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Book Review — The Bullet Journal Method
Tags: Productivity, Journaling, Bulletjournal, Book Review, Book Recommendations

Author : Ryder Carroll

Print Copy | Kindle

A year ago I watched the Ted talk of Ryder Carroll. He talked about a system with the help of which he bet the Attention deficit syndrome he was struggling with. I was impressed and wanted to read more about the system with the help of which he achieved it but I totally forgot about it.

In the past one year, I had been maintaining various journals and as a part of understanding what bullet journal is about I picked up this book. To my surprise, it is a combination of the all the journals I did in the past combined into one system. It was nice to read the book as it was a validation for whatever I did so far.

Will I also combine all my journals into one and say that I am writing a bullet journal? No. What worked for him, won’t work for me.You can ask me how can I say that without trying. I will be tired by the time I learn all rules and it will curb my creativity. I prefer everything digital as it is easy to carry around instead of a book which I can’t have with me all the time. Even if I get a small book, my handwriting is big and it won’t even suffice me for a week.

Why should you read this book?

If you have got no clue about journaling and want a rule book to start off with, you should read this. The book doesn’t talk about only journaling but revolves around one of the main benefits of journaling which is intentionality. It repeatedly tells you why it is important to know why you are doing what you are doing. He explains a few Japanese techniques like Kaizen, FIVE WHYS, wabi sabi and how they can be incorporated into your bullet journal. There are also examples from his life how bullet journal helped him in tough situations of life which will motivate and guide you to start using it.

Summary

The book is divided into 4 blocks — Preparation, The system, The Practise and The Art. The first block gives you real life stories of how bullet journal helped the users. The second block is more of theory. The rules you need to know to start your bullet journal. The third block is more of motivational concepts to help you understand how you can use it. The last block talks about the practicality and other logs which you want to maintain.

What do you think of bullet journal? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Happy Bullet Journaling!

Related
The Year of You: Day 8 — Money paradigms
By: Iris Wiesen
Tags: Journaling, Financial Freedom, Money, Financial Intelligence, Money Paradigms

“ What was your parents’ attitude towards money? How has this influenced you today? “

I grew up in a simple family and like many others, we struggled with money. The times were very difficult when I was little. I remember my father being laid off and for a while, we lived only on my mother’s salary. Other times I remember that my parent’s salaries were not being paid for months.

We had money only for the bare essentials. I wore my older’s sister clothes and shoes. Food was scarce. Although we had money only for basic ingredients, my mother’s cooking skills never made us feel that we are eating badly. Everything was delicious. Of course, meat was eaten on rare occasions, candies and sweets were available only on holidays.

We lived in a very small studio in a poor neighborhood. The same families were living there for decades, mainly because nobody was able to afford better housing.

Needless to say, it was tough. I was raised believing money is scarce and you need to work really hard to secure a job that will ensure a stable income. I was not thought the habit of saving, mainly because my parents were living paycheck to paycheck and didn’t have available funds for that.

All those hardships only motivated me to do better. All I knew is that I wanted to get out of there. I studied hard to find a high-paying job. When I was hired I worked really hard and due to my efforts and some luck, I was soon promoted. Over the years I worked long hours, I constantly learned to keep up with the developments in my field of expertise.

And sure, I earn more money now than anyone in my close family ever did. I got out of that neighborhood and I really like where I am now.

But it was a bumpy ride. I had a lot of money trouble along the way. Although I studied economy my financial intelligence was low. At first, whenever I received my salary I spent everything. I was buying things that I didn’t afford. I was living paycheck to paycheck. I wasn’t much different from my parents although I earned more.

I remember one conversation I had with my mother that was like a wake-up call. I told her my salary and that I spent everything and sometimes it wasn’t even enough. She was shocked. With that amount of money, she thought I was having heaps of savings. That’s when I realized that something it’s not right.

I started reading a lot of books on financial intelligence, how to get rich, and the like. My views about money have changed a lot since those days.

I no longer believe that working hard is the way to financial freedom. I am convinced it is not. I started to understand that no amount of money will make you happy in a job you don’t like. And although I don’t like my job very much I am grateful that it helped me reach where I am now.

I am still working my way through this complicated money world. And although I don’t have a clear picture yet, I have hope. I know I will figure it out somehow.

Seek and you shall find.
Use Social Media As A Journal
By: Eric Wright Jr.
Tags: Journaling, Social Media, Perfectionism, Wellness, Instagram

I was in a highly maluable state when social media was dropped on our head, I was in my early teens. I secretly made my Facebook account in Jamaica, in the teen center. My cousin helped me finesse the information (I was 12 and the age limit was 13). My eyes were wide and social media was vast. There was no guide or training. I dove head first into it but I was very shy back then. I overthought so much pertaining to posting on social media, I still do sometimes. I was in the background while my other peers seem to make leaps and new bounds on social. People that I saw that in my eyes who were socially lame had tons of friends and were buzzing. I was so lost regarding social media. Not understanding the way things work made me sink into my shell as time passed.

