What No One Tells You About How To Journal

✏️ what no one tells you about how to journal 📒

i was sick of all the "how to journal" content out there recycling the same advice that sounds great but doesn't always work in the reality of daily life. you're welcome 😏 (also low-key a shitpost, but there are nuggets of wisdom in here, i promise 😇)

✍️ what to journal about ✍️

sure, you could journal about self development and treat your diary like your therapist, OR you could write about:

the pettiest grudge you're still holding onto from elementary school 😤

all the gossip about other people's lives that you have Strong Opinions™️ about, but you're a good person, so what goes in the journal, stays in the journal 🤫

all the witty comebacks you never say to people's faces because you're a sensible, non-confrontational person, but also you didn't think of it until later 🙃

the possibilities are endless, let your imagination run wild, and/or feel free to contact the blogger for more 🤭

🚫 when NOT to journal 🚫

this is just as, if not more, important as when to journal.

nothing to say — forget morning pages, i can barely string together a coherent greeting before lunch. also, a whole night's sleep is like a total memory wipe, so i have nothing to write about 🤷‍♀️ and don't listen to whoever says to just write "i have nothing to write about" because if you start enough entries with that, you're gonna begin to feel there's no point BUT THERE IS!! just not right now. and that's okay ☺️

too often — personally, i think it's important not to make journaling your one source of clarity 🔮 continue to think things through in your mind, confide in people you trust, and have moments (in nature, perhaps) that simply can't be transcribed to words 🌼

not feeling it — if you're too tired OR feel fulfilled and clear-headed enough about your day, don't make journaling a chore you have to do no matter what. if that means you don't journal everyday, then so be it 🌝

so when do you journal? in general, when doing so would add something to your day ☀️ whether that's peace, humor, gratitude, or something else.

🎁 materials 🎁

now for the fun part: let's go to the stationery store! 🛒

✒️ GET A PEN THAT WRITES SMOOTHLY! you are literally lowering the physical resistance that's keeping you from journaling, trust me it works. also pencils suck.

🔐 get a journal with a band, lock, clasp, button, etc. — just because it's fun, but it has the added benefit of securing your intellectual property(?)

have a separate journal for writing thoughts vs. schedules vs. todos vs. collections (TBR lists, recipes, etc.) — beats having to make and maintain a whole index to keep it all organized in just one (1) notebook 😵‍💫

🌸 stickers — are a pretty substitute for correction pens 😻 (in theory, but i have yet to use all the washi tape i bought 😅)

or just journal digitally, idgaf, do what works for you, okay? 😇

monday, july 15th, 2024 | day 47/100 | ♡.°୭̥ ୨୧

achievements: ✿ took a very wonderful walk in the evening ✿ made some updates to my notion and tallied and edited some blog posts ✿ updated something on my kofi and twitter {X} page

reflection: ✿ today was a good day and just productive enough, and I also started a new workout challenge today

notes: ✿ I want to start my walks in the morning. drinking 2L means going to the toilet a significant amount of time

habit tracking:

morning stretch study time physical activity self-care quiet time drink water 2.2L/2L

🎧 Brighter days ~ Sondae ft moflo

🎀 Buley ~ as always so good

photo credits: pinterest

another Sunday

feeling pink while getting ready for church

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalms 73:26 NIV

notion reset: new quarter edition and others

As July marks the beginning of a new quarter, I have decided to make a blog post on how I use notion to reset for a new quarter. In this blog post, I'll share how I use notion to reset for the new quarter and provide tips on how you can integrate these strategies into your routine.

why reset by quarter?

I started resetting by quarter, at the beginning of the year I watched a YouTube video explaining the 12-week-year method (the video included a notion template which is the one I use for my reset) and resetting by quarter has really helped me keep track of my goals (i do also reset by week and month but resetting by quarter is more in-depth in keeping track of my goals)

what is the 12-week year method?

the 12-week year method is a productivity and goal-setting system designed to help individuals and organizations achieve more in a shorter period. developed by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington, this method shifts the traditional annual planning mindset to a more focused 12-week cycle.

review the past month

I review by month not by quarter (this is reflecting on the past month, in my diary notion template) before diving into planning for the new quarter or month, it's essential to reflect on the past. here’s how I do it:

achievements and highlights: I found this template at the beginning of the year and I have edited it to match my own taste (I’ll link the template below), this particular template has a monthly reset prompt and that is what I use. I create a new page for the diary database and I fill in the prompts. this helps me recognize my progress and stay motivated.

the first picture is how the database looks on the outside, I’ve already reviewed for June and planned for July, and the second picture is how it looks on the inside, I used my July database as it is really only my goals that are on there, when I’m doing my reset, I review my goals below the divider, if I didn’t complete a certain goal I write about that and if I did complete it I write about how it worked out for me

goal setting for the new quarter

it's going to get a tad bit complicated here but I hope you understand it, first off I have multiple notion pages for each thing, I have a language learning page, and I have a learning space (for other things I learn like online courses or skills that are not necessarily school work) lately I started learning “the introduction to public relations” online.

what I do for my weekly reset is I add each lesson to the database, and for my language learning space I have a goals page there specifically for my language goals (at the beginning of the month I add my language goals, while during the week I add lessons that aid those language goals)

after setting those up, I then move on to my dreams and goals page, this page is where everything is and it's all kind of connected. at the start of the year, I added all the goals I wanted to achieve this year to the main database and in that database is a task list database when I complete tasks it updates my progress bar, and at the start of a new quarter, I add tasks to each goal for that quarter. and each day i go to the main tasks page and update it. tasks are divided by day, week and overdue

the goals that are completed are my goals for the first quarter. after I’ve set up my language goals, and tasks under my goals for each month, I then divide everything into tasks on the 12-week year page, it's divided by days and weeks (just in a table really simple and easy), below you, can see the results of the first quarter and also the planning for the first week of July.

updating my dashboard

workout schedule: I do this weekly though I add whatever workout plan I’m following to my fitness database

habit tracker: consistency is key to achieving goals. I use a habit tracker to monitor daily habits that contribute to my larger objectives

I update a lot of pages with templates for a new day, and I’m just going to list them out and add the pictures below

cleaning database

self-care tracker

skincare tracker

Bible study page

Finance page

game plan

meal planner/kitchen

Tomato Pomodoro (I update this each day with tasks from 12 week year, to use the Pomodoro timer and see how much time I spend on a certain thing)

tips for integrating notion into your routine

start small: if you’re new to notion, start with a simple setup and gradually expand as you become more comfortable.

utilize templates: notion offers a variety of templates that can save you time and give you a head start.

customize to your needs: personalize your notion workspace to fit your unique workflow and preferences.

consistency is key: regularly updating and reviewing your notion pages is essential for staying organized and achieving your goals.

for those who are just starting with notion and those who prefer something simple or just don’t have time to learn notion, get a template. I’ve been using notion for approximately 3 years now, when I started I used “the throne of pages” notion template and I didn’t get it but over the years I learnt it because I had time and wanted to learn. if you’re just looking to use notion simply get a template, there are many free and paid notion templates and you just need to find what works for you. don’t be overly complicated like me. like I said before I am obsessed with notion.

disclaimer: most of my personal templates are free templates, I edited them to my liking. the ones I can find I’ll link below

helpful links yana’s template (the one with the diary database) full template of where I got the learning space from throne of pages template cleaning notion template my notion pinterest board

finally, you can also check out “dewsnotion” tag in my blog for more of my notion templates and just blog posts I've written related to notion.

I hope this helps in some way temi out 🎀

Every single person studying a language when they recognize the most basic word of the language in a text or a video