The Laughter Clinic

Transforming Your Life Through Purposeful Journaling and the WATT Framework.

• Mark McConville • Season 1 • Episode 6

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Unlock the transformative power of journaling with comedian and suicidologist Mark McConville as he explores a simple practice that's been embraced by history's greatest minds—from Marcus Aurelius to Oprah Winfrey.

Drawing from personal experience and scientific research, Mark introduces the WATT Framework—What Action Taken Today—a powerful approach that transforms traditional journaling into a catalyst for meaningful life change. This isn't just about writing down your thoughts; it's about creating a system that drives purposeful action in three crucial life domains: self-care, career development, and connection with others.

You'll discover why the "Power of Three" works so effectively (even for those with ADHD), and practical ways to begin your own journaling practice with just 10-15 minutes each morning. Mark shares specific prompts to overcome the blank page syndrome and explains how consistent journaling enhances creativity, improves problem-solving, and sharpens decision-making.

Whether you're navigating relationship challenges, career decisions, financial concerns, or grief, this episode provides a clear roadmap for using journaling to process emotions, gain clarity, and take meaningful action. The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity and flexibility—it's completely customizable to your needs while providing enough structure to create real momentum in your life.

Ready to experience the benefits that have made journaling a cornerstone practice for successful people throughout history? Grab a notebook, find a comfortable spot, and join Mark on this journey to improved mental wellbeing through the simple yet powerful act of purposeful journaling.

Website: www.thelaughterclinic.com.au

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thelaughterclinicAus

"If you or someone you know needs support, please contact one of these Australian mental health services. In an emergency, always call 000."

Lifeline Australia
Phone: 13 11 14 (24/7)
Web: lifeline.org.au

Suicide Call Back Service
Phone: 1300 659 467 (24/7)
Web: suicidecallbackservice.org.au

Beyond Blue
Phone: 1300 22 4636 (24/7)
Web: beyondblue.org.au

Kids Helpline (for people aged 5-25)
Phone: 1800 55 1800 (24/7)
Web: kidshelpline.com.au

MensLine Australia
Phone: 1300 78 99 78 (24/7)
Web: mensline.org.au

SANE Australia (complex mental health issues)
Phone: 1800 18 7263
Web: sane.org

QLife (LGBTIQ+ support)
Phone: 1800 184 527
Web: qlife.org.au

Open Arms (Veterans & Families Counselling)
Phone: 1800 011 046 (24/7)
Web: openarms.gov.au

1800RESPECT (sexual assault, domestic violence)
Phone: 1800 737 732 (24/7)
Web: 1800respect.org.au

Headspace (youth mental health, ages 12-25)
Phone: 1800 650 890
Web: headspace.org.au

13YARN (Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support)
Phone: 13 92 76 (13YARN) (24/7)
Web: 13yarn.org.au

Music by Hayden Smith
https://www.haydensmith.com


Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Laughter Clinic Podcast with comedian and suicidologist Mark McConville, bringing you practical, evidence-based self-care strategies, the latest research in mental health, along with conversations that inspire, educate and entertain. This is the Laughter Clinic Podcast with your host, mark McConville.

Speaker 2:

Hi, my friends, Mark McConville here, thank you very much for joining me on this episode of the Laughter Clinic, where today, I want to have a chat with you about journaling. Today, I want to have a chat with you about journaling, and this is something that is a very powerful mental health practice. It's something that's been around for a long, long time, and it really combines ancient wisdom with modern science, because there's a lot of research around the world that has supported the mental health benefits of journaling. So if you've ever thought about it, if you've ever thought about, you know what people do when they sit there and they write in their journal and what you can get out of it. Today's episode is for you Doing journaling with purpose through what I call the Watt Framework and the Power of Three, and that is Watt, as in W-A-T-T. So, my friends, by the end of this episode, you'll have a good understanding as to what journaling actually is, how to do it effectively to get the most out of it, the ways that you can personalize your journal and how to transform these written reflections into meaningful actions that will improve your life and, hopefully, improve the lives of those around you as well.