In life you are either the dealer or the user!

Sinking into my shell online turned me into a heavy user, I just watched from the sidelines. I was afraid to put myself out there and sadly that habit carried with me throughout my life. As time continued it was like everyday some new person was hitting 10k or 1 million followers on some social platform. The gap was widening everyday and it made me shrink even more. I felt less important and not valuable because socially I was not succeeding on various applications. Through some therapy and my own self-healing I have been able to gain some clarity about my life on social media. I’m in the mix between keeping my real life private but also putting out content. For awhile I felt like there was no in middle ground. If I was going to be on social and succeed, I had to share my life with no filter. That idea was flawed. I now have several friends/collegues doing numbers on social media. I wish I could abandon the idea of being on social media but I’d be denying myself a key opportunity to promote my business and build a brand. I noticed that I had a dangerous habit of searching for novel content that would magically make me feel better.

Now I’ve hit the point where I can’t sit on the sidelines anymore and I understand there is no magic piece of content that will suddenly change my experience on social media. Instead of focusing on others and feeling down about myself, I have to be intentional with my accounts + usage. Medium isn’t similar to Instagram but this has become another outlet for me to practice my skills of creating content. Writing daily on Medium has become a form of journaling as well as practicing not overthinking. Since I’m writing daily I relieve my self of the pressure of creating “perfect” content. It’s about sharing my thoughts and experience. If you are struggling to use social media as tool, focus on using it as a journal. It’s your notebook not your easel. The content will get better, you just have to be light on yourself in the process.

Check out my portfolio — ericwrightjr.com and my digital product site galacticla.com. I’m building out some fire tools. The site is not done but I love testing in public. I created both websites using Notion + Super.so (tutorial coming soon). Peace ✌🏾 and love 🤎🖤.
Putting the Practice in Spiritual Practice
By: Rev. Deanna Vandiver
Tags: Collective, Grounded, Journaling, Spirituality, Practice

Vashon Island UU altar. Photo by D. Vandiver

I found my journal this morning. I did not know that it had been lost. That’s how long it has been since I wrote in it. I have had a spiritual practice of journaling for a couple of decades now…but some months I practice more than others. And I can feel the difference, over time, between the days I write and the days I do not write. I learn again and again that the practice part of spiritual practice is as important as the spiritual part.

One of my teaching ministers once instructed me to ask her if she had been sitting (practicing meditation) whenever I noticed her energy becoming frenetic or disorganized. It was such a powerful teaching moment to me. She showed me that no matter how skillful or wise I might become as a minister, spiritual practice is an on-going commitment. We are not ever finished.

In the last place I worked, co-workers would ask me if I had eaten lately whenever my energy became frenetic or disorganized. I wonder how much more grounded presence is collectively possible if we use the same practice to check in on each other’s spiritual nourishment. What if we normalize asking each other about our spiritual practices — what they are and if we are practicing them?

It was a conversation with a friend on Thursday that prompted me to look for my journal again. And this morning, ink flowed across the pages.

I find that I now have a better sense of an answer to the question that had been throwing me for a loop lately — that ever present and not at all innocuous check in question: “how are you?”

So, dear friends, I will ask. What are your spiritual practices? And are you practicing?

With love and ink stained fingers,

Rev. De
Like a Fish Back Into Water
By: Timothy Kiefer
Tags: Travel, Journaling, St Louis, Home, Reflections

Like a Fish Back Into Water

I love St. Louis! I feel this most profoundly when returning from another city. If I’m gone for more than a couple days, the first thing I’m reminded of is how many trees we have. They’re everywhere, not just in our urban gems that are Forest Park and Tower Grove Park. Old neighborhood streets throughout are lined with 40+ foot trees that you cannot reach your arms around. They were planted over a century ago, at the same time bricks were stacked for homes they now shelter.

Seven years ago I bummed around Northern California for several months, returning in the middle of a muggy, hot summer. This is to be expected, though these dog days were particularly torrid. All of July ’13 was in the triple digits, the same month I started my career as a bike courier. My time away was more than adequate to get used to the mild, ideal climate of the Bay Area. Except, it felt good being back in St. Louis, sweating uncontrollably all day as I delivered food around the Central West End.

It’s was almost as if our summertime humidity has a specific gravity, and my body acclimated to it over the 26 years of my life. I floundered my way around beautiful Sonoma County for a little bit, and now I was back, flipping around my pond.
Good times don’t come too often
Tags: Meaning, Purpose, Designlife, Journaling

Good times don’t come too often

After the first week of Good Time Journaling and searching for flow states in my weekly activities, the results are not as expected (who would have thought that). First of all, I thought it would be much simpler to identify and clearer to myself when I am in a flow state or gaining energy from an activity. This might be the case because I am not used to observing myself while I am also actively doing my daily work. Also, trying to remember during the evening how I felt in certain situations throughout the day is much harder than I thought, giving me the tough impression that my notes are not representing how I really felt and acted. This makes me worry whether I can really reflect on my notes and get a valuable outcome.

