8 Things I Learned from Journaling Every Day for 5 Years

1827 journal entries later, I want to keep writing

My ex-boyfriend dumped me in 2015. I cried every day at home, at work, to my friends, to my mom, to my pillow.

Three weeks later, people around me were exhausted by my misery and I had nowhere else to vent.

Enters a diary.

I bought a “One Line A Day” 5-year diary. Each page is dedicated to a day in the year and is divided into five small sections, which allows me to see a particular day’s entry from all 5 years in one glance.

I love the set up of this diary because it documents my development clearly and concisely. When I write, I often find myself looking back at what I did a year or four years ago, which is a better “On This Day” than those on Facebook and Camera Roll, in my opinion.

In this palm-sized book, I recorded 1827 days of events, routines, meals, people, thoughts, questions, and crises. Five years later, here’s what I learned:

1. Consistency Is Not Hard When the Goal Is Small

This diary is small. With limited space, the diary allows for at most two sentences per day, making it a very low key commitment.

I didn’t consciously decide to keep journaling for five whole years.

But because the goal was small — two sentences a day, it was easy to keep at it and I didn’t even see it as a chore.

Journaling eventually became a habit, some much looked-forward-to me time, and an essential emotional outlet.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

2. Solitude is a Rare Commodity

In my 1827 entries, most of it was doing, not much was being.

90% of my entries were pure activity records like this one:

“Was very sleepy, had our last rehearsal before Mandy’s wedding, did some last-minute shopping, fun but tiring day.”

In contrast, my thoughts and feelings that resulted from solitude and reflection were rare. Many times, spending five minutes each night to journal was the only solitude I had.

But solitude brings me joy, calmness, and clarity.

I learned to carve out time to ‘do nothing’.

3. Bad Things Are but Trivial

Seemingly devastating things quickly become manageable. Looking back, I don’t even remember most ‘bad’ things that used to bother me.

I really hated the job I had in 2016. I had a very hard time understanding the decisions of my boss and I got worked up over his behaviors every day.

Entries like “wow I can’t believe he just asked me not to get off work because HE failed to return comments on my assignment. Like really !?!” were common.

What used to be emotional rants are but trivial pieces of memories.

Next time I encounter things that bother me, I know I am adaptive and I will be able to laugh it off in a few years.

4. Some Pains Do Last

As adaptive as human beings are, some pains do last.

In 2015, I started journaling because I was going through a devastating heartbreak. My diary recorded my recovery—detailing my denial, doubt, anger, and eventually acceptance.

In 2016, my beloved mentor passed away. It was by definition a very different type of grief, but again, my diary was there every step of my grieving process.

Grief faded but scars remain. I guess they will always be a part of me.

I learned to thank the ways my sorrows have shaped me.

5. I Am Forgetful

I’m guilty of forgetting the many great things that happened to me.

One of the biggest milestones in the past five years was me going to law school. In 2015, attending law school used to be this distant dream. After I got accepted, I was first very preoccupied with complaining about law school, then I entered a nihilistic phase where I didn’t care about law school anymore.

Not until I looked back at my journal entries did I remember I used to yearn for this opportunity to be a law student so much.

Life is full of beautiful things and I don’t want to take them for granted.

6. You Reap What You Sow

Like everything else in life, friendships require work and investment. This seems like universal knowledge but I’m surprised how often I forget it.

I used to share lunches and take walks around the park with Sherrie. We texted each other about cringy guys we met. I even saw her cry a few times. A few years later, those sushi lunches and gossips are no longer fixtures in my life, my friendship with Sherrie slipped away like the fall foliage in the parks we walked through.

Josie, on the other hand, still occupies the top spot on my to-text list after five years. Flipping through my journal, I see numerous bits and pieces of quality time I spent with Josie, so many that I don’t even remember most of them.

Consistently, we built the foundation of our friendship day after day, year after year.

People come and go, but some are here to stay.

7. Growth is Spiral, Not Linear

My 1827 entries made it apparent that I ponder on the same existential questions over and over.

In 2016, I wondered what I wanted to do in life and what I cared about. Should I go back to school?

In 2018, back in school, I again wondered what I wanted to do. How do I not let the strong currents of grad school prey on my insecurities and convince me to chase things I otherwise don’t care about?

In 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, I’m once again evaluating what’s important to my fulfillment. Is it a stable job? Some marketable skills? The ability to do good? Or none of the above?

Asking the same questions doesn’t mean I haven’t made progress, it just means I’m eager to dig deep into existential questions while I progress through different stages of life.

8. Ordinary Days Produce Extraordinary Growth

The biggest leaps in my personal growth did not come from jam-packed days of busyness.

They came from boring days when I didn’t do much.

2016 was a year of modesty. I stayed in a job that I did not love, I did not date anyone, I did not have any significant ‘achievements.’ Here’s my journal entry on December 31, 2016:

“Didn’t do much this year, can’t even articulate one concrete achievement in 2016. But I hope my ordinary year exists to prepare me for extraordinary years ahead…”

I was right! Looking back, 2016 was the year I learned how to be alone, how to be there for a friend, how to grieve, how to face my insecurities, and how to stay grounded.

I learned to love ordinary and boring times.

Parting Thoughts:

Why I enjoyed journaling:

• A designated time and space for me to reflect
• A reminder of things big and small that I’m grateful for
• The best documentation of my struggles and growth that I otherwise wouldn’t have paid attention to
• A small commitment that is easy to follow through
• It is fun!

My biggest takeaway is baby steps we make every day do make a difference, regardless of whether they are glamorous or not. Sometimes the smallest steps turn out to be the most fruitful.

After journaling for 1827 days, I’m pretty certain I’ll do it for at least another decade.

(Names in this articles have been changed for privacy reasons)