{"id":23370,"date":"2023-04-25T09:48:51","date_gmt":"2023-04-25T14:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dayoneapp.com\/?p=23370"},"modified":"2024-09-30T15:12:23","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T20:12:23","slug":"streak-story-micah-moss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dayoneapp.com\/blog\/streak-story-micah-moss\/","title":{"rendered":"1,200 Days with Micah Moss"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Micah Moss is on pace to cross the impressive milestone of 1,200 consecutive days of journaling in just a few more weeks. Micah is a software product manager and online course instructor from Los Angeles, California. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this interview, we asked Micah about the importance of keeping a journal and for advice on how to build a meaningful journaling habit that lasts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long have you been keeping a journal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After doing a decent bit of research to find the \u201cbest journaling app\u201d, I ultimately settled on Day One<\/em>, and I wrote my first entry (into Day One<\/em>) back in 2011! I\u2019ll say this though, when I first started out \u2014 I had absolutely no idea what to write about, so my entries back then were sporadic (at best), often separated by weeks and months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes journaling important to you? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Towards the beginning of the pandemic, a feeling sort of hit me that I just couldn\u2019t shake … it was this feeling that I needed to have a \u201cpositive outlet\u201d in my life for my thoughts. I\u2019ve actually been working remotely for about seven years now (so I\u2019m pretty used to being \u201cstuck at home\u201d), but in early 2020, I came to the realization if I don\u2019t impose some sort of structure on my life (even if it\u2019s just a tiny bit for a few minutes each day), then my mental wellbeing could deteriorate. Everything just seemed very “tenuous” and \u201cup in the air\u201d at that point. So I leaned into the concept of \u201cself care\u201d, and I\u2019ve always liked to write, so I thought \u201cHey, why don\u2019t I give this whole journaling thing another shot?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What later happened was a bit of a surprise to me: I finally discovered a workflow that \u201cclicked for me\u201d (more on this later) and as it turned out \u2014 this little time I carved out for myself everyday became \u201cmy favorite time of day\u201d. It was amazing because this little slice of my day was \u201cjust for me\u201d … in a world full of responsibilities and obligations, I began to look forward to this little island of peace in my day; not to put too fine a point on it, but I felt like I was \u201cinvesting\u201d in myself \u2014 and that\u2019s a great feeling to have.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“This little time I carved out for myself everyday became \u201cmy favorite time of day.” It was amazing because this little slice of my day was \u201cjust for me\u201d … in a world full of responsibilities and obligations, I began to look forward to this little island of peace in my day; not to put too fine a point on it, but I felt like I was \u201cinvesting\u201d in myself \u2014 and that\u2019s a great feeling to have.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What do you usually journal about?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I keep four different journals in Day One<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • My \u201cpersonal journal\u201d, where I write daily using writing prompts based on mindfulness principles<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • My \u201cbusiness\u201d journal to track business ideas, or to scribble down notes while reading books about business<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • My \u201cwriting\u201d journal, where I share thoughts about current projects I\u2019m working on (whether I\u2019m writing non-fiction prose, fiction, etc)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • My \u201cphoto\u201d journal, where I\u2019ve started posting cool memories from events, traveling, food tasting, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    When do you journal each day?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I usually write fairly early in the morning (for me, that\u2019s around 6:30 am-ish), before my son wakes up and then I\u2019ll need to get him ready for school, and before the demands of the work day start weighing in. (It\u2019s also nice and quiet around the house at that time!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What tips or advice would you give others who want to build a journaling habit?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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    • Try and set yourself up for success; by that I mean, try and prepare your writing environment so that it\u2019s conducive for you to concentrate on this one task \u2014 and this task alone.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Be merciless and remove all distractions from around you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Perhaps above all else \u2014 just cut yourself some slack. Don\u2019t be too hard on yourself … if you miss a day, just write two the next day (and backdate one of them; don\u2019t worry, no one will know \u2014 this is in your private journal, remember?) There are no rules here, and you don\u2019t need to ask anyone\u2019s permission to do this. You\u2019re the one in charge<\/em> here<\/em>, all of this is beneficial, and finally \u2014 if for some reason you feel \u201cselfish\u201d about about stealing away a handful of minutes everyday to do this, just remember \u2014 if you\u2019re not investing in yourself first and building yourself up, then you\u2019re not going to have any additional margin or bandwidth to help other people. Or to look at it from another angle: if you\u2019re trying to be the best version of yourself by investing in yourself everyday \u2014 then that makes you more effective to help other people.