Secondly, while reflecting on my good times, I never found clear “winners”. However, there were clear losers, so this is something I should look at more extensively. It worries me, though, that there are no clear winners as this makes me believe that not one of the topics I tackle throughout my day actually is a good time. However, this is after one week and one should not judge his entire job after one week of journaling in a way he never did before.

So, apart from the general remarks, some topics were easier to deal with than others for me. On the one side, these were the concept feedback sessions during which I would normally be able to concentrate quite well and give feedback that would make me at least satisfied with my presence. One reason for this could be that it’s partly visual — another one that there is something to compare my own idea of this concept to and I don’t need to come up with a lot of abstract stuff in the first place. So, the cognitive load seems to be less which could be a reason that it flows better.

On the other side, I seemed to feel uncomfortable in large rounds during which I didn’t have anything to contribute. From an initial standpoint, this makes sense as nobody would feel good during these situations. On top, I was very impatient during certain meetings. There is some more investigation necessary as to how it came to be that I couldn’t engage during these times. My impression is that I simply spent time not adding any value to my day or somebody else which in turn made me angry about myself that I joined this session anyways or have been dragged into it.

So for learnings for this week and potential improvements, I would not go into much detail as I am not sure whether this I not too early. If I would have to pick one, then it would be to look closely at value adding potential during meetings, as the times I felt impatient and angry stuck out in relation to the times I felt seemingly good. However, whether the reason is me not adding value or others not adding value (also based on my perception) is not entirely clear to myself right now.

I will continue doing the Good Times journaling and try to be more aware of how I feel during meetings. At last, this is also a skill that needs to be learned and trained and doesn’t come naturally to somebody if never done before.

Marc
Have you ever waited in a long queue for an appointment or sat in the waiting room for hours for…
By: Soumya Nayak
Tags: Self-awareness, Journaling, Anxiety, Coping Mechanisms, Consciousness

Have you ever waited in a long queue for an appointment or sat in the waiting room for hours for your turn of the interview? Or what does it feel like, on the day just before the exam for which you have been preparing for a long time?

The feeling or the emotions which are experienced in all the above-mentioned situations is anxiety, an uneasiness, an urge to maybe just use a time-turner to go to the future instead of actually going through the hard part. Over the years, I have faced a lot of such moments when I have faced anxiety, some I was able to handle, some were handled by the person with whomsoever my appointment was, and in some cases, I failed terribly. But if there is something which I have learned about anxiety is that it all exists entirely in our mind. For instance, just think once why are you so anxious about a situation that is not at all in your control, you prepared for that exam that’s fine but all you can do just before the day of the exam is having faith in your preparation and being hopeful that everything turns out well. There’s nothing much we can do apart from that right? Then why does our mind become so anxious, with butterflies in our stomach, not able to focus on anything other than thinking about the what-if scenarios in our head and amplifying our restlessness? Let’s say it’s a human tendency to overthink things, our mind is not used to expecting surprises and hence it tries hard to estimate beforehand what’s gonna happen. But the drawback of that overthinking is, that for all the negative outcomes of what-if scenarios, we start to panic, and hence anxiety comes into picture.

There are several coping mechanisms to deal with anxiety, one which works for me the best is not at all expecting anything with whatever big thing we are going to face or the event which is the cause of your anxiety. When you stop focusing on the result of something, your mind automatically calms down and shifts its focus on what is going on at the present or you gain proper control of handling things and your emotions in the best way possible as now you become self-aware and more conscious rather than being stuck in “what if” scenarios. It in fact boosts your performance as you are now more present consciously for the task which you were worrying about. The second thing which helps me out is journaling, I just talk to myself and write down whatever is concerning me. This helps me to figure out that what is the best thing I should do now instead of overthinking and hence it helps me to calm down.

So what’s your way of dealing with anxiety? Do let me know in the comments also if you found this relatable I would love to hear your experiences and coping mechanisms.
Three Things Not To Forget
By: Sridewanto Pinuji
Tags: Gratitude, Journaling, Diary, Grateful

What are three things that you grateful for today?

For me, these are three things that often overlooked, but turns out are very important.

1. I often overlooked my sensors ability to function.

Did you know that people with Coronavirus loss their ability to smell a thing?

This morning I was afraid when thought I lose my ability to smell things.

Fortunately, it just a morning routine when our body cleans up all those toxic materials that cause mucus filling up the throat and nose.

2. I often have taken for granted my posses vehicles.

It means I forget to clean up those vehicles, to take care of them appropriately, or to bring them to the service store when it is the time.

The main reason why do we need to take care of those vehicles is when we need to ride then they will be ready and not causing a problem along the road.

