Tag Archives: journaling

Tracking Goals: Going Analogue

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Along with Lift (edit: now coach.me), I’ve also found something analogue to help with my habit formation and personal development. This is the cool Goals Journal from kikki K.

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It takes some time to set up, but the process of doing so is really worthwhile. Instead of just coming up with random goals, it starts with the premise of trying to define your dream life. There are several helpful examples that talk you through the process, for example, stating your core values:

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The dream life itself has a few key factors, one of which is explicitly stating when you want to be living this. That took me a bit of thought. I obviously wanted to pretend I could get my dream life as soon as possible. Next week! But reality kicks in. So setting the balance between plausibility and so far in the future you’re not actually motivated to start straight away is a thought-provoking act in itself.

 

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Once you’ve worked out where you’re going to be, there is a section for each month where you define 4 goals. Only four for the month, so as long as you do it sensibly, it always feels achievable. The key part here is stating why you want to do this – how does it propel you further towards your vision?

 

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Of course, we all know that setting out goals is not enough. If only it were. But no, you actually have to take action to achieve them. To combat some of the most common excuses (I don’t have time etc etc), for each month there is a timetable. This urges you to set time aside for your goal work in the same way you would schedule an appointment for all the other areas of your life. This highlights how much time you really do have in your life if you want it badly enough.

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So, tomorrow being the 1st of March, I have completed everything and now it is all set up. At the end of the month, it’ll be interesting to see the progress I’ve made on my four defined goals (and if I gave myself the reward regardless…).

Lift App: Building Habits For Success (Review)

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So, I have started using the Lift app to try to get into the habit of doing the little things that count.

Research has shown that having small goals, such as to drink more water daily, can have a big impact on your overall success. The thinking is that by making small changes and succeeding, you gain a sense of momentum that spreads to other areas of your life. Plus drinking more water is really good for you.

I know from personal experience that having a routine and using habit to achieve a goal can work. So, from a personal development perspective, I like the idea of having a tool that reminds me and rewards me when it comes to habits.

The ’21 days’ thing has been pretty much debunked as a myth, so there is no definite habit formation period that is universal to human experience. With my morning writing, it started to move from pain to pleasure after about two weeks, but I had a strong emotional attachment to the goal to start with. Other things, like going to the gym, I’m going to do because I know the benefits, but there is still an underlying sense of doing because I have to, not because I want to. Logic tells me that this habit will take way longer to cross over from the pain threshold.

The rewards feature (don’t break the streak! High Five!) are nice little touches to keep you engaged. Many of the preset goals have plans attached to them, so you don’t even have to figure out what you need to do from the get-go. This gives you a nice motivational sense of support that you can do the first few steps.

I’ve been using it for around two weeks so far and like the results. I have been to the gym more, read more and have done things to take myself out of my comfort zone. So, even if I haven’t achieved daily perfection I have still made progress, and that is what this kind of thing is really about.

You can read more on the blog here, or follow the guys on twitter.

Gorgeous Daily Planner

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Despite the fact I’m currently on a writing sabbatical, I still have a lot to do each day. Get up. Get dressed. Drink Coffee, that kind of thing.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t treat myself to a little reward every now and again. Whilst out and about, I stumbled upon kikki.K – an amazing stationery store (international shipping appears to be available).  So, in a true effort to combine creativity and productivity, I bought myself this notepad:

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There are just enough fun elements in there to keep it interesting and reduce the friction of looking at a boring old ‘To Do’ list. I like the idea of tracking water intake as a default, as this is a habit I try to keep up with – a handy little reminder is always good.

It’s impossible to deny that this is aimed at a female market, but as I’m a woman I don’t massively care. There were no real male equivalents though, even though the concepts on there are just as applicable. I know many men who are trying to drink enough water, narrow down their top three priorities and manage an ever-growing task list. I am not sure they are so intentional about rewards, but then maybe I’m the one perpetuating gender stereotypes here too?

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Anyway, after all the hard work of writing this post, it’s apparently time to reward myself with a glass of wine…

Bullet Journal: Creative AND Productive?

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It has been a couple of months since I first heard of Ryder Carroll’s Bullet Journal system. Even if you have no interest at all in productivity, you should check out the website. It is a perfect example of how to do things.

So, the bullet journal system may not contain anything earth-shatteringly new, but it does pull a lot of concepts together that renders them really effective. It is done in a way that makes the use of pen and paper appear creative and vibrant again, rather than archaic in comparison to the gazillion apps there are out there.

For someone trying to manage multiple business projects, it won’t work as a complete system. However, Ryder is completely transparent about this: that is not what bullet journaling is meant to do. I have been using David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology for several years now and I’ve found that bullet journaling has allowed me to successfully work one key element: capturing.

Confession: I am a notepad junkie. Sure, I love a good pen too, but notepads for me are where it’s at. I generally have at least two on the go at any one time. There is my writing notepad, where I flesh out characters and plot outlines. Then there is a handbag size notepad that I will always have with me, to capture ideas on the go, note the names