- Day One 2 1 3 – Maintain A Daily Journal Entries
- Day One 2 1 3 – Maintain A Daily Journal Article
- Day One 2 1 3 – Maintain A Daily Journal Articles
- Day One 2 1 3 – Maintain A Daily Journal Impact Factor
One Line A Day - A 5 year memory book: A 5 year journal, Daily Journal, Daily Diary, Yearly Journal, Notebook by Wilder Thoughts and Happy Notebooks Jun 26, 2019 4.8 out of 5 stars 13. You might notice you didn't do as much one day in comparison to another. This will help pinpoint areas of growth so more can be done to maintain consistent progress, even on a bad day. 'Day One makes keeping a journal delightfully easy.' —Wired WHY DAY ONE? Keeping a journal is an act of love. It makes you aware of your surroundings, cognizant of your actions, and open to adapting to all the changes around you. Day One is the journal that redefines journaling. Discover how Day One lets you to capture life as you live it.
Recently, American film director Robert Rodriguez appeared on The Tim Ferriss Show and explained why and how he journals.
This piqued my interest.
Like many people, I've always wanted to journal daily, but like most people, I've struggled with consistency.
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This wasn't because I lacked the self-discipline to write; it's because I didn't know what to write about. I wasn't a fan of writing stream-of-conscious thought; I wanted consistency in my writing…
I wanted a template.
So, I did what most people do: I turned to Google. I varied my search terms, but my results left me less than satisfied.
When I wasn't met with 'listicles' like, '7 Ways to Keep a Journal', or encouraged to, 'Just try it', I was left with little to go on in terms of journaling templates.
I was left with one option: to draft my own journaling template.
Here's what I came up with.
I currently journal once in the morning and once in the evening, and since using a journaling template, I've been consistent. I use Evernote to record my entries and use two tags: 'Planner' for my morning journal and 'Journal' for my evening Journal.
This is what my morning journal looks like:
Note: 'TK' stands for 'to come'. [1]
Every morning, I copy and paste the above template into a new note, date it and answer the following three questions:
1. 'I am grateful for…' According to Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, writing down three new things that you're grateful for, for 21 days in a row, can actually rewire your brain, allowing your brain to work more optimistically and more successfully. [2]
2. 'What would make today great?' I 'borrowed' this from The Five-Minute Journal. Here, I write my five most important tasks for the day. This helps me distinguish the vital few tasks from the trivial many, and reminds me that only a few things really matter and I can't do everything. [3]
Day One 2 1 3 – Maintain A Daily Journal Entries
3. 'What's ONE Thing I must accomplish today?' This is my focusing question. This, as Gary Keller argues in his book, The ONE Thing, is the best approach to getting what you want. If you want to achieve extraordinary results, you need to narrow your focus and allow what matters most to drive your day.
In the evening, my journal is more thorough:
This is an opportunity to review my day and improve what is already working. I have an alarm on my phone to trigger my journaling habit, and every evening, at 21:00, before shutting down my laptop for the day, I answer seven questions:
1. 'What did I achieve today?' This question helps me identify whether I actually achieved what I set out to accomplish in the morning, or if I got sidetracked. One lesson I've learned from answering this question is it's easy to overestimate what you think you can achieve in a day, but I remind myself it's not what you achieve in a day, it's what you achieve eventually. This is what really matters.
2. 'What lessons did I learn?' This is my favourite question to answer. This is where you journal your 'Aha!' moments. Answers can range from personal, 'I learned how to say no to dessert', to skill-based, 'I learned how to remove plosives in an audio recording using Audacity'. The more thorough you are, here, the more you can return to it again and again and learn from it.
3. 'What am I thankful for right now?' This is similar to Question #1 in my morning journal but with a rather unorthodox twist: I thank my problems and ask myself what's great about them. This is an exercise I learned from Anthony Robbins in his book, Awaken the Giant Within and it's called 'The Problem Solving Question'.
Last week, for example, I accidently deleted an audio recording I had made. 'What is great about this problem?' I asked myself. 'Nothing!' I replied. But when I meditated on it, when I really thought about it, I realised my problem was great because I could make an improvement on the original. As Laura Ingalls Wilder writes, 'There is good in everything, if only we look for it.'
4. 'How am I feeling right now?' This is an opportunity for me to be vulnerable, to let my guard down, to be open without censoring myself. I'm generally pretty happy, but if I'm feeling a negative emotion, I'll identify the cause by using a why drill. I'll ask myself why I'm feeling the emotion, in question, five times. This helps me be at the cause, rather than the effect of my concern.
5. 'What did I read today?' This pertains to any blog posts I clipped and/or books I'm reading. This helps me track my weekly goal of reading a book a week. [4]
6.'What are 3 amazing things that happened today?' I think it's important to bookend your day by focusing on your 'small wins.' 'I said no to a dessert.' 'I resisted the urge to give into temptation.' 'I didn't sleep in.' 'I achieved my most important task.' … These tiny advantages build forward momentum and remind us that bigger achievements are within reach.
7. 'How could I have made today better?' Many of us, when dissatisfied with our day, prefer to write it off, to move past it as quickly and quietly as possible. But by asking yourself how you could have made the day better, you're forcing your brain to look for improvements. Your day may have been stressful, but don't write it off until you've learned something from it. Look for ONE Thing you can do, either prevent it from happening again or to help you deal with it more effectively.
Day One 2 1 3 – Maintain A Daily Journal Article
Conclusion
This has been a departure from my usual writing style, but I wanted to write something personal, and give you an insight into how I journal and what I'm learning from it.
