Writing on my diary every morning is my method of listening to myself at a regular basis. I dedicate an entire hour after my pre-desk routine of my daily routine to just writing on my diary. It doesn’t have to take up an entire hour, but I’m giving it that much leeway.

The foundation for the success of my diary writing is being able to keep myself in a vacuum within an hour where I can hear myself and myself alone. I don’t read or listen to anyone’s words or thoughts before I do it. This also means no internet and doing it right after meditation. It is the first form of writing I do in the morning.

A diary writing session has been successful if I achieved these:

  1. I felt Ginhawa (see Ideas on how to make journaling feel good).
  2. I was able to achieve some clarity about something.
  3. I was able to capture lyrical philosophy.

Since I want to focus on my own voice, I will have to be prompted with what comes out of my mind. However, it won’t hurt to use prompts every now and then. For prompts, I could use:

Right now, I just free write and fill up three pages of my journal. I don’t time myself but I usually finish within 30 minutes.

What makes this habit so effective is that it has a simple structure and the requirement is not too challenging but also not too easy. I give myself the chance to flow every day as I do these pages. This is a good rule to follow for any creative endeavor.