How To Write A Journal Template Samuel

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, just like most people, I've struggled with consistency.

This wasn't because I lacked the self-discipline to write; it's considering I didn't know what to write about. I wasn't a fan of writing stream-of-witting thought; I wanted consistency in my writing…

I wanted a template.

So, I did what nigh 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, "seven Ways to Keep a Journal", or encouraged to, "Simply try it", I was left with little to proceed in terms of journaling templates.

I was left with one option: to typhoon my own journaling template.

Here'southward 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 Periodical.

This is what my morning journal looks similar:

Note: "TK" stands for "to come". [1]

Every morning, I copy and paste the above template into a new notation, appointment information technology 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 y'all're grateful for, for 21 days in a row, can actually rewire your brain, assuasive your brain to work more than optimistically and more successfully. [2]

2. "What would make today neat?" I "borrowed" this from The Five-Minute Journal. Hither, I write my five nigh of import tasks for the day. This helps me distinguish the vital few tasks from the footling many, and reminds me that merely a few things really thing and I can't practice everything. [3]

3. "What's ONE Matter I must accomplish today?" This is my focusing question. This, as Gary Keller argues in his book, The I Thing, is the best approach to getting what you lot want. If you want to achieve boggling results, you lot need to narrow your focus and allow what matters about to drive your day.

In the evening, my journal is more thorough:

This is an opportunity to review my day and amend what is already working. I accept an alert on my phone to trigger my journaling habit, and every evening, at 21:00, earlier shutting downward 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 gear up out to accomplish in the morn, or if I got sidetracked. One lesson I've learned from answering this question is it's easy to overestimate what you lot retrieve yous can achieve in a day, but I remind myself it's not what you accomplish in a day, it'due south what you achieve eventually. This is what really matters.

2. "What lessons did I learn?" This is my favourite question to reply. This is where you periodical 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 lot tin return to it again and once again and learn from information technology.

3. "What am I thankful for right at present?" This is similar to Question #1 in my forenoon periodical only with a rather unorthodox twist: I give thanks my problems and ask myself what'south not bad near them. This is an do I learned from Anthony Robbins in his book, Awaken the Giant Within and it's chosen "The Problem Solving Question".

Last calendar week, for example, I accidently deleted an audio recording I had made. "What is peachy about this problem?" I asked myself. "Nothing!" I replied. Simply when I meditated on it, when I really thought about it, I realised my trouble 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 exist vulnerable, to let my guard down, to be open without censoring myself. I'one thousand by and large 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 business.

5. "What did I read today?" This pertains to whatever web log posts I clipped and/or books I'1000 reading. This helps me track my weekly goal of reading a volume a week. [4]

vi."What are iii amazing things that happened today?" I think it's important to bookend your day by focusing on your "modest wins." "I said no to a dessert." "I resisted the urge to give into temptation." "I didn't sleep in." "I accomplished my well-nigh important task." … These tiny advantages build forward momentum and remind the states that bigger achievements are within reach.

7. "How could I have made today better?" Many of us, when dissatisfied with our twenty-four hour period, prefer to write it off, to move past it every bit quickly and quietly as possible. But by request yourself how you could accept 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 yous've learned something from it. Look for I Thing yous tin do, either forbid it from happening again or to help you deal with it more effectively.

Conclusion

This has been a departure from my usual writing mode, simply I wanted to write something personal, and give you an insight into how I journal and what I'thousand learning from it.

I consider it to be ane of the best approaches to understanding your own psychology and documenting the changes you lot're making in your life.

You might argue it'southward not for you, only I invite you lot to endeavour, using my template as a model, earlier disregarding it completely.

Footnotes

[1] This is a writing lesson I learned from Neil Strauss in his Artistic Live interview with Tim Ferriss. You can watch it on YouTube here.

[2] Shawn Achor talks about the research-backed benefits of journaling in his entertaining TEDx talk, The Happy Secret to Improve Work. You can read my key takeaways here.

[3] This is a lesson I learnt from Greg McKeown in his wonderful book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. You lot can read my Kindle notes and highlights here.

[4] I explain my whole approach to reading in this commodity: How to Read a Book a Week (Information technology'south a Lot Easier Than You Think).