I started Interstitial Journaling last week.

I first read about it in Tony Stubblebine’s article on Medium. It’s reasonably easy to do: ”During your day, journal every time you transition from one work project to another. Write a few sentences in your journal about what you just did, and then a few more sentences about what you’re about to do.”

While I’m working at my desk, I take notes when I get up to stretch and use the bathroom or wander off to the kitchen. It helps me stay focused. I choose to stay on task to avoid having to note down too many transitions.

I tried to do this last year but I couldn’t get past one hour. It was too annoying for me. I was also multi-tasking or switching tasks too much back then. Anne-Laure mentioned Interstitial Journaling in her Mindful Productivity Masterclass a few weeks ago, so I thought I’d try it out again.

Now I’ve written my daily log for more than a week. I didn’t bother during the long Thanksgiving weekend, and I didn’t give myself a hard time about it. I noticed that I quit when I overwhelm myself. Now I set myself up for success by lowering my short-term goals. Plan easy steps.

Per Mr. Stubblebine, the purpose of Interstitial Journaling is to track your work — a done list, not a to-do list. It’s been amazing for me. It does take time and mental energy to pause and remember to write down what I did and what’s next to do. But by the end of the day, I have a very good idea of where my day went.

Before I felt frustrated about how another day would end and I couldn’t recall exactly where it all went. But these past two weeks, I’ve felt a good sense of achievement. I may not have completed all that I wanted to get done. But I now have a better internal and visual sense of what I did.