I consider it to be one of the best approaches to understanding your own psychology and documenting the changes you're making in your life.
You might argue it's not for you, but I invite you to try, using my template as a model, before disregarding it completely.
Footnotes
For over three years, I have reaped unbelievable benefits from keeping and writing in a journal daily. Being able to have a place where I can analyze where I am, see my daily progress and capture quotes/sayings that really move me has been incredibly beneficial.
As the late Jim Rohn once said, 'A life worth living is a life worth recording.'
Not only can a journal be a place where we store important information, record quotes or sayings that move us, but it's also a wonderful tool to help us analyze where we are at and where we want to go.
Related: The Difference Between Successful and Very Successful People
A journal can be used in a number of different ways. Personally, I do quite a few different things in my journal. Below, I will give you an excerpt from my own personal journal, but first I want to jump into five reasons why you should consider keeping a journal.
1. Increase your happiness by listing five things you are grateful for each day.
Before I do anything else, I begin to list five to 10 things I am grateful for that particular day. There is tremendous power in actually writing down on paper what you are grateful for. The pen to paper to mind connection is magical.
2. Keep track of your goals by logging daily action steps.
The little things can pay big dividends. Being able to physically write your goals for the year and track the action steps that are being taken towards them is a sure path to success. You might notice you didn't do as much one day in comparison to another. This will help pinpoint areas of growth so more can be done to maintain consistent progress, even on a bad day.
3. Jot down key lessons learned throughout the day or notes from a book you are currently reading.
Find a quote you like and write it down. Learn something new from an online course you are enrolled in and write it down. However you are learning or searching for ways to grow as an individual, being able to write down what you learned is reinforcing the concept. You'll be able to go back at a later date and look at what was written to refresh your memory.
4. Monitor your health and fitness gains.
Sometimes something might or might not be working, but being able to quickly write down the results you are seeing, your actual workout you did for the day, or how you felt before and after the workout is setting you up for optimal health because you are making it a priority.
5. Take motivation levels to a whole new level and grow individually daily.
Day One 2 1 3 – Maintain A Daily Journal Articles
Being able to write down how you are feeling, what you are learning, quotes and sayings that move and inspire you is motivating. When you go back and look at what you wrote the previous day, you will be able to see progress or a saying that inspires you to move faster and work harder.
Those are just a few ways I use my own personal journal. There really is no right or wrong way.
Related: When Creating New Habits, Avoid the Second Mistake
As promised, here is an excerpt from my very own personal journal to give you a good idea on how to get started:
Aug. 7, 2013
- Today I am extremely grateful for the health of my family and friends. Without them, I am nothing.
- I am grateful for the opportunity to be speaking to 1,000 business leaders on how to maximize their performance as an organization. I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love but more importantly serve others.
Fitness and health
Day One 2 1 3 – Maintain A Daily Journal Impact Factor
2. Keep track of your goals by logging daily action steps.
The little things can pay big dividends. Being able to physically write your goals for the year and track the action steps that are being taken towards them is a sure path to success. You might notice you didn't do as much one day in comparison to another. This will help pinpoint areas of growth so more can be done to maintain consistent progress, even on a bad day.
3. Jot down key lessons learned throughout the day or notes from a book you are currently reading.
Find a quote you like and write it down. Learn something new from an online course you are enrolled in and write it down. However you are learning or searching for ways to grow as an individual, being able to write down what you learned is reinforcing the concept. You'll be able to go back at a later date and look at what was written to refresh your memory.
4. Monitor your health and fitness gains.
Sometimes something might or might not be working, but being able to quickly write down the results you are seeing, your actual workout you did for the day, or how you felt before and after the workout is setting you up for optimal health because you are making it a priority.
5. Take motivation levels to a whole new level and grow individually daily.
Day One 2 1 3 – Maintain A Daily Journal Articles
Being able to write down how you are feeling, what you are learning, quotes and sayings that move and inspire you is motivating. When you go back and look at what you wrote the previous day, you will be able to see progress or a saying that inspires you to move faster and work harder.
Those are just a few ways I use my own personal journal. There really is no right or wrong way.
Related: When Creating New Habits, Avoid the Second Mistake
As promised, here is an excerpt from my very own personal journal to give you a good idea on how to get started:
Aug. 7, 2013
- Today I am extremely grateful for the health of my family and friends. Without them, I am nothing.
- I am grateful for the opportunity to be speaking to 1,000 business leaders on how to maximize their performance as an organization. I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love but more importantly serve others.
Fitness and health
Day One 2 1 3 – Maintain A Daily Journal Impact Factor
I ran 2.5 miles this morning and got in a light dynamic lower-body workout before prepping for my speech. I felt great before and after my workout. I reached my goal today of drinking 1 liter immediately upon waking. Before bed tonight, I will spend 10 to 15 minutes stretching.
Daily objectives
To serve and bring tremendous value to the client. Spend time before and after the event talking with employees on ways they think the organization can grow and become better. Report my talks with leadership with a follow up phone call.
I came across a quote from Norman Vincent Peale today that really touched me.
'Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.'
This quote speaks volumes in so many ways. Self-confidence is an absolute must for anyone striving to achieve their biggest goals and dreams in life.
It's my hope that after reading this you feel a little more compelled to utilize the tremendous power of a journal. It can be a fantastic tool to help make 2015 a fantastic year for you. Even if you are a little reluctant at first, just try it for 30 days.
I can confidently say that I think you will be pretty satisfied after the 30 days are up and won't want to stop anytime thereafter.
Related: 5 Things to Do Every Day in 2015 to Be a Better Entrepreneur
