Learning Journal

A vital learning tool

A double page from C.G. Jung’s “Red Book.” Between 1913-1915, Jung used this journal to capture his dreams and visions, and to make sense of his deepest life purpose. He began work on it following his traumatic split with Sigmund Freud, which was not only intellectual, but emotional and, ultimately, moral. Too, Jung’s daily work in the Red Book surfaced forebodings and premonitions of the coming shattering of the social psyche that would manifest in Europe in WWI. The beauty of the paintings he created to memorialize his visions and his imaginal encounters with psychic wisdom figures reflects not only his innate artistic gifts but reminds us as well that training in the arts was at that time considered a fundamental part of education. Famously, the Red Book was sequestered from view by anyone outside the immediate family for 50 years following Jung’s death. Now that it has become publicly available, its reflections are a rich gift and an inspiration to those who study it. Perhaps most significantly for us as learners, Jung himself said that the course of his entire subsequent career has its origin and core in this extended personal project.

Learning Journal: Why?

Scroll on for some tips! Start now…

When have you used one?

What form(s) did it take?

What did you get from it?

 1) Journaling helps you achieve your goals.

"I want to wake up to it. I want to go to sleep to it and I want to dream with it...I want to write my goals down before I go to sleep at night because they are important to me, they are valuable to me and I get to wake up to them again tomorrow." — Grant Cardone, author of The 10X Rule

Our brains are wired to respond to signals saying “this is important.” Writing down your goals automatically points your attention toward tools and opportunities that can support you in achieving your goals.

Be specific, be detailed, and write your goals in a place—your Learning Journal—where you will revisit them daily. Note down your blocks and challenges. Refine or adjust your goals as needed. Write down insights and capture inspirational quotes or things people say to you that are helpful and that you want to remember. Record your successes.

 2) Journaling develops your EQ.

“. . . install a tracking system--free of judgment or guilt--that you use just to record how you're doing, on a constant basis. In Tibetan this tracking system is known as tundruk, or "six times a day;" we call it a six-time book. If you follow this system, you'll get results.”
― Geshe Michael Roach, Lama Christie McNally, Michael Gordon

Write what you feel. Use your journal as your friend, the one you can tell anything to, and more. Creating a habit of journaling your reactions, your delights, your confusions, your frustrations, and the great feeling you get when something “clicks in” develops life skills by increasing your self-awareness and your overall well-being. It will help you to build a strong sense of familiarity with your own emotions, and paradoxically, increases your ability to get on the same page as someone else, helping you to recognize the emotions of others.

 3) Journaling helps you organize your thinking.

“Put pen to paper. It's hard to jump from dreaming to doing. As every architect or designer knows, here is a critical step between vision and reality. Before imagination becomes three-dimensional, it usually needs to become two-dimensional. Let's look at what we've written and decide that these are not pipe dreams; these are our marching orders. These are the blueprints for our lives.” ― Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed: Stop Pleasing, Start Living / A Toolkit for Modern Life

Writing is a fundamentally organized system. Keeping a journal will help organize events in your mind so you can make better sense of them. It allows you to track progress and refine learning.

There is a great deal of research on the benefits of journaling. For example, expressive journal writing about stressors helps to get rid of intrusive thoughts that impair memory, freeing up neurologic Working Memory capacity.

 Getting Started

  • Make a Mark

    Especially if you have not journaled before, it’s important simply to start. Literally: make a mark. Your Journal is your private space—you can share any part of if you want, but it’s for YOU, so don’t let self-judgment get in the way. Let ‘er rip!

  • Mix Visual and Verbal

    Learning requires all parts of the brain to be activated. Insights can come from thinking in visual, graphic, verbal and numerate ways. Find a way to put your Vision Board into your journal—and be sure to capture in words your thoughts about it. Try Mind Mapping. Try sketching a set of complex inter-relationships or just a stick figure that captures how you feel about something. Give yourself permission to experiment, nd suspend your Voice of Judgment—remember, your Journal is your friend!

  • Use It Daily--And Be Yourself

    Your Journal is a safe place in a world of complexity. Use it to try out ideas, to explore your emotions, so clarify challenges in life and work. It is the single most powerful way to capture learning, regardless of your learning style. Make it work for YOU.

    Search online for different ways to journal and decide what works best for you. Here’s a great practice that we can suggest: Julia Cameron, author of one of the single most influential books on activating personal creativity, The Artist’s Way, describes the process she calls “morning pages.”