3. I often forget the beautiful moment when playing with my children.

Sometimes I just so busy with the work and neglect my children when they ask me to accompany them for playing.

Presence and time are the most important thing that children need from their parents.

Make sure to be present when you are with your child. It means you put away your phone, your work, your thought other than about them.

Please be present for your child, and they will remember it through their life.

Do you have anything that mostly is being forgotten to be grateful during the day?
Day dos and tres
Tags: Self Care, Journaling, Everyday Life, Me, Self Improvement

I really don’t want to write about the day 2 as it’s nearly the end of day 3 and I don’t really remember how the day was!

But if I don’t really write about how it was now, then it would be a another normal day. So here it is, my day on 1st july:

Yesterday, I didn’t really do anything and felt very negative at the end of the day. I thought I am going to fall back like I did before and going to throwaway this account like I did to many accounts before. (I’ve opened lots of things like this just to fall back to my old inactiveness and forgot them)

That doesn’t mean I did something today. But I was feeling a lot stable today. The feeling that I am worth it.

I don’t know if it’s only me, but earlier today, when my friends were talking about how they were unmotivated to do anything, I felt the need to prove them wrong by improving myself even though I felt the same yesterday.

Maybe it’s because I can’t advice others when I am not doing it. That doesn’t mean I am a saint to want to advice people for their own sake. I do get demotivated by people sometimes, but they might have been doing something which they don’t think as progress. When that progress gets revealed, I’ll be jealous of them inside, honestly speaking. I do have envy problems where I had constantly compared my life to others. I am unlearning all of them and trying to make progress on my own. But I have time till only September.

I don’t know when I will have all this free time ever again. I have a lot of things to learn and try to do. I do want to write more than my daily life as a journal. I want to write appreciation post for things I like; Speak them with passion in podcast and YouTube channel and learn to do stock marker trading.

I am going to start them slowly (even though the inside voice of me says I won’t)

Maybe I should start slowly. I’ll write appreciation post about something I like, at least three days once. If I don’t write like this; I might not start.

Now back to how was my day like:

Till 6:49 in the evening, I didn’t do anything; but a random gush of energy came and I did 25 squats, 5 pushups and 5 crunches. (Hey! It’s still better than doing something, right?)

I didn’t do anything productive; but I am starting to do them one by one.

Yes. I didn’t open my podcast or YouTube yet. I’m still trying to figure out my routine.

So I came up with my basic plan:

Wake up Get my sunlight and exercise. I do want to start a stair climbing challenge (Let’s see!) Take my vitamins Write (I have to write three things. One is for a competition. One is for a job that I want to apply. One is for myself)

That’s all for today! Thank you for peeking onto my journal, I sincerely appreciate it. :)

Preetha~
What are you actually DOING? A question to myself… and maybe you. ☺️
By: Karen Michaels
Tags: Self-awareness, Journaling, Social Media, Self Improvement, Doing What Matters

Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

Almost every morning I ask myself a question and then let the words flow. I think I first started thinking about asking myself questions from listening to Brooke Castillo. (Find her podcast here. off site link)

Honestly, I had never thought about that before and it is has been all things enlightening and dare I say, character building. Sometimes I ask myself easy questions like “what’s most pressing today” or “what’s the best course of action to achieve X”.

After a while, I have begun to ask myself the “hard” questions… and so of course, I stopped doing it for a while. Insert eye roll here. Sigh deeply. Please tell me you do things like this, too. It gets too close to home and so you want to run away for a while. Ignore it. Tell yourself it’s not true. If that’s NOT you, please share your lovely secret with us. IF it’s you too, then let’s fix that together…

So, what brought this up? Well, I asked myself a coupla questions and I started to cry… I didn’t want to write down the words I knew to be true… I wrote them anyway. UGH. It was really hard, friends. To look down upon that page and see some stark truth. Truth about some of what I was doing that was not helpful to my personal goals. AT ALL. And, of course, even more importantly, the truth about how I haven’t been supporting my family and my community as much as I thought I was.

In fact, just like financial data brings about the realization that your money is not doing what it could/should be doing, this was a life realization. I could/should/absolutely want to do a better job of loving and supporting and uplifting people the way I know I can.

So. What am I actually going to DO to improve my life, the life of my family, my clients, and the life of people around me in my community and beyond?
Forget About To-Do Lists, Focus on ‘Not-Regret’Lists!
By: Yash Anand
Tags: To Do List, Journaling, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Daily Routine

As someone who’s struggled with getting clarity on his goals, I can say that ‘to-do’ lists aren’t as effective when you’re unclear about your objective.

To-do lists give you a sense of order and accomplishment. No doubt about that. However, they fail to move the needle when there’s no detailed planning behind them.

If you’re lacking clarity in your goals and can’t seem to figure out your next move, then chalk out a ‘not-regret’ list. It’ll help you achieve significantly, regardless of how vague your plans are.

Why To-Do Lists Are Ineffective

To-Do Lists are seldom based on conscious and intelligent intentions.

