How to Make a Diary Interesting
Try keeping a dream diary., Create a time capsule of your daily life., Keep a travel diary., List the books you’ve read in a diary., Keep a gratitude journal., Maintain a project diary., Sketch out your ideas., Keep it short.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Try keeping a dream diary.
A dream diary is a place for you to record what you remember of your dreams upon waking.
It should be written as soon as you wake up, because your dreams will soon be forgotten.You might keep a small notebook, pen, or pencil right beside your bed.
Or, you might try an app on your phone that uses speech-to-text technology.
No matter which sort you choose, the main thing is to be able to access it as soon as you wake up.
If you’re interested in seeing patterns in your dreams, try writing a title on each one for easier indexing.
Consider analyzing your dreams using a dream dictionary, or by looking carefully at the imagery you see recurring in your dreams and thinking about what it might mean. -
Step 2: Create a time capsule of your daily life.
This kind of diary can be fun to create if you’re thinking about the possibility of your children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren reading your diary in the future.
This kind of diary includes detailed information about your everyday life.You might want to include newspaper clippings, recipes, your own thoughts and comments on the daily headlines.
Consider including both national and local events, as well as personal family information. , If you’re going on a trip, keeping a daily diary of the places you’ve been, things you’ve seen, people you’ve met and other detailed information about your trip will help keep your memories alive for years following your travels.
It will also help you live more fully in the moment of your trip as you consider details for including in your diary.Take plenty of photographs, and carefully label each one by date, place, and any identifying information regarding people in the pictures so that you’ll be able to remember them later.
This is a diary that’s often kept online in a blog format, but can also be kept by writing daily entries in a book. , A reading diary allows you to keep track of all the books you’re reading.
You might want to include a short description of each book, its author, and your own response to the book.
You can make your own rating system, and rate each book according to its merits.There are many options for keeping a reading diary online that you can explore.
These can be useful if you want to quickly link to the book’s online description.
You can also use a reading diary to keep a list of books you want to read, books on your wishlist, or books you started but never finished. , This is a list of things that you’re grateful for, no matter how small or large.
Research shows that people who keep a gratitude journal have lower stress, improvement in self-esteem, and more positive outlook on life.Some research suggests that keeping a gratitude journal might be most effective when done on a weekly basis, rather than a daily habit.
Think about imagining what your life would be like without the specific thing you’re grateful for.
This is a way of making the gratitude journal more interesting.
Write about the good things that happened that were unexpected or surprising. , If you’re working on a long-term project, whether it’s building a house, planting a garden, or teaching your first course, consider writing about your progress in a diary.
Keeping a diary about the work you do towards this project can help you chart your progress.Keeping a diary is also a good way to write down details that help you learn about your project.
For example, you might want to write about project materials you’ve tried, and the results you found.
This way the information is found all in one place, and can be referred to later. , A diary might be used as a place to store up sketches, ideas, random thoughts and observations.
You could include clipped articles, pictures, or quotes from other people that you find inspirational.You can include these ideas in any kind of diary, of course, but some people prefer to maintain one diary that contains nothing but their rough sketches and ideas.
Quick drawings of things you see, or imagine, might be scribbled into a diary of this kind. , Consider minimizing your diary entries.
For example, limiting your entries to one sentence per day.
Or one word.
Or one picture.
Try writing in haiku.
The purpose of this kind of diary is to allow you to create a quick snapshot of your mood, your location, or your thoughts about the day.
One diary possibility is to write down one adjective at the end of the day which describes that day.
Then write another that you hope will describe the next day. -
Step 3: Keep a travel diary.
-
Step 4: List the books you’ve read in a diary.
-
Step 5: Keep a gratitude journal.
-
Step 6: Maintain a project diary.
-
Step 7: Sketch out your ideas.
-
Step 8: Keep it short.
Detailed Guide
A dream diary is a place for you to record what you remember of your dreams upon waking.
It should be written as soon as you wake up, because your dreams will soon be forgotten.You might keep a small notebook, pen, or pencil right beside your bed.
Or, you might try an app on your phone that uses speech-to-text technology.
No matter which sort you choose, the main thing is to be able to access it as soon as you wake up.
If you’re interested in seeing patterns in your dreams, try writing a title on each one for easier indexing.
Consider analyzing your dreams using a dream dictionary, or by looking carefully at the imagery you see recurring in your dreams and thinking about what it might mean.
This kind of diary can be fun to create if you’re thinking about the possibility of your children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren reading your diary in the future.
This kind of diary includes detailed information about your everyday life.You might want to include newspaper clippings, recipes, your own thoughts and comments on the daily headlines.
Consider including both national and local events, as well as personal family information. , If you’re going on a trip, keeping a daily diary of the places you’ve been, things you’ve seen, people you’ve met and other detailed information about your trip will help keep your memories alive for years following your travels.
It will also help you live more fully in the moment of your trip as you consider details for including in your diary.Take plenty of photographs, and carefully label each one by date, place, and any identifying information regarding people in the pictures so that you’ll be able to remember them later.
This is a diary that’s often kept online in a blog format, but can also be kept by writing daily entries in a book. , A reading diary allows you to keep track of all the books you’re reading.
You might want to include a short description of each book, its author, and your own response to the book.
You can make your own rating system, and rate each book according to its merits.There are many options for keeping a reading diary online that you can explore.
These can be useful if you want to quickly link to the book’s online description.
You can also use a reading diary to keep a list of books you want to read, books on your wishlist, or books you started but never finished. , This is a list of things that you’re grateful for, no matter how small or large.
Research shows that people who keep a gratitude journal have lower stress, improvement in self-esteem, and more positive outlook on life.Some research suggests that keeping a gratitude journal might be most effective when done on a weekly basis, rather than a daily habit.
Think about imagining what your life would be like without the specific thing you’re grateful for.
This is a way of making the gratitude journal more interesting.
Write about the good things that happened that were unexpected or surprising. , If you’re working on a long-term project, whether it’s building a house, planting a garden, or teaching your first course, consider writing about your progress in a diary.
Keeping a diary about the work you do towards this project can help you chart your progress.Keeping a diary is also a good way to write down details that help you learn about your project.
For example, you might want to write about project materials you’ve tried, and the results you found.
This way the information is found all in one place, and can be referred to later. , A diary might be used as a place to store up sketches, ideas, random thoughts and observations.
You could include clipped articles, pictures, or quotes from other people that you find inspirational.You can include these ideas in any kind of diary, of course, but some people prefer to maintain one diary that contains nothing but their rough sketches and ideas.
Quick drawings of things you see, or imagine, might be scribbled into a diary of this kind. , Consider minimizing your diary entries.
For example, limiting your entries to one sentence per day.
Or one word.
Or one picture.
Try writing in haiku.
The purpose of this kind of diary is to allow you to create a quick snapshot of your mood, your location, or your thoughts about the day.
One diary possibility is to write down one adjective at the end of the day which describes that day.
Then write another that you hope will describe the next day.
About the Author
Gary Lewis
Enthusiastic about teaching creative arts techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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