Samantha J Bryant (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
samanthabryant) wrote2018-12-21 08:54 pm
samanthabryant) wrote2018-12-21 08:54 pm
Keeping a Day Book
I recently read The Stargazer's Sister by Carrie Brown, which is a historical fiction piece about Lina Herschel, sister of William Herschel, astronomer of the Romantic period. I was fascinated as much by the description of the small, domestic aspects of Lina's life as I was by her role in her brother's discoveries and her own scientific life. (It's a quiet book about a quiet woman's quiet life, but I loved it).
Caroline Herschel, at least as depicted in this novel, kept a Day Book. I'm so attracted to the idea of this!
I've kept various kinds of journals throughout my life, but never something quite like this. It seems to be less about reflection and confession than it is about tracking. Caroline wrote down things like purchases and prices, task lists, major life events.
I do a fair amount of tracking. I keep a database tracking my word count on various projects. I've used tracking apps to monitor my sleep and my exercise. There's something comforting in being able to go back and look at something like that and have "hard data" rather than faulty memory of what happened to rely on.
So, I'm thinking of keeping an old fashioned Day Book in 2019. Part journal, part tracking artifact. If I can be consistent about it, it might make a nice, reflective habit. I could see it bringing me some brain quiet when I need it, by letting me offload. I already get a lot of comfort from different kinds of lists, and this seems like an expanded version of that.
Some categories I'm thinking of using:
Caroline Herschel, at least as depicted in this novel, kept a Day Book. I'm so attracted to the idea of this!
I've kept various kinds of journals throughout my life, but never something quite like this. It seems to be less about reflection and confession than it is about tracking. Caroline wrote down things like purchases and prices, task lists, major life events.
I do a fair amount of tracking. I keep a database tracking my word count on various projects. I've used tracking apps to monitor my sleep and my exercise. There's something comforting in being able to go back and look at something like that and have "hard data" rather than faulty memory of what happened to rely on.
So, I'm thinking of keeping an old fashioned Day Book in 2019. Part journal, part tracking artifact. If I can be consistent about it, it might make a nice, reflective habit. I could see it bringing me some brain quiet when I need it, by letting me offload. I already get a lot of comfort from different kinds of lists, and this seems like an expanded version of that.
Some categories I'm thinking of using:
- Date:
- Weather/World:
- Schedule Notes/Goals:
- How I feel:
- What happened:
- Exercise:
- What I ate:
- What I’m reading/watching/listening to:
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