Don't interview yourself. Write.

I thought asking myself questions would help me write, but it turns out they hinder me. The frameworks we put ourselves in were not invented by us and not specifically for us. Yes, we are all Homo sapiens¹ — we can be classified and have instructions written for us. But instructions on how to do morning exercises or count in a column are one thing, and how to think and create is another — we have different intellectual abilities, interests, and our moods often change. There are many variables, and the best rule that will work is no rules (frameworks). Write.

Here is what Alexey Fedorov writes about this:

In my opinion, all these prompts are nonsense and hinder rather than help. A diary is a conversation with yourself. And a conversation according to a pre-planned plan is more like an interview.

Prompts are a sure way to burn out and abandon your diary. You come home, tired, you don’t want to do anything, and then you have to figure out what to answer, for example, to “How can I be indifferent to what is unimportant to me?” from “The Diary of a Stoic.” And you’re like, “I’ll write about it, perhaps, tomorrow.” And a month later, the diary is already lying on the shelf and gathering dust.

If there is no habit, the framework creates friction. You need to develop a habit first.

You don’t need to rely on any structure or restrictions. First, you need to develop a habit of writing in a diary, and then it will naturally happen that in addition to the events of the day, you will want to write about something else, about your impressions, thoughts, feelings, emotions. Wait for the moment when you can’t help but write.

But now, when writing is easy, you can play a little - create boundaries for yourself, because restrictions help. But these will not be random average restrictions “in a vacuum” that only interfere and break, but natural and useful restrictions for you.