One of the biggest problems in journaling are repetitive entries. You know these types of entries where each seems to be a carbon copy of the one before it. I’ve been journaling for over 30 years now and found it is almost impossible to not write repetitive entries. Our brains are wired that way and can easily get hung up on a thought.
I think it is important to not beat yourself up over it. I believe that if you’re repeating something in your journal then you are working through it. What does this mean? It means that whatever you’re writing about may be an issue in your life that you’re dealing with. The journal entries are your search for a solution. As an example from my own life, years ago I was stuck in a dead end job. The gist of my problem was my days were spent doing nothing of importance and there was no room for advancement. To make things worse, good paying jobs were hard to find. While I hated the job I was getting paid better than I would elsewhere. I was comfortable. To get through the long monotonous days at work I would bring my journal with me to record my thoughts. Almost every entry was about hating work. Very repetitive. What happened was that by writing these entries, I formulated a plan to get out of that job. It took a while but that journal helped me do it. It boosted my confidence in myself to take the risks needed to change my situation. In the end, it was worth every one of those repetitive entries.
Now that you know that repetitive entries are inevitable, what can you do to make them work for you? If you read back through your journals and find yourself writing a repetitive entries then the best thing is to acknowledge that you’re doing so. At this point you can address the root of your entry and work toward a positive resolution. In my old journals the root of those entries was that I hated the job and needed to get out. Break out of the repetition by writing about HOW to get out. Be proactive. What are my options? What do I have that’s in my favor? What do I need to do to make this happen? As you get into the habit, you will find that the entries become more meaningful and less repetitive. Eventually, you may resolve your issue.
What about repetitive mundane entries that aren’t about some issue you’re trying to work though? “The weather is nice today.” ETC. I call these entries “fluff” or “filler”. Literally. I will acknowledge this fact in the entry itself. It forces me to immediately change the subject. If you don’t want to change the subject then at least make the sincere attempt for your writing to be interesting. Writing about the weather is fine if that is what you want to write about. Sure, the weather was nice but what was nice about it? Fill in the details and use all your senses to do it.
