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The
basic concept of journal writing is simple. You write down any
information now that may be useful or relevant in the
future.
Think of
it as an investment. A few moments now might save you hours in
the future.
As a
modern professional, you are constantly solving problems. Some
are small; some are bigger. Some are challenging to solve, as they
require you to mobilize all your creative potential; some are boring
but the solution is no less important.
The
truth is that we would all like to deal with just the creative and
enjoyable stuff, but too much of our time is taken up by the repetitive
procedures we can't ignore. That's the area that needs to be fixed
in writing: Solved once and for all! So next time you'll just look
it up and do it. The best candidates for this "programming
yourself" are those tasks that are mildly difficult and occur
intermittently. Inevitably, the exact moment you forget how to do it
will be just before the problem creeps up again!
For most
people, there are two obstacles to successful journal writing:
Unfortunately,
i*write can't help you
very much with the first issue. While there are some techniques that
can be learned and mastered, this is not what i*write is about. But at the end of
the day, much of it boils down to self-discipline. The good
news is that once you've cleared this initial hurdle and start reaping
the benefits, maintaining the discipline is much easier. It soon
becomes clear that the benefits outweigh the costs.
Where i*write really can help is the
second issue: Making it easy to organize, browse and search
what you've written - no matter how long ago.
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