Journal writing experience

Having experimented writing in my journal with various techniques frameworked by Nola, Reid and Moon I discovered that although open to trying different methods I have already developed my own 'style' shall we say. Encorporating lists, initial reflection and evaluation I've been able to reflect on thoughts, feelings and experiences to gather information and gain extra knowledge by asking questions I wouldn't normally. Why did I re-act that way? Could I have re-acted differently? Why didn't I re-act differently?

To alter my thought process I had to start thinking rationally so I looked up the definition. This is an explanation from the Oxford dictionary:

• 1based on or in accordance with reason or logic:I’m sure there’s a perfectly rational explanation
•  able to think sensibly or logically:Ursula’s upset—she’s not being very rational

 endowed with the capacity to reason:man is a rational being.
Rational thinking is dealing with the facts. It adds an element of calculation and planning to a stream of thoughts rather than basing them on an emotion or personal opinion. Having beliefs is important but to be able to critically reflect and learn from the process rational thinking is key.
A common theme amongst my journal excerpts is that I generally choose one event to write about rather than my entire day. I believe this is the case because my general work and teaching work are not connected currently. I have work Leon and teacher Leon. (My work is a means to an end at the moment while I change career and although I teach a lot it is not my main income.) Early entries into my journal were very disconnected. I'd list the order of events not really expanding on an issue resulting in a jumble of facts and feelings with no visible current theme. After further reading on reflective thinking I began to pick certain events of the specific days and using my experience reflect on the aspects that interested me and how I think they've developed my learning. It was from this I noticed how I tended to keep things separate. My thoughts during the day were and are about planning classes and trying to improve my methods of teaching. In other words my mind would wonder. I've known this for a while but had never asked the question 'why?' Was it to pass the time? Am I more interested in teaching? Am I bored? The answer was simple but without reflection I doubt I'd have ever posed the initial question.
I found the evaluation technique the most beneficial when applied to my professional practise as it forced me to analyse first then produce what was valuable to me upon reflection. Questions I asked myself were....why did that work? What made it work? Would it have worked last week? I was able to apply a rational thought process to help me gain valuable information to apply in the future. Even if the answer was in the negative there was also a lesson to be learned.
I will keep an open mind when continuing with my journal as I would like to discover more themes yet to be uncovered.