TASK 2b. Journal Writing Experience

I really struggle to write in my journal, mainly because it takes me so long, once I start writing and trying to make sense of things that happen and start making plans I generally go on for some time. Because I see it as time consuming I tend to put it off, saying to myself , "I will do it in the morning when I have more time and can do it properly"... I tend not to!

So when confronted with nine styles of writing I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to find a better way, and I am pleased to say that not only did I find new value in logging my actions and thoughts I also found a more appropriate way for me to do this.

Description was the first method on the list and this is the way that I have always written a journal previously. But in actual fact when comparing it to the other methods there is little value in it for me. I find I write an account almost like a story, but I was there, I know what happened, so simply recalling the events doesn't really help me, and it takes a very long time as I cant help but go into too much detail about where when and how, but too little on why and how successful. 

Initial Reflection I found incredibly useful, rather that recalling the whole of an event or day I recalled how I felt about my day and why, which in turn lead to me recalling events with meaning rather that everything, important or otherwise. This was much quicker, and gave me points to follow up on, things that I felt went badly, why and how to improve them or things that went well that I would like to repeat. Analysing the day and learning from it the most important aspect of writing the journal for me.

List is quick simple and brilliant if you are short of time. It is much more concise which makes it much easier to go over at a later date, and I was surprised by how much I found to put in my lists. It contained more valuable information in one page than my normal descriptive way of writing did in four. It also automatically created me a "to do" list, by including things I want to find out more about, I instantly know where to go next with my work/ research. To get this from my normal descriptive way of writing I would have to analyse several pages of my rambling thoughts to get to this point.

Evaluation I found fairly similar to Initial reflection, I think it's really valuable to analyse what went well and what needs improvement, this is the way I always worked as a dancer. By evaluating particular areas, specifically new tasks or decisions I can come to some good conclusions as to what actions to adopt or what needs to be amended.


Graphs, Charts and Diagrams. I put these three together, as this was the method that I was most sceptical about. But in I actually found it quite useful. I used the graphs to show fun, freedom and stress, as suggested in the handbook, to compare last year to this year when teaching my senior ballet class. I then analysed the reasons for this and found it quite a nice way to plot my progress. It isn't something that I would use regularly to record my activities as I feel there would be too many variables to make this possible on a day to day basis, but it is something I would use at intervals maybe 4 monthly to track my progress in specific areas.
I like using pictures and diagrams when I am choreographing and I took this task as a prompt to plan some projects for the future, I really enjoyed it, I think its a brilliant way to get ideas from my head onto the paper with having to be too specific, just to get a feeling of what I am trying to create, a starting point to go from and I will certainly use this in the future, however I wouldn't feel comfortable using this as a daily diary format.

What if? Again this is something that I found very useful but not something I would use on a regular basis. It was nice to let my mind wonder and to visualise the things that I would love to happen. Visualisation is a valuable tool in deciding what directions you want to move and where you want to be working towards and I was surprised that I saw things that I hadn't really considered as serious options, but when I let my mind wander did seem possible.
The most valuable aspect for me though was actually thinking about the things I would not like to happen. It has made me consider my current working position. I am not always entirely happy with the way things are done in my current employment, I always maintain in my mind that I am separate to this, I work for them, I am not them. But in considering this I realised that others may not necessarily see this and my reputation is on the line also. It has made me consider that perhaps I need to seek other employment, or even more frightening... go it alone. I never thought that writing a diary entry would make me question who I work for so seriously, but I am glad that it has opened my mind to other possibilities, both good and bad. Again as an exercise to solve a specific problem then I find this was very valuable to me, but I wouldn't use this as a diary as I like to analyse things that are actually happening.

Another view was the most fun to write, I really enjoy writing and it was nice to have the freedom to do something different. It also made me more aware that I am in fact being watched all of the time by other people, and the way that we present ourselves and our work is so important. If we aren't professional and don't take ourselves seriously then others will not. And if we are having an off day and the wrong person is watching this could lead to missing out on vital work, or gaining a bad reputation. I found it interesting to imagine how others see me. I also found though that I was more likely to pick out negative aspects that I feel need improvement rather than concentrating on the good. In the process of learning and self improvement this may be a good thing, but I think maybe this would be a long winded and often negative way to write, for me anyway. I also don't think that it involves close enough personal analysis of what I felt was successful or otherwise and so wouldn't  be a method I would use regularly.

All in all, I found value in all of the nine methods, with possibly the exception of description, which is strange as it is always the way I have written journals and imagined that they should be written. The most valuable to me and the one I will be adopting is the list method. With some adaptation, I am going to create a diary form that requires me to write lists of the information I find most valuable, (what I did, saw, and felt) and including my all important "to do list" with further points to examine and research. I will also include an evaluation section where I will go over specific aspects of my day and record my thoughts as to why they were or were not successful. I hope this should provided an easily accessible and easily achievable method of recording my thoughts feelings, successes and trials.
On top of this there has been some discussion on the blogs about whether to include personal as well as professional aspects into the journals. I feel that the two are interlinked. My professional work effects how I feel personally, and I have an emotional attachment to my work. However I understand the need to keep some distinction between the two otherwise the purpose of these writings may become clouded. To allow me to keep this separate I have been highlighting each entry, one colour for specific professional aspects, and one for emotional or personal views and hope this will allow me to keep a check on the content I am including in my journal, and perhaps even provide insight into the actions I am taking and why.