Dear LPG, 

Now that we are well and truly into 2022, I want to tell you about a New Year’s resolution that I made on January 31st, 2020, and that I have managed to keep for more than a year so far. 

I decided to see if I could keep a diary and, as I have said, I have managed quite well so far.   When we were all in the deepest, darkest throws of being locked down I found that all my days were running into each other, and I suppose it started as a way to make sure that I could see where my life was going.

After a working life which forces routine on us, I think that many newly retired people feel that freedom to do whatever you want with your time is the single biggest advantage that retirement has to offer,  but having too much time on your hands soon becomes just as hard to deal with for some.  

It was when there was nothing to do that I found an article online which told of famous people who did so much but managed to write a diary as well, which got me thinking about how uneventful and repetitive my days were and, even though I have always shied away from any routine which I thought would tie me down, I found myself an old notebook. 

I wondered just what I would put in it, and it started with one sentence a day entry such as, ‘I went shopping today’.  And the entries did not happen every day.  At the beginning there were gaps of up to a week here and there but when there is no one else to talk to it is good to talk to yourself in this way.  

I now find myself writing about, things I have seen on the television that have influenced me, things I plan to achieve, my latest cooking successes or disasters and so much more.  I have a record of new hobbies I have taken up. I planted a tree last year and bought a kitten and I can tell you exactly how they have been doing because they both feature too.   I have a record of the day-to-day successes which I have achieved on the way to learning to use my tablet better.  I have bought some bizarre things and remember when I did that.  I know which day I decided to have my fingernails painted again and, I would not have known what possessed me to buy a weird pair of shoes one-day last year unless I had made a note. There is another advantage to being able to look up which day you bought something too.  If it goes wrong it is much easier to be able to confirm the day you bought it in case the guarantee is not yet expired. 

I find that I don’t always feel like using pen and paper so, with my newly acquired, and limited, computing skills I invested in a digital tape recorder, and I now spend a minute or two each evening telling it what happened in my day.   Listening to those tapes every couple of days is also quite therapeutic.  It is quicker then talking and does not interrupt your flow as much. 

And the best part of the process is looking back every now and then to see just what you have achieved both short term and long. If you are going for electronic recordings you must go back and document them in the end which is another way of reviewing all the things you have done.

One of my friends also took up the habit at about the same time as me although she got herself a camcorder and sits in front of that every couple of days with her personal news bulletin.  
No matter whether you are listening, watching or reading there is something special about seeing how far you have come.

Somehow it does help you to learn that your personal days are not all the same unless you want them to be. 

KD, Penge

KD maintains that a diary should have as few or as many entries as works for its writer, but in case there are any would be writers who need a little direction when it comes to getting started she shares a few tips…

(►►►)   (►►►)     (►►►)   

 (►►►)     (►►►)

… LPG adds a little information about ‘Dear Diary Day’…

(►►►)