Delayed Journaling And The Value Of A Moment

A small but important change I made recently to my journaling process is that I practice delayed journaling – journaling about my day on the following day, instead of at night before I go to bed.

Ever since I started doing this, I’ve been able to capture every day fully in my journal, and I also find my entries are less frustrated. There are less “ughs” – it appears that whatever I’m frustrated about usually doesn’t frustrate me as much the next day.

I find the best time to journal is right when I wake up. I feel a sense of urgency to get on with the new day, that I write down a more objective summary of the old day.

The value of each moment is always fluctuating and it’s hard to really judge the value of a moment while we’re in it. And maybe sleep helps us sort through those moments, separating the juicy from the stale.

We learn better from moments when we get some distance from them, zooming out for clarity.