When you create such a list, you’re under an unconscious compulsion to ‘do something’. There’s not as much thought put into the effectiveness of your actions.

For example, if you’re aiming to make $20k with your business this month, you can set a task of reaching out to 20 clients each day. There’s no guarantee that doing so will ensure the achievement of your goal.

A ‘Not-Regret’ List, on the contrary, is made up of 100% effective actions. These actions will definitely move you forward, regardless of what your end goal is.

Not-Regret Lists are easy to make and even easier to implement!

Which Actions Will You NOT Regret?

There are numerous actions that you can gladly add the words “WON’T REGRET” to.

Working out in the gym — WON’T REGRET it!

Eating an organic salad — WON’T REGRET it!

Meditating for 15 mins — WON’T REGRET it!

Writing a Medium Blog Post — WON’T REGRET it!

Whenever I feel lost and confused these days, I anchor myself by taking these ‘no-brainer’ actions. They help me regain a sense of purpose.

Planning Your No-Regret Activities

On a piece of paper, write down all the no-regret activities you can think of in multiple life areas.

I’d suggest you to segregate them into 5 Major Categories — Health, Finances, Career, Relationships, and Happiness.

Here are a few examples:

Health:

Lifting weights, Yoga, Jogging, HIIT.

Finances:

Investing in a long term savings plan, doing a side-hustle, creating a passive income source.

Career:

Creating your work portfolio, reaching out to potential clients on social media.

Relationships:

Dedicating 45 mins of quality time with your spouse each day.

Happiness:

Writing 10 things you’re grateful for each day.

As you list such ideas, you’ll realize that there are a gazillion different things you can start doing right away to create momentum in life.

You can also have a particular theme and purpose for each day of the week. For example, you can be focused on making money on ‘Money Monday’ and shift to a family-oriented setup on the weekends.

The possibilities are endless. Your routine is only limited to the extent of your creativity.

Enjoy designing your life! 🖌️🎨
Journaling for Personal Growth
By: Marty Nemko
Tags: Personal Growth, Personal Development, Self Improvement, Journaling

Journaling for Personal Growth

Journaling can be a powerful self-help tool. This article offers seven tips that can help maximize its utility.

Choose a journaling book that will have gravitas for you. For some people, it’s a leather-bound blank book. For others, it’s one with an inspiring cover image, or with a bookmarking ribbon and gold-leaf page-edges. For still other people, it doesn’t matter.

Choose a hiding place. You’ll feel freer to write if you know your journal won’t be found. But choose a place that’s easy for you to access. One option is to hide it in a “book safe.” That’s a fat volume with its middle hollowed out. Some of those even come with a combination lock. They come in many designs. Here’s one example.

Only journal when you’re moved to. Standard advice is to journal daily but that makes it more likely you’ll quit — It becomes just another obligation. Also, by writing when you’re not moved to, your journal will have too much chaff, making it hard to find the wheat. Instead, write only when you’re moved to.

Write what comes easily. On a given day, you may feel like writing stream-of-consciousness, or about one or more specific incidents or thoughts. Don’t force it. Whatever flows from your pen is probably right.

When in doubt, write about something that might help you grow. Often most useful is to write about a dilemma about work, relationship, drugs, procrastination, physical health, mental health, whether to revisit past trauma, your overall life, whatever.

You can complain but propose a solution. Complaining can be a worthwhile first step toward improving your life. But after you’ve vented, see if you can propose something that holds promise for making things even a little better. Or decide to accept that negative in your life rather than fight against the likely immutable.

Consider ending your entry with a commitment: something you want to do, try, or retry.

The takeaway

Sometimes personal growth requires reading, workshops, and/or counseling. But sometimes, instead of or in addition to those, journaling can be an excellent self-improvement tool:

It’s empowering because you’re addressing your problems rather than feeling you can’t help yourself enough.

It’s particularly likely to yield good ideas because you may know yourself better than anyone else does.

It affords you the time to step back for a bit and think about what to do, rather than doing it on the fly. That further increases the chances that your ideas for improvement will be helpful.

Last and perhaps not least, it’s free.

I read this aloud on YouTube.

Career and personal coach Dr. Marty Nemko’s 12 books including Careers for Dummies (Wiley, 2018) are available.
Journaling Techniques to Master Balance and Grow Faster
By: Sílvia Bastos
Tags: Productivity, Journaling, Writing, Self, Self Improvement

Balance Is a Verb, Not a Noun

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” —Albert Einstein

In this article, I showed you the journaling routines that have worked the best for me for the purpose of reaching a sustained state of balance every day.

This doesn’t mean that there aren’t hundreds of other ones out there that might be equally good or even better for you. For example, I have been excited about trying interstitial journaling for a while, but never got to it, so I didn’t mention it above, but it could be a way to give you structure and grounding if you feel lacking in the earth quadrant.

