There is no reason not to use a diary for "debugging."
To be honest, the habit of smart people is "journaling."
I believe that letting a diary end as a mere record is a waste of a treasure.
Many people only record facts like "where I went today" or "what I ate."
However, that alone does not truly deepen your thinking.
Of course, even a few lines of a diary have great significance, and I have written an article on the theme of "3-line diaries" before, but the essence of a diary lies in quietly facing yourself in your own world where no one can disturb you.
In a psychotherapy book, there was a passage that said, "Writing is the act of putting thoughts outside (externalization)."
Although it wasn't in the context of "deepening thought," I felt that this idea of "externalization" was highly "usable."
In other words, it's not about writing down events, but writing out the thoughts themselves. Externalizing them. Making it possible to see thoughts meta-cognitively...
Since becoming aware of that difference, the way I use my diary has changed completely.
A diary for training your intellect is not just a "record of events," but a process of deciphering the "blueprint" behind the troubles that occur in daily life...
In other words, I think of it as a "debugging" task.
When something doesn't go well, many people end it with just temporary emotions (interpretations) like "I'm tired" or "it's the other person's fault."
However, intelligent people calmly write down the causal relationships behind it.
For example, if you are always rushing to prepare for meetings, you don't just settle for "I didn't have time."
You visualize the background structure by connecting it with arrows: "Deadline for materials not set for the day before → corrections occur on the morning of the day → panic right before."
By writing it out like this, the "systemic flaw" of how you schedule, rather than your own weakness of will, will come to light.
This is an example of structural understanding. If you have a habit of separating "facts" and "emotions" through a diary, the specific next step (hypothesis) to try will naturally become clear.
Grasp the structure by writing.
With that alone, 90% of the problem is as good as solved.
The accumulation of diary entries builds an intellect that does not waver in any situation.
【Reference Articles】
・How to deepen your thinking by 1% at a time through the habit of journaling
https://note.com/yumaevo/n/n69cd56fe9c93?sub_rt=share_b
・Diary techniques that change your thinking and your life
