From Joe: How do you know if your journaling is an activity for self-indulgence or self-development? Perhaps the presence or absence of metrics in your writing provides a clue:
One of the reasons we might fail to achieve some of our goals is that we’re not always as objective about our progress as we could be, or sometimes we’re just stuck in a rut using the same approach that hasn’t really led us anywhere. That’s where the metrics come in. Having factual proofs of our progress (or lack of progress) can show us what adjustments need to be made.
When everything in your journal or diary is text or pictures, it might be self-expression or self-indulgence? When the journal is loaded with facts and numbers, it’s about self-development?