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      What have you learned from keeping a journal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Honestly, journaling has taught me so much (about myself, about persistence, about responsibility, etc) that I could blather on about this for awhile, but I\u2019ll try to focus on a few points here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      • I\u2019ve learned that \u201cwins begat wins\u201d! (Or to put it another way \u2014 the more I journal, the more confident I get about<\/em> journaling \u2014 which essentially becomes its own sort of self-perpetuating cycle.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • I\u2019ve learned that once I build up some momentum and get a nice streak of daily journals under my belt \u2014 it becomes a \u201cpoint of pride\u201d (or maybe even a bit of a game) to \u201cnot break the chain\u201d (to paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • I\u2019ve also learned that what James Clear says about habits rings true: did you know that (based on research \/ statistically-speaking) it\u2019s actually easier for someone to do a habit \u201c100% of the time\u201d, rather than just \u201cpart of the time\u201d? (I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but this is one of the things I can now confirm.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        What is your favorite thing about the Day One app? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        I think my favorite feature of the Day One<\/em> app is the ability to create \u201ccustom templates\u201d. Once I realized I could quickly create reusable templates (which I can later summon with a lightning-quick hot-key from my iPad\u2019s keyboard) \u2014 I really started feeling good about my routine. This one feature is simple, intuitive, and time-saving, and it helps me (daily) \u201chit the ground running.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        How has Day One helped you journal more consistently? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Probably not a huge surprise, but the \u201cStreak\u201d part of the app really does have a subtle (yet profound) effect … seeing that \u201cnumber go up\u201d really does provide encouragement. Again, to quote James Clear (author of Atomic Habits<\/em>, which is a fantastic book if you haven\u2019t read it):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

        It\u2019s so true, because the more times you vote to become a person \u201cthat writes in their journal everyday\u201d (for example), you then build up this larger and larger \u201cbody of evidence\u201d that is unassailable proof that you are (in fact) a person that writes in their journal everyday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Another thing I find fascinating about Day One<\/em> is the \u201cOn This Day<\/a>\u201d tab. After you start using Day One<\/em> for more than a year, prepare to have your mind blown! It\u2019s pretty cool to click on that tab and it\u2019s like an \u201cInstant Time Machine\u201d where you\u2019re transported back to that same exact day one, two, five, maybe ten years ago? When you take the time to read these, it really does put your life into perspective and it\u2019s kind of fun (and insightful) to read \u201cA Younger Version of Yourself\u2019s Thoughts\u201d, and also see what was important to you at the time, or what was going on in your life back then …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        What else you would like to share about your journaling streak?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        So here\u2019s where it gets pretty \u201cmeta\u201d (and I don\u2019t mean the overlords of Facebook and Instagram) … I hinted at this earlier, but (long story short) it took me about ten years of trying (and failing) to get \u201cgood\u201d at journaling … I finally discovered a workflow that was perfect for me (that is based on mindfulness principles rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy), and by following this method \u2014 I have now journaled consecutively for over 1,100 days in a row! Since I realized I was able to solve this problem in my own life, I thought, \u201cWhy not share this method with the rest of the world?\u201d So I built an online video course showing you how to do this same thing! I call it \u201cMicah\u2019s Guide to Journaling With Mindfulness\u201d, and it\u2019s available on the Udemy marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        As a special \u201cthank you\u201d (to the Day One <\/em>team for making an awesome app, and also to fellow Day One<\/em> Friends for reading all the way to the bottom of this post), I\u2019ve included the link here, and if you\u2019re interested in taking the course \u2014 I\u2019m offering it for $12.99 (which is the steepest custom discount I can offer off of Udemy’s price) for readers of this blog here<\/a> or you can use this coupon code upon checkout: FRIENDS-OF-DAY-ONE<\/a><\/code> (This discount will remain active through May 24, 2023). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Thank you (and keep on journaling)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n