Free flow of thought has always worked well for me. Over the years I also developed my own system -- https://fire-framework.info/
N_Lens · 3h ago
Just a caution regarding a key assumption in this article - the assumption is that metacognition/reflection is “good”.
However, some people experience too much metacognition/reflection and that is actually correlated with depression/anxiety. These people also tend to be highly intelligent, and I suspect a higher proportion of HN readers will fall into this category.
Turns out just running on autopilot most of the time is the healthier human experience.
uncircle · 45m ago
I’ve been wondering the same thing about meditation: it is “known” that is is good for you in the long-term, but I wonder if spending time focused on a point in your mind is a very good idea for people that spend a lot of time stuck in their own minds and thoughts. In periods of solitude, I’ve found meditation to increase feelings of depersonalisation and solipsism, that I can easily imagine could precipitate into psychosis for some people. I don’t do much of it any more, and for people like me, I believe physical exercise to be a much better counterweight to too much thinking.
We push these one-size-fits-all suggestions, but we are never told who have they modeled from; not everybody is the same, and our minds are even more diverse than our biology.
Also, re: running on autopilot: the goal of mindfulness is to be aware of every waking moment, yet our biology is very much tuned to running on autopilot because it is so much more efficient and frees CPU time for higher processing—you don’t want to be focusing on every muscle when you walk now, do you? Is it such a great idea to overrule our energy conservation protocols our brains depend upon?
(Sorry for the off-topic, your comment was too interesting)
mindwok · 1h ago
Agree. My personal take on this is a boring one: Like all things, it's a balance.
I'm introspective by nature (I'm sure many of us on this site are) and metacognition can be a very comfortable trap. It's a space where you can convince yourself that you can solve your life problems by spending enough time and effort thinking about them, the same way many of us approach engineering problems or other aspects of life. This is even worse in the era of AI, where you can have a helpful assistant to talk through your problems with and encourage analysis even further.
Turns out that's not true. You can spend as much time as you want thinking about your life, circumstances, emotions, experiences, etc. Eventually, you'll have to actually do something and go have some contact with reality.
It's helpful to examine your life and engage with your problems, but taking it too far is just another way of escapism. At least it was for me, YMMV.
0_____0 · 35m ago
I see you are engaging in meta-metacognition.
card_zero · 1h ago
I won't take some time to reflect on that.
Void_ · 1h ago
And now of course we also run all life problems by ChatGPT.
noelwelsh · 1h ago
So much waffle. It's written like an online recipe, where we get the author's life story before they actually get down to business. If you're writing an article titled "The Socratic Journal Method" consider discussing the Socratic Journal Method as your first point. In 2025 is it really necessary to tell people they can journal on paper or on a computer?
vijucat · 3h ago
Somewhat related: sentence completions / fill-in-the-blank templates are shockingly effective at eliciting your inner thoughts which even you didn't know you were feeling. The idea is from Nathaniel Branden's work.
"What I regret right now is ____"
"What I should now is ____"
"I am become aware that ____"
You don't need to journal these on paper. Don't do these in public. You might find yourself overwhelmed by what comes out.
No comments yet
Void_ · 1h ago
I have mixed thoughts about audio journaling.
At first I was in love - I made an app around Whisper transcription model the weekend it came out. (Still working on it - https://whispermemos.com)
But when I try to read those recordings, they seem long and uninteresting.
I think the slowness of writing forces us to transform the thoughts/ideas into a format that has more substance.
So typing creates better distilled version of the text, and writing with one even more.
Recording audio just makes a raw stream of consciousness.
The process isn’t as therapeutic. It’s like stuffing food in your face instead of slowly chewing.
What are your thoughts on this?
LoganDark · 1h ago
I have wanted to record parts of my stream of consciousness so I can put more time into it later - but that will require me to block out time to do that. I hope I'll have it some day.
tibbar · 3h ago
Left unsaid is why this practice can be so meaningful. I think it's just that: these are the questions you wish someone else would ask you. When we're stressed, angry, grieving, lost, I think we all yearn to have someone care about us enough to ask these questions, to let us open up, to not be alone.