Speaker 2:

Now, as I said, this has been something that has been around for a long, long time. It's been embraced by some of history's greatest minds and greatest thinkers Marcus Aurelius, the famous Roman emperor. His journal entries became what we now know to be the meditations which some of you may have listened to. Napoleon Hill, in his groundbreaking work Think and Grow Rich, regularly talks about the importance of writing down your goals and reviewing them regularly to prime your subconscious mind for action. And more recently, julia Cameron, in her fantastic book which is called the the artist's way, refers to journaling as the morning pages, as a way to unlock creativity through stream of consciousness writing. So there's all sorts of ways to do it and, like I said, so many people have embraced this over the years. Tim ferris talks about it, opera oprah winfrey, benjamin franklin, albert einstein and and you've got the very famous the diary of Anne Frank and Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. All of these incredibly powerful works came out as a result of keeping journal entries and you know, modern science, like I said, confirms this. There has been research done into journaling around the world that supports its mental health benefits for reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety by means of activating both analytical and creative thinking. Now, what this does is it creates distance between thoughts and emotions and shifts us from emotional reactivity to cognitive processing. This simple practice engages your brain in very remarkable ways, and powerful, powerful ways.

Speaker 2:

So how do you get started with keeping a journal? Well, the beauty of it is that there is no right or wrong approach to this. It is yours and yours alone, and I've got some practical ways for you to kick off. So, firstly, the tools. The tools that you're going to use. How are you going to do it?

Speaker 2:

Me personally, over the years, I have changed to different notepads and different pens. One thing that has stayed consistent for me, though, is that I've used about an A5 notepad excuse me over the years, and these days I actually use a nice fountain pen, because I actually and when I say nice fountain pen, you know I'm not talking. You know you may have visions of these fountain pens that you've got to dip it into the ink and all that sort of stuff, and it's going to go everywhere. The modern fountain pen are actually fantastic. It's got a little ink cartridge, you pop it in there and you can replace it quite easily, and I've got to tell you, for me personally, I find the actual act, the physical act of writing with a nice pen in a nice notebook. I find that the physical act of doing it actually quite rewarding. But, honestly, the materials do not need to be fancy. You know, a simple notebook and pen are a perfect place to start. Some people are going to try possibly digital journaling. You know, I know there's apps out there and all of that sort of stuff that you can use.

Speaker 2:

But I believe there is some research to support how handwriting creates a stronger neural connection and in relation to memory retention. So I don't know whether any of you experienced this when you were growing up, but when I was at school, in high school, the amount of times where I would have to sit outside a classroom and write out lines they you know the old school teachers used to get you to write out lines. Probably the one most memorable one is you know you'd have to write out maybe 200 lines. I must remember to bring my hairnet to woodwork. I must remember to bring my hairnet to woodwork and you'd write. You'd sit outside the classroom and you'd write it out 100, 200 times or whatever. And, yeah, you'd always remember to bring your bloody hair net to woodwork after that. So it's yeah, retention, memory retention, write it out.

Speaker 2:

So, once you've got your tools, how you're going to do it then, what tools you're going to use. How you're going to do it then. What tools are you going to use? First thing is to create a routine, a creative routine that's going to work for you. Here, consistency matters more than the length of your entry. It's just starting with something realistic, maybe putting aside 10 to 15 minutes every morning. Or you might set yourself a goal I'm going to write one page today. Or you might say my goal is I'm going to write a journal entry every day for three days. That might be your goal to create momentum. So, like I said, don't worry about perfection, it is just about getting started. Remember, this is yours and yours alone. It is a private experience journaling and if you're not sure what to write, I've got some simple prompts to kick you off, and these prompts were given to me at the beginning of my journaling journey.

