I didn't intend to, but ended up putting Description and Initial Reflection together. It seemed natural to write about what happened and my feelings on the event. This is the way that I had started off writing my journal initially so I found this method very easy. When I first began to experiment with the different methods of journal writing I did find it quite hard to get out of the habit of instantly writing my journal in this way.
I enjoyed using the List method as I naturally love writing a list. I'll write a list if I'm going to the shops to remind me what I need or if I'm going on holiday so that I know I have taken everything! By writing my journal in this way I felt like my life had a bit more order and that I was in control. This method also meant that I wrote about the day more as a whole rather than just focusing on one or two key events that had occured. I am definitely going to continue to use this method in some of my journal entries especially if I have had an eventful day!
Evaluation felt like it was also a good method to use when writing my journal as I was able to see what was positive that day and what I could adapt. This method really made me think about what I could improve on and this allowed for a lot of reflection on my day.
The Graphs, Charts and Diagrams method was the one that I found least useful. I made a graph based on how my stress levels had been that day but struggled to remember exactly how stressed I was in each hour of the day when I was creating the graph at the end of the day. I was surprised that this method didn't work as well for me because I am a visual learner. Unfortunately I didn't gain anything new from this method of journal writing but I'm glad I gave it a go!
The What If method didn't really give me a lot to say when I used it on it's own as there weren't many what if questions I could have asked myself for the day. I felt like my reflection when using this method wasn't very in depth and that I wasn't fully reflecting on the important issues. I am going to give this method another go at some point and might even try combining it with the Evaluation method to see if that provokes any more thoughts in my head.
Another method that didn't really work best for me was the Another View method. I began reflecting as my ring (which never leaves my finger) as it had been on my person the whole day. This proved really difficult and it didn't create a clear picture of what my thoughts and feelings were that day. I tried this one a second time but this time from the view of a few customers that I had served at work. This was slightly more successful but as with the What If method, I think it might be one to combine and use with another method in order to make my journal a little more productive and worthwhile.
I am going to primarily use the Description and Initial Reflection methods to write my journals as those are the methods that I naturally used when starting my journal. I haven't completely ruled out the other methods such as List or Evaluation as I want to make sure that I am challenging my brain and not allowing myself just to remain in my comfort zone. By using Description and Initial Reflection I can reflect on my performing in a detailed way which is clear in my mind. By sometimes changing which method I use I think I will be able to expand my knowledge of how I can adapt and improve myself as a performer as well as help me to progress throughout my BAPP journey.
This is all about developing your own methods - which sounds like you have made progress in this - reflective journals and creative journals are useful to gather your experience that will be useful for the course.
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