Newsletter Archive #1: The Power of Journaling

Plan and Reflect, Every Day

Let’s talk about journaling.

Not a diary where you write down everything that crosses your mind. Not a simple list of the things you did that day. I suppose you can talk about your crush, but only if you do it with intention and purpose.

I’m talking about useful, intentional journaling. Keeping track of our lives so we can improve them. Mindfully documenting and being aware of how we are, what we are doing, and what is working and what isn’t.

Keeping a journal every day helped me identify persistent issues and unskillful behavior in my life. It helped me figure out which activities were eating my time and which ones were helping me.

I started journaling by asking myself a few questions every morning and evening and recording my answers. I began to notice patterns.

Days where I played video games had a much higher likelihood of feeling wasted, and I rarely stuck to the time limits I put on myself.

The things I most frequently regretted were the ways I treated the people closest to me and talking too much.

It was helpful to me to see consistent patterns in the things that made me unhappy. It pulled them into the light where I could do something about them.

Starting a daily journal practice is easy. It can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. You can make it specific to whatever you want to work on cultivating in your life.

Here are the questions I found most useful. I encourage you to journal twice daily: plan in the morning, and reflect in the evening. It doesn’t need to take more than a few minutes.

Morning Prompts

What are three things I want to accomplish today?

·       These are the things you want to get done for the day to feel successful.

·       Be specific with these. Don’t put “Do some reading”. Specify how many chapters or pages you want to read.

·       Divide things up. “Clean the house” may be too much, but doing the dishes, vacuuming, and hanging clothes up is manageable.

What would make today a good day?

·       Focus on things you can control – your behavior and your choices. Don’t set yourself up for failure with things like “Today will be a good day if my wife is nice to me” or “Today will be a good day if it doesn’t rain.”

Evening Prompts

What went well today?

·       Be specific. Name these things individually. Gratitude is awesome.

What could I have done better today?

·       Be honest without moving into self-criticism or frustration. We all have things we can improve. Just make note of them and make some changes.

Give it a try and see if it’s useful. I’ll include more targeted prompts as we move forward, addressing things like mindfulness, intentionality, gratitude, and other cool things.

That’s it for me.

I've written nearly half a million words in newsletters throughout the years. I'm currently reviewing and revising each piece before publishing them here as free posts.

Give journaling a try and see what you think.

Do something nice for someone you don’t like.

Pet a dog or a cat.

Take a nap.

Take care,

James