After several months break I've decided to start LD'ing again. The previous time I had tries It went pretty well, I was able to attain lucidity relatively easy as I Used WILD & DILD all the time however I was terrible with dream control. Now Its the opposite way round as I've been practicing dream control when lucid which has been due to luck (i think)... I have terrible dream recollection. So what I'm saying Is at the moment i'm relying on dream signs that I discover in my dream at the time, up to now they are my dog (who recently died) which makes it pretty easy to recognise I'm dreaming and underwear for some reason... Ive had about 4 LD's in the last 6 days trying to identify these. I also tell my self until I fall asleep I will have a LD and recall dream signs. Point being this isn't very reliable but it seems to be working I would like to know If i can enhance these skills, allowing me to secure my self a chance to LD instead of hoping. Is there a specific technique for this. Can I do anything throughout the day to increase my chances of LD besides RC'ing as they were not completely helpful for me when I was more active.

Also I haven't been writing my dreams down at all... at this point I'm not to bothered about dream recollection, I just need to anchor myself... are dream journals essential. or are they just used to recall dreams?

Thanks.