Intro

I have been journaling for about 3 years now. It has helped me stay on track and keep a positive mindset with work and life. I have a pretty busy personal life (3 kids) and work is always busy. I have certifications to do and other topics I am interested in studying. It’s too easy to get overwhelmed with how many tasks I have on my plate and the books I want to read. Journaling has played a vital role in my life. In this post I will break down my daily journal method and how I use it.

The Core

The core of my journal method consists of the following parts:

• Schedule

• To-Do/Top Priorities For The Day

• Motivation

• Happiness/Gratitude

The Breakdown

Let’s look at each section and cover the details.

Schedule

This is a light review of my overall schedule. I write down basic details on what I envision for the day. I typically do not break this down by the hour. I then go check my calendar to confirm if I need to add anything.

To-Do/Top Priorities For The Day

Instead of doing a typical “To-Do” list, I enjoy writing my top priorities for the day. I found myself getting too detailed and adding too many items where I’d never complete the “To-Do” and then it spilled over to the next day. This whole process created unnecessary anxiety. I started to make an effort to write down my top three priorities for the day. The advantage of this is it allows you to prioritize the most important tasks for the day.

Some people do a hybrid of making extremely detailed lists and prioritizing from there. Feel free to experiment with what works for you!

Motivation

I use this section to write down one or two bits to get motivated for the day. Sometimes it is a quote or a quick reference to something I am reading.

Happiness/Gratitude

In the evening I take about 15-20 minutes to reflect on the day. I look back on my top priorities and whether I achieved them, write down what I could have done better, and a couple of quick notes on things that I am grateful for.

Conclusion

This simple journal method has served me well and I plan to continue to use it going forward throughout 2022. I hope you reach your goals and found this post useful! This process is not set in stone by any means. Feel free to experiment with it and use it as you see fit.

I wish you the best!