Reimagining journaling: benefits of imaginative journaling for ambitious people

I would like to coin the term, “imaginative journaling”.

Imaginative journaling is about writing about your day that hasn’t happened yet. Writing in a way that, it makes perfect sense while you accomplish tasks you postponed, saying thing you want to say and going to the bed accomplished and satisfied. You write in a way that it tingles your deepest desire to be successful, you are owning the day and overcoming difficulties at ease. In the journal, you are not procrastinating. You don't waste time, you fill every minute in a meaningful way, having the greatest ideas and implementing them at once.

While write all this, you need to write about things that are within your control. Things that you can definitely do, but you postpone all the time.

So, what are the possible benefits about writing a imaginative journaling?

First, you create a parallel universe where you are more disciplined, doing more. Getting a glimpse of what would your future look like. Ownership of this futures feels sweet. Most importantly it triggers our loss aversion instinct. As many psychology experiments proved that, we as species put more than twice weight for losses than our earnings.

Therefore, it is you'll be two times more likely to complete your tasks than a simple check list.

If you want to try imaginative journaling you should do the following.

Start early as possible, even you can make it as a first thing in the morning. Think about your typical day and details that come with it. Waking up, going out, eating meals, getting angry, being hopeful, being tired and having fun. All the rut. And write in a way that you are productive, doing things you would always postpone and watch dreams become reality.

At the end of the day you will be surprised how much you achieved.

What about if it didn’t work and at the end of the day you did nothing related to your journal.

At every night, before going to the bed, open your journal and read it again. Make the necessary changes and delete everything you didn’t do while reflecting back what could have happened if you would be more disciplined. Feel the pain of a day well wasted. Tomorrow is a new day and you can achieve more than yesterday. And you should remember, one can easily run out of tomorrows.

While this post ends here, I must say that my very first “imaginative journal” that helped me write this piece.