Secondly, I want to bring your attention back to the fact that this four-dimensional paradigm can — and should — be about so much more than journaling. These journaling practices work as the first domino piece, a compass to guide you as you begin the process of bringing more balance into your everyday life, activities, relationships, decisions, routines.

That’s what happened to me. After I gave attention to balancing via my journaling practice, I started craving a more balanced mix of other activities in my daily life.

Nowadays, if I spend a whole day indoors, I will know that I need to go outside. If I don’t move my body for a few hours, I will know that I need to dance or run. After a full day at work, I crave a long walk, a meditation, or time spent with friends. When I feel stuck inside my own head, I know intuitively that the key is to paint, or draw, or have a cold shower. Coming back to balance has become an automated behavior — intuitive, effortless and obvious.

Like any good keystone habit, paying attention to balance and choosing journaling techniques to foster it has created a greater sense of balance in my life in general.

Also, I want to point out that what I mean by balance is not feeling happy all the time, or making all problems go away forever.

What I mean is that this practice gives me a sort of head-start on things that do come up. Problems and ugly emotions still surface, but balance becomes my default state, the one that I always come back to at the end — or beginning — of the day.

And the point is not to remain in balance forever, but to make the periods of balance longer and longer every time. It’s like with meditation: your mind will always wander, but the more that you practice, the quicker you become at bringing your attention back to the breath, and the longer you manage to remain there.

I would love to hear about your own journaling practice, and if you feel that the tools you use fit within these four quadrants.

Actually, I would love to know your current strategies to bring balance into your everyday life, to grow, to live life fully.

Whether you wish to apply the tools in this article to your life or not, remember that the most important part of living a balanced life is to accept that you will inevitably fall for the extremes once in a while.

And it’s not the fall that matters, but how long it takes you to stand up again.
Tips for journaling
Tags: Diary, Journaling, Writing, Mental Health, Mood

Let it all out.

Write about anything. Let your thoughts flow freely.

Write regularly.

Try to journal on a regular basis. Every day is ideal. Aim for 20 minutes.

Look for a time and place when it’s quiet and you’re relaxed. You may find it’s easy to write in bed before you go to sleep. You may have fewer distractions and can look back on your whole day.

Try new things.

Write letters to yourself. Write to loved ones who are no longer with you. You can even write comforting words to yourself that you think your loved ones might say to you, Howell says.

Don’t get too negative.

If you find yourself jotting down only negative thoughts, try to shift your writing in another direction.

It’s OK to write about things that aren’t positive, but put a limit on it. Don’t do it longer than 20 minutes and avoid rereading your negative writing.

Make it easy.

Set yourself up for success. Keep a pen and paper handy. Put your journal near your bed, in your bag, or in your car. Or write on your computer or tablet.
What does depression feel like?
Tags: Diary, Journaling, Depression, Mental Health, Mood

How to manage depression

Journaling is one of the ways which helps you get to know yourself better. Expressing yourself in a journal can bring your thoughts and feelings to the surface.

Many people are surprised by what they write. You may discover you’re worried about something you didn’t know was upsetting you until you wrote it down.

You can keep your journal private or share it with your therapist. She can help you see what’s important and use it to help you move forward.

Lets you take control. When your thoughts and worries swirl around, putting pen to paper can cut down the chaos.

Shifts your viewpoint. Keeping a journal gives you a chance to use positive self-talk.

Lets you notice patterns. A journal can help you track your symptoms. If you log how you feel every day, you may spot things that trigger your depression.

For example, you may notice symptoms get worse at a certain time of day, when you’re under stress, or when you’re in a challenging relationship. If you know your triggers, you can avoid them in the future.

Journaling may give you insight on how you’re doing overtime. If you look back at older entries, you may notice trends. You’ll see if you’re feeling better, worse, or the same.
I’m going back to Bullet Journaling
By: Han Hamid
Tags: Productivity, Routine, Journaling, Writing, Personal Development

I’m going back to Bullet Journaling

Ok. So, some of you might have learned in my previous post where I’ve decided to say goodbye to journaling and solely rely on my newly minted habits.

I take all of that back.

I thought I had it, doing away with tracking my habits and to-do lists on paper and instead, putting everything to faith that my smartphone can do it at a much effortless way.

The first week felt liberating as I can easily stick to my usual routine. All seems predictable and simple and it does feel like I seem to have everything figured out.

But slowly, things changed.

I began to divert attention to other trivial matters. I was down the slippery slope towards complacency.

I catch-up on the morning news filled with trade wars and corporate espionage while eating crappy cereals, totally forgetting about that gratitude routine which I have impressed in my mornings.