Speaker 2:

So my psychologist got me to start way back in 2010. The psychologist I was seeing at the time said look, I want you to start keeping a journal entry. And I'm like really, what do you want you to start keeping a journal entry and I'm like really, what do you want me to write in this thing every day? And he said I just want you to start and finish your journal entry in the same way, so always in the first person. So I would write today I'm Mark McConville. Or today, you listening I'm going to have a great day for the following three reasons, right. And then I would write it out what, those three reasons that I'm going to have a great or good day today? What are they? And then the body of the journal entry is stream of consciousness, writing For me. That's how I would do it.

Speaker 2:

I have, over the years, changed different way. I've done all sorts of journal entries. But if you're stuck, just start with that. Today I'm going to have a great and write your name out. I'm going to have a great day for the following three reasons. And then write your entry. And then at the end of it, today I'm grateful for the following three things. Today I'm Mark McConville. I'm grateful for the following three things. And you know there's all sorts of research that supports the mental health benefits of expressing gratitude. We're not going to. It's a good place to have some framework for your journal entry, starting with why you're going to have a good day and finishing with gratitude and different approaches.

Speaker 2:

Like I said, julia Cameron, in her Artist's Way book, talks about stream of consciousness writing, which is the majority of the time that's what I do, where I just download whatever it is that's in my head and get it out. Napoleon Hill talks about writing specific goals in relation to what you might want to achieve in your life, and these can be very specific. Over the years I've had journal entries where I've written something like today I'm Mark McConville. I'm now easily and effortlessly attracting to me all of the people and circumstances to help me become a professional keynote speaker, comedian and MC, being very specific and using your name. And, like I said, there's no right or wrong way to do this. It's the act of doing it that's important and I promise you you'll end up finding out what works for you pretty quickly. You really will.

Speaker 2:

And over the years I have used journaling to help me process things that I've been going through in relationships, work and career, stuff that I've been trying to sort out, financial headaches and hassles I've written in my journal. When I've been experiencing loss and grief of loved ones and family members, I've written in my journal about what my hopes and desires are, or sometimes I just write about everyday stuff, whatever it is that's going through my head and, like I said, no right or wrong way to do it, it's just the act of doing it. And you want to take your journaling to the next level. This is where I would like to introduce you to my what framework. This is what transformed my life back in 2000,. Well, actually way before that, back in 1998, when I started out doing stand-up. So the what framework is what action taken today? And I'll explain to you how I use this this what action taken? A day framework.

Speaker 2:

So 1998, I start doing stand standup comedy and I make the decision that I really want to become a full-time professional standup comedian. And I just thought I worked on you know, I was getting into a lot of the self-help stuff and all that and everyone talked about action. It's got to take action. You know you can have your vision board and you can write in your journal and all that sort of stuff, but if you don't take action, nothing happens. So it's not just going to, things aren't just going to miraculously appear.

Speaker 2:

So I thought to myself, okay, I'm just going to work on taking one action every single day to get me to where I want to go as a goal of being a full-time professional comedian. And it could be absolutely anything. It could be, you know, finding a funny thing, premise that I thought I could turn into a comedy routine or go into a gig, or hanging out with other comedians talking to an agent whatever it is doing a gig anything. As long as I lay in bed that night and with the peace of mind that I'd taken one action on that day to get me to where I wanted to go. To get me to where I wanted to go, and it worked, you know it worked for me. I went from there to 2001. I graduated from the acting school and I was, you know, pretty close to being a full-time professional comedian.

Speaker 2:

So three to five years, three to four years this happened for me and I promise you this you start taking one action every day. Before you know it, that one action turns into two, two to three and things start to really, really snowball for you. And over the years my journaling journey has changed over the years, the different sort of stuff that I've written in there. I've had times where I've gone a month, a couple of months without making entries. But I have to tell you honestly, when I am doing this on a regular basis, I really notice the difference in my life, when I'm focused and trying to get in there every day and make an entry.

