I used to hate journalling.
I try to avoid using the word “hate” in my day-to-day conversations and was very strict about my kids not using the word as they grew up.
But when it came to journalling, those rules went out the window. Let’s just say I had very strong negative feelings about it. Perhaps it was because I was forced to do it as an angry 14-yr old in middle school or perhaps because I feared that my real feelings might come out or that it was “just dumb” or 100 other possible reasons.
Today, we know that journalling has many proven psychological benefits, including:
- Improved mood/affect
- Feeling of greater psychological well-being
- Fewer post-traumatic intrusion and avoidance symptoms
- Reduced absenteeism from work
- Improved working memory
- Higher students’ grade point average
And, surprisingly, journalling can also produce physiological benefits as well:
– Fewer stress-related visits to the doctor
- Improved immune system functioning
- Reduced blood pressure
- Improved lung function
- Improved liver function
- Fewer days in hospital
But even knowing this and suggesting it to my teams, clients and kids, I still couldn’t get over that revulsion of recording my thoughts and feelings daily. I’d much rather iron or clean the toilet than journal.
That was until I discovered audio journalling.
I first started using the audio transcription app Otter.ai when I was working the Asian Development Bank. I struggled to produce the written reports that were required for all my meetings (another task I found loathsome), and was constantly late in delivering them.
But with Otter, I discovered that while sitting in endless Manila traffic jams, I could simply speak into my phone, recount what happened at the meeting and Otter would magically produce a written transcript of my words, which I could the edit quickly and submit the following morning.
It changed my life. Rather than struggling to produce a written report I could just talk into my phone – which I happen to be very good at – do a little clean-up on the transcripts and I’d get better results with much less pain. And it made my bosses happy too.
One night not long after this discovery, I woke up around 3am with a thousand things banging around in my head, each one clamoring for attention. As a last resort, I picked up my phone, opened Otter and just did a brain dump – talked out each one of those annoying tasks, clearing my head and eventually enabling me to go back to sleep.
The next morning, I downloaded the transcription, converted it into a prioritized task list and was quickly able to knock off many of those tasks and sleep better than night.
Aha, epiphany!
Cut to today and I use Otter almost every morning as a way to unpack my tasks, clarify thoughts, make observations and generally tidy up my brain for the day ahead. It takes on average 5 minutes to do, and I can do it sitting on the sofa while enjoying my coffee.
I can do this successfully 5 or 6 days a week. Sometimes I’ll download the transcriptions and turn them into articles or action plans, but often just the act of speaking the words and getting them out of my head is sufficient to get my day off to a positive start.
I always end my recitations with 3 things for which I’m grateful – I find that adds a nice positive propulsion – but it’s not required. You do you.
So I’ve evolved from “hating” journalling to incorporating it into an essential part of my daily routine, and I’m pretty sure this has improved my mental wellness and made me a happier guy. Maybe even more productive and more fun to be around, too.
Let me know if this works for you or you’re doing something similar to get your mornings going?
NOTE: There are plenty of transcription apps out there these days, some free, some not, some AI-enhanced, others not. I like Otter.ai because I started with it and it’s familiar. But it’s not a requirement, use whatever tool works best for you. The goal is to get you started journalling, not hung up on the tech.