And while I think it's great when that can actually be another person, whether it's a friend, or partner, or therapist, it is still surprisingly calming, healing, even, when we pose the question to ourselves, and then really wait to hear the answer.
Brajeshwar · 3h ago
This is an interesting perspective and I like this. I'm going to see how this method goes. I journal and tend to write a lot. This is after years of repeated tries, failures, and re-tries.
I agree with the simple physical pen/paper combo.[1] For the digital part, I suggest sticking to plain-text.[2] Personally, I’ve a feeling video or audio, unless transcribed and texted, will likely become cumbersome and will remain in oblivion.
2. “Every device, including ones long gone, and ones not invented yet, can read and edit plain text.” - Derek Sivers
maxboettinger · 34m ago
are there any other learnings you might share? I just cant make myself stick to it,,
doganugurlu · 1h ago
Slightly off topic: I have little tolerance for “not just X but also Y” phrasing because of ChatGPT.
I counted 3 almost back to back and stopped reading.
I don’t think people realize how much ChatGPT “leaks” its own commentary into their writing.
petesergeant · 3h ago
I’ve been journaling for 15 years. Top tip: remove any need at all to do it “right”. Have a time in the day to do it, and be comfortable with writing just one word, or two sentences, or an essay, just whatever comes out. The best kind of journaling is the one you actually do, and even five-word entries written ten years ago will transport me back to what I was feeling and thinking. Every failed attempt I’ve seen or heard of has people feeling they have to write an essay.
However, some people experience too much metacognition/reflection and that is actually correlated with depression/anxiety. These people also tend to be highly intelligent, and I suspect a higher proportion of HN readers will fall into this category.
Turns out just running on autopilot most of the time is the healthier human experience.
We push these one-size-fits-all suggestions, but we are never told who have they modeled from; not everybody is the same, and our minds are even more diverse than our biology.
Also, re: running on autopilot: the goal of mindfulness is to be aware of every waking moment, yet our biology is very much tuned to running on autopilot because it is so much more efficient and frees CPU time for higher processing—you don’t want to be focusing on every muscle when you walk now, do you? Is it such a great idea to overrule our energy conservation protocols our brains depend upon?
(Sorry for the off-topic, your comment was too interesting)
I'm introspective by nature (I'm sure many of us on this site are) and metacognition can be a very comfortable trap. It's a space where you can convince yourself that you can solve your life problems by spending enough time and effort thinking about them, the same way many of us approach engineering problems or other aspects of life. This is even worse in the era of AI, where you can have a helpful assistant to talk through your problems with and encourage analysis even further.
Turns out that's not true. You can spend as much time as you want thinking about your life, circumstances, emotions, experiences, etc. Eventually, you'll have to actually do something and go have some contact with reality.
It's helpful to examine your life and engage with your problems, but taking it too far is just another way of escapism. At least it was for me, YMMV.
"What I regret right now is ____"
"What I should now is ____"
"I am become aware that ____"
You don't need to journal these on paper. Don't do these in public. You might find yourself overwhelmed by what comes out.
No comments yet
At first I was in love - I made an app around Whisper transcription model the weekend it came out. (Still working on it - https://whispermemos.com)
But when I try to read those recordings, they seem long and uninteresting.
I think the slowness of writing forces us to transform the thoughts/ideas into a format that has more substance.
So typing creates better distilled version of the text, and writing with one even more.
Recording audio just makes a raw stream of consciousness.
The process isn’t as therapeutic. It’s like stuffing food in your face instead of slowly chewing.
What are your thoughts on this?
And while I think it's great when that can actually be another person, whether it's a friend, or partner, or therapist, it is still surprisingly calming, healing, even, when we pose the question to ourselves, and then really wait to hear the answer.
I agree with the simple physical pen/paper combo.[1] For the digital part, I suggest sticking to plain-text.[2] Personally, I’ve a feeling video or audio, unless transcribed and texted, will likely become cumbersome and will remain in oblivion.
1. https://brajeshwar.com/2025/notes/
2. “Every device, including ones long gone, and ones not invented yet, can read and edit plain text.” - Derek Sivers
I counted 3 almost back to back and stopped reading.
I don’t think people realize how much ChatGPT “leaks” its own commentary into their writing.