonna get anything out of your journal. Most the journal entries I've read start with a high level of motivation. Some idealism of what you will be years after making it, and how the journal is gonna help get you there and show your progress. If you don't have this, then you're journal will be pointless. And there will be times that you need to remind yourself why you're doing this shit in the first place. Richard once wrote that inspiration is like a long-burning candle, and motivation is like a fire cracker (I think), as in you need a real, substantive reason to be doing all this. Think long term.
Consistency of Effort
Your motivation, action, and goal setting have to be consistent. The engine needs fuel to keep running. Tim Ferris (number one podcast and highly successful) journals every day out of habit to achieve the most out of it, and I try to mimic this, and journal whenever I have something noteworthy to put down. With any habit, you need to be constantly feeding it energy to make any real changes and see growth (weight lifting, guitar playing, etc.) and if you only journal say, once every two weeks, you're not gonna get the most from your writing. By doing it every day or close to that, you get to see yourself develop and change with more detail and context.
Specific Goals
This is the structure of the engine, and as the fuel is converted to usable forms of energy, how it flows and makes change in the system. Your work effort and inspiration must be channeled appropriately. I learned this lesson from journaling, and doing an analysis of my old notes actually. All the energy and effort can be put toward something, you can give all the fucks in the world, but unless you're using that energy in a way that actually creates something it's not all that valuable. Instead of Goal: Do more approaches, think Goal: Approach 10 women at the nightclub and as you continue get more specific Goal: Use a Yes ladder on 5 women this week. This doesn't have to be exclusive to approaches either - I'll make myself read 10 pages of a book, or go to the gym on specific days, or a specific number of lays for the month. I've taken some of my journaling off the GC boards out of personal preference for some of this, though. Harness and focus your energy to specific, achievable, and TANGIBLE things.
Notable Mentions (In order of most to least important)
Reflection
I feel this is self evident - go back and read what old you has wrote and learn from yourself and your patterns. You will learn yourself much better, and see how true it is that actions speak louder than words. I noticed from doing this I don't have the best habits of coping with stress and tend to drink, rationalize, and ruminate the most when things aren't going my way / I have a ton on my plate (this doesn't sound profound or anything, but the journal FORCES you to look at your objective self and your behavioral patterns, which otherwise might escape you for a number of reasons). It also can motivate you from your successes when you're on a dry spell - it reminds you of what you're really capable of.
High Level of Detail
Other people reading your journal and your own forgetful ass will be able to better analyze your journal if you include as much detail as possible. That weird smile she gave you after you said X, how did it make you feel? Were there other people she knew around or was it just you two? Was it a sudden shift of mood or were things already on the decline? All of these things become important in learning nuance and finding the needle in the haystack when you're confused on something. Memory is a funny thing and becomes distorted over time - but if you put in the high level of detail just as it happened you're more likely to have a closer resemblance of the objective.
Balance of Goals
Don't put TOO MUCH or too little on your plate. It will be hard to simultaneously become an astronaut, a Ph.D in anthropology, and slaymaster 3000 before the year is over. On the other hand, you don't want to limit your growth with setting the bar super low and feeling satisfied that you hit your goal for the week/month. Setting a number of goals that fits your reality (time, prior obligations, other hobbies) as well as a magnitude of goals (get 25% better open:number-close ratio) is important, and while it's something you have to play around with and probably bite off too much at some point, it will help you find out just how efficient you really can become.
These are somethings that I've learned as I've journaled, and hope to keep refining my process as I make strides forward. I'm gonna subscribe to your journal and am looking forward to see who J wick is by the end of the year.
Hope this helps!
Hue