I only realized this when I didn’t stow away my futon on the ground and simply let it be, encouraging me to laze around.
Be at Tourist in Your Own Hometown
By: The Paper Journal
Tags: Travel, Journaling

So, you’ve got the travel bug. You fantasize about filling your journal up with travelogues but you can’t afford to go trekking around the world. What can you do? Become a tourist in your own hometown. I’m a huge fan of this. It’s the perfect way to satisfy your wanderlust if you can’t do any extensive travelling. It’s a free or relatively cheap option to world travelling. You may say to yourself, “My town is so boring. What could I possibly write about?” The trick is to think and act like you are a tourist and this is your first time in the town or state.

One thing you can try is researching your town or state. Find out what the main tourist destinations are. Also look for some of the more off-the-beaten-path ones. Pick one or two and go visit. Take your journal and document your visit. Pick up all the brochures and literature they may offer. Take photos. Add these things to your journal entry for the trip.

Another idea is to check out your local museum. Almost every town is going to have at least one. Either an art museum or something niche. You would be surprised at what is available. My favorites are “living museums” where people dress in period clothing and play the part. There are several of these in my home state and they’re always interesting to visit. Don’t forget to ask questions while you are there and then write about what you’ve learned.

Another option is to hop on the bus and take it to the end of the line. Get off the bus there and explore. Find a new cafe to sit and write in. People watch. Eavesdrop. Soak in the local flavors.

So, if you want to write travelogues, don’t let yourself be limited by lack of funds. Travelling doesn’t mean you have to go all that far to experience something new. Get out there, hop a bus or commuter rail, hit the road, and write.
March 22: A Walk in the Cemetery
By: Sydney Jane
Tags: Journaling

This will be a short one since I was too tired last night to write anything and have thus failed to write every day this quarantine season. Oh, well. I’ll make up for it by writing twice today, because I cannot go without mentioning my goose story from this morning.

In light of my very lazy Saturday, I didn’t want to spend another day entirely in my pajamas, but I did, once again, play quite a bit of Animal Crossing. I am motivated by simple tasks, DIY projects, and cute animals, I guess. Sunday, I spent some time with my father, who has taken time off work to self-isolate. He works with adults who experience certain mental challenges, and they do production work in their warehouses with these individuals for various companies. That work has since ceased due to statewide restrictions, so rather than be placed in a different area of work for the foreseeable future, Kevin decided to take some time off. I respect that choice, but he is a prime candidate for cabin fever. We’ll see how it goes.

When I visited him, we decided to go for a walk since it was nice out. It was on the cooler side yesterday, but I live for this true spring weather. Our usual haunt (hah) when we take walks is, of course, the nearby cemetery. This started about half a decade ago when I felt the compulsion to take a walk there on Christmas morning. Cemeteries get a bad reputation, and I get it; there are a lot of corpses and ashes there, but there’s also a lot of history, memories, and nature. It’s peaceful, and for a fan of the macabre such as myself, all these things combined makes for a perfect destination.

That’s right. I hung out with tombstones this weekend. I bet you’re all insanely jealous.

Being out in the fresh air was pleasant. I admittedly haven’t been out of the house much because, as I mentioned in a previous post, I’m lazy. However, I love taking walks. It’s good for the joints, and all that.

We also ventured to one of my favorite stores, Grocery Outlet (Bargain Market) where I purchased three pounds of bacon (six bucks, y’all), fresh asparagus, and whatever else I put in the cart. I don’t even remember. I’m sure I bought some cheese.

With our dinner (grilled cheese sandwiches and frozen pierogies), I tossed the asparagus in some grapeseed oil, topped it with salt and pepper, and roasted it for about fifteen minutes. I don’t have many opportunities to cook due to my commute, my family’s preferences for dinner times, and a general lack of interest in purchasing separate groceries while I’m still living at home (paying off my student loans is a priority and even with this current weird situation we’re in, I’m still aiming to pay the remaining amount in April). But that dinner, however simple, was delicious.

I’m also planning on making asparagus with some black pepper bacon as a side for dinner tonight. Looking forward to it.

My insights from Sunday:

Get some fresh air when you can. Eat tasty food. Play Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

And be sure to follow along with Erin Walker’s quarantine adventures!
Journaling 101
By: Pathwaystoeducation Regent Park
Tags: Self Care, Expression, Journaling

Journaling 101

Writing helps to express yourself a variety of ways. Sometimes we write because it helps to see our thoughts expressed in a clearer and concise way. Other times, it is a great outlet to help clear your mind when stress and anxiety are prevalent in your life. Whatever the reason- writing will allow you to learn more about yourself.

The Five-Minute Journal is a resource that makes me feel like I am taking the time to better myself and my mind. It reminds me to be grateful for the moments- big or small. It reels me in when I am feeling stressed out about what is going on around me and reminds me to focus on the things that matter.

Try it out…Take a piece of paper and a pen and start with:

IN THE MORNING:

I am grateful for… (name three things) What would make today great (name three things) Daily Affirmations. I am… (finish the sentence)

IN THE AFTERNOON:

3 Things I know to be TRUE: (name them) What is one reality you need to come to peace with? Why? What is one song that makes you feel happy? Why?