Speaker 2:

And so, as I said, I've refined this over the years, specifically now, so I don't have just one what thing on my list. So it is now three things. So one specifically for myself, one for my career and one for others. So, basically, what action am I taking today for myself, for my own self-care, what action am I taking today for my career, to help me improve that part of my life, and what action can I take today that will benefit others, someone else? And this is where the pair of three becomes really crucial, because research shows that three tasks right, three tasks create enough of a challenge to feel meaningful without triggering a feeling of being overwhelmed. And having three on your list makes it quite achievable, because when we're faced with too many options and too many things on our list, decision paralysis and procrastination increases. Especially if you're someone like me who suffers from ADHD, we really find it hard with big to-do lists. So, neurologically, completing three tasks provides a significant dopamine release, which is our brain's reward chemical which creates a sense of accomplishment. Right and creating a sense of accomplishment, completing one task is more attainable and it's more likely that you're going to be able to do one of each of these things than having big lists of stuff. So let's break down the three dimensions of what.

Speaker 2:

What action taken today? Firstly, what one action? For yourself, this might be exercise, reading, meditation, some form of self-care. For me personally, it is often meditation or journaling. In actual fact, my what for me personally now is my morning routine are actually four things where I get up, I do some type of movement or exercise, jump in the pool for a cold plunge, I sit on my meditation cushion for about 10 or 15 minutes. I sit there before I sit at my desk and then I jump into my journal before I start turning on the computer and starting my work day. So that is the ideal start to my day. Does it happen? All the computer and starting my work day? So that is the ideal start to my day. Does it happen all the time? No, no, it doesn't, because you know I travel a lot for work and bits and pieces and I get distracted. But I can say that there is always at least one. There is always at least one of those four in there, and so the key is identifying something that works for you. What is your one self-care action? And the second one is what one action can you take today for your career? And this could be some kind of learning, developing a new skill, networking with people through your work connections, making a phone call, sending an email, connecting with someone who you might not normally connect to. These small daily actions compound over time, and the key to overcoming resistance and procrastination is by making these small actions doable, like they're small enough that they're doable. And then the third one is what action can you take today? What action taken today for others? Can you take today? What action taken today for others?

Speaker 2:

Now, research shows that altruism okay, the doing something good for others, dramatically improves mental health through what scientists call the helper's high. So helping others improves our mood, reduces stress, it boosts self-esteem, it protects us against depression. It's a protective factor Enhancing social connection. As the old saying goes, the more you do for others, the more you do for yourself, and it is very rewarding, it feels good to do something for someone else. Now this triad of what action taken today for yourself, your career and for someone else is particularly powerful, in actual fact, because it addresses what positive psychology identifies as the three key domains for life satisfaction personal well-being, meaningful work and having social connection. And if you've listened to any of the other podcasts that I've gone on Social Connection and Community, I'm a big, big fan of improving your social health and connectedness. Now, these domains, these three domains, also positively influence each other, because self-care improves career performance, because you feel good, right, and then career performance increases our resources, and then that enables us to help others, and helping others enhances us to help others, and helping others enhances our self-worth and life satisfaction. It's all good stuff. It's all good.

Speaker 2:

So how do we implement it? How do we get this system into play? Well, when you get your journal out in amongst your journal entry, somewhere in there, put the letters what W, a double T? And begin with setting these intentions and identifying your three. What actions? One for yourself, one for your career, one for someone else and try to be specific about how you're going to implement each of these actions throughout the day.

Speaker 2:

I know for myself personally the self-care one is always pretty easy to put on the list. The career one is always pretty much a no-brainer I know what I'm doing, work-wise and the one to help others. Sometimes I have to. Well, sometimes I go okay, today I'm going to reach out to this person, I'm going to do that. And then other times, just simply setting the intention that I'm going to take action today, at some point to do something kind for someone else and it can be someone you know, it can be a random stranger, it can be doing just anything you know helping someone out at the shops, letting someone in in traffic something that you're going to do, what action today that you're going to take for the, you know, an act of kindness for someone else.

