Hi everybody... I few days ago I posted about a big crisis in my work and because I am still not able to get my motivation back, i am just about to try something: Writing a journal about my work... what I did, what i think about it. I was reading about it and the advantage should be to get more in touch with the subject, to write more freely in an informal style and get new ideas, conclusions.
Who of you is doing that? Did it help you?

I do it for a while - and then forget about it for several weeks! When I actually do it I find it really helps to get my thoughts organized. Off to write journal....

I am!

I have a couple of diaries. One is just the usual - dates/times of meetings, with whom and where.

The second is the love of my life. An A4 day to page diary (about a tenner from WH Smiths). Each day of the week I write in exactly what I do and at what time. I go into details. For example "8.30 - emailed X to confirm that I had sent the forms for Y.". Then I go into reflexive mode "It's really frustrating that I could get my act together enough to send these forms back last week. Even though it's way before the deadline there was no reason to put this off. Am very glad that Z reminded me about them twice yesterday.". I use made up words if needed to convey my regular frustration at my self. Slang - fine. Swearing - fine. I just use the diary to keep track of what I'm actually doing. So then I would have things like "Z reminding me about those forms reminded me of a paper she wrote with X about A,B,C. These could be very important in my literature review." Then I know where my ideas come from as well as keeping some kind of track of my work.

I don't fill it in on Saturdays and Sundays unless it's one of the weekends I've worked. Saturdays are for fun and Sundays are for pjs.

A

sounds like a brilliant idea - I have M.E. and my memory is just absolutely terrible. I can remember big stuff, and fortunately my work, but if i do something, or have something down to do, and then don't do it I won't remember that I haven't - or somebody will say something to me and I'll completely forget who said what. I also find motivation tricky - this sounds like a great idea though - I might go and get myself a journal!

This is my first journal day and I am back working... I just wrote down things about my thesis like in a diary and after this one afternoon I found a new point to continue. I hope I will stay with it!! (up)

I dont really have a diary at all per se, I love having one when I do but I use it for about a week and then no more. Ther thing thst I have found pretty beneficial for writing it having two docs open at the same time, one my 'proper writing' the other my free writing page where I write down everything I think of whist Im writing my chapter. Onto this page goes every thought I have on the subject, quotes I like and might use at some point, questions I ask myself to come back to at various points when I think of an answer to them. It is quite essentially a thought page, a version of dumbledores penseive where I remove everything in my head, to configure in some way shape or form.

Its what works for me
x

oh oh oh i hear dumbledore???????? liminalplace r u a HP fan? (or use any other word in place of fan?) I so totally wish there was a Hogwarts...

OOOOOh yes PhDbug, im a heckuva big one, not so big that I have a wand and robes but I would totally want to go to hogwarts. I just got the audiobooks read by Jim Dale which are amazing the guy does 147 different voices in Deathly Hallows hes in the guinness book of records for it. I have a bit of a thing for them, I have them on my ipod and they make wandering around in our normal world so much more interesting. How sad am I??? lol

ohhh this is so fantastic!!!! I love love love HP too and have read the books zillion times! (My friends have often said Hermione was modeled on me :) ) Hehe...so I am sad too!! (apparently)

omg phdbug totally download the jim dale audio books you see for travelling or even juswalking around they are brilliant because although it takes a bit of getting used to they are so relaxing and you become so used to being told stories when u walk about lol its like reverting to childhood. I have mine to amuse me wheim wandering round looking for books.

Cant afford it :( wail waill....