AT NIGHT:
THE FIRST STEP
Tags: Motivation, Stuck In Life, Journaling, Anxiety, Life Lessons

I started journaling 1st January 2019.

As cheesy as it sounds, it was a new year resolution and my motivation was Through. The. Roof! There were so many things that I WANT to achieve by the end of 2019. So as a member of the enthusiastic, demanding, high spirited millennials, I was swifted by the modern dream that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE without realizing that THAT everything is possible only if you fulfill your spiritual needs first — oh well there you go another millennial buzz, the “spiritual fulfillment” oriented lifestyle with it’s own starter kit of daily consumptionof green tea, avocado breakfasts and aesthetic Instagram posts and hashtags. hate to break it to you but spiritual need is NOT THAT.

It turns out that 2019 was the year of me processing the need of my own spiritual learning. Knowing what to fill in your cup is not gained, but learned. And it took me a year to realize that. I only understood this because every single piece of the “how-tos” blogs just doesn’t resonate, be it effective. Hey, i too, thought that I was the problem.

The reason why it may not work for you too is because the every person’s cup is different.

This is not an article to tell you what you need to fill your shell, but how to do so. There is no textbook steps to learn this and believe it or not. You are the first step. You don’t really know yourself as much as you think you do. Start by getting to know yourself first. Yup it is undeniable that a sudden add of journaling to your routine can be rather “too much” for you lazy meatballs. Therefore, create a mental notes of why you make your daily decisions, why did you decide to be angry or happy, is it worth it, are you able to live without reading the latest celebrity gossips? ANALYZE. There it is. The first step.

See you later .
Day 9 of Self Quarantine
By: Julian Addams Wolf
Tags: Julian Addams Wolf, Jaw2020, Covid 19 Diaries, Journaling

Intentionally didn’t venture out of the yard today, and managed to get some things cleaned, organized, or on the start of being clean and/or organized. Reached out to some folks, updated one of my distance partners on the actuality of my situation, ate some food and even had a piece of candy. Having things organized in the kitchen is going to be lovely. Not having my tea fall into dishes and the like is going to be very groovy. In the near future I’ll head to my storage unit (almost no chance of human interaction, so much work to do) and go through the rest of the kitchen boxes. Unsure how laundry is going to work post COVID-19 society, I don’t think that launderettes are going to be the same, and I don’t want to over-tax my neighbor’s good will. I’ll start tackling the non-laundry part of storage first. Having an idea of how many cans of beans I have (a dozen or so), how much rice I have (a few pounds), and now that I’ve found some salsa I have, I’m much less worried.

I’m going to have to start a list so I don’t forget to do basic things, like breakfast and morning meds. Give myself some reachable goals and an idea of what I’ve been up too when my anxiety tries to tell me nothing.

My only real-life interaction with another person today was not intentional. My neighbor to the west tried to demand that I call our other neighbor- the one I’m friends with. After being confused for a moment, I offered to message her, and did so. It ended there. I’ll plan on at least visiting my neighbor friend tomorrow to borrow the staple gun and get the screens on my door and window.
Bequest to my grandchildren
By: Prerna Mishra
Tags: Covid 19, Journaling

Hey everyone! I am one of the many breaking the internet these days with obsessively checking New York Times for updates on the “he who must not be named” virus situation, followed by a Netflix binge watch session in the hopes that fiction will help me cope better with reality. Because, we are living in the times of social distancing. I have always complained to my friends that I don’t have enough tales to tell my grandchildren since I was always the straight A student in school, teetotaller in college, overachiever in my brief stint in corporate and finally am currently a perennially over worked and underpaid PhD student. So, you the the gist, the typical nerd with no “life” what-so-ever and hence no tales of debauchery with underlying lessons on morality. But, tales of social distancing is going to be my bequest to my grandchildren. And hence, I am going to chronicle it here as frequently, accurately and minutely as I can.

Today is technically day 8, but then according to a hindi proverb, it’s morning whenever you wake up. So, let’s restart the clock and count today as day one. I was worried that I would blow up my meagre income on buying kindle books(for those interested in my nerd escapades, follow my insta-blog kindle_o_phile). A good samaritan pointed out that Scribd is offering one month free subscription and I pounced on the opportunity. The adrenaline rush helped me power through a full 300 page book in one day; Queenie by Candice Warty Williams and I am about 25% through my second book, Writers and Lovers by Lily King. So while I binge watch Netflix and bing eat pistacchio flavored ice cream, I am also trying to keep my mind intellectually engaged. In between this, I tried to do some school work, tackling my nemesis, Microeconomics, with very little vengeance. But, from tomorrow I say bring it on Mr. Kenneth Arrow.

There was also a comfort food session of Bhel Puri with my flatmates, from whom its physically impossible to social distance.

Self-reflection of the day: Will I be able to do better in Microeconomics this time since more often than not I attribute my underperformance to lack of dedicated self study time, which seems to be in abundance at the moment.