Speaker 2:

And then, at the end of the day, reflect, take a moment to reflect on what you accomplished that day and what actions you took and how did they make you feel. I have to tell you, there's something pretty cool about lying in bed at the end of the day and looking back and thinking to yourself what I did this today. I took these actions today. I did this for myself, I did a positive thing for my career and I did something nice for someone else. And look, if you're concerned about the time factor when it comes to all of this and I'm very conscious, everyone's busy and I have to say at this point that I very much appreciate your time in tuning in. I really do this point that I very much appreciate your time in tuning in, I really do. But when it comes to the journaling, to start you off, like I said, just 10 to 15 minutes of journaling is where we start. Just that, just that act of just starting sitting there 10 to 15 minutes in the morning, some people do it at night.

Speaker 2:

Personally, I think doing it in the morning is a little bit more powerful because, like I said, you can set yourself up why are you going to have a good day, what are you grateful for? And it builds momentum and your three actions throughout the day. It builds momentum and in my own life I have used journaling, like I said before, to process so many things that have been going through personally, professionally, financially, and it's also helped me manage my ADHD over the years by helping provide me with structure when I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed as to what I've got on my list of things to do. And I have to tell you there's three main benefits to journaling which I didn't realize. These were going to be a thing when I started doing it, but over the years I've really noticed this to be. This is actually a thing, and other people that I know that journal on a regular basis experience this as well. So when I'm journaling every day, day after day, and I'm really, you know, leaning right into it and getting stream of consciousness, more so, when I'm doing stream of consciousness writing, when I'm getting all of the junk out, my three main benefits I notice I have my creativity goes through the roof, I have enhanced creativity, my problem solving becomes easier and my decision making becomes sharper. And those three things creativity, problem solving and decision making for me personally, I benefit. I find those benefit, those areas of my life benefit, from journaling on a regular basis, on a daily basis, and what I put that down to my friends is I'm downloading the junk, right, I'm downloading the junk and that's what it is. It is a download. You are getting it out Whatever it is in your life that's given you the ache. You're getting it out so, and it frees up the space for all the other stuff.

Speaker 2:

So, as you begin this practice, if you give it a go, I just honestly, I really do invite you to give it a go for a week, just try it for a week. Just try it for a week. Give yourself 10 minutes of journaling, get yourself. That could be your action today is finding a journal, finding a notepad you like, finding a pen that you like, writing and setting aside 10 to 15 minutes a day. That could be your first action. What action taken today for yourself, right, and as you go through, as you start and to help you, I invite you to consider these three questions. Okay, firstly, what one small action can you take today for yourself that you've been putting off right, that could make a significant difference to your wellbeing? What one action for yourself could you do that you've been putting off? The second one how might your career, how might your work life change if you took one meaningful action towards your own personal career goals every single day? What might change in your career if you took one action every day? And the third one is who in your life might benefit from an unexpected act of kindness from you today? That's very cool. That is very, very cool.

Speaker 2:

So remember, my friends, mental wellbeing, it's, you know it's. There's no one size fits all, it's something. This is, you know, journaling, like I said, it's a very personal thing, it's you doing it, what works for you and getting out of it what you want to get out of it. It's not just about thinking differently, it's about acting differently. Mental wellbeing, you know, journaling, helps us to think clearly. I firmly believe that. And the what analogy, what action taken a day, helps us to act, but not only take action, but acting with purpose. So there you go, my friends Journaling what W-A-T-T, what action taken a day, and the power of three doing three, you know one for yourself, one for your career, one for someone else, and together these create a pretty powerful system.

Speaker 2:

I believe that will improve. It'll help. It'll help improve your life and it'll help improve the lives of those around you, because you're going to be doing something nice for them. It's on your list. So, as always, thank you so much for listening today. I really appreciate you, sam, I really do. And, as always, my friends, be kind to yourself and be kind to those around you.

Speaker 1:

My name's Mark McComble. I'll talk to you soon, cheers. Thank you for listening. The information contained in this podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended, nor should it ever, replace advice received from a physician or mental health professional. Want more info? Visit the laughtercliniccomau. If you enjoyed the episode, please share and subscribe. Thanks again for listening to a Laughter Clinic podcast with your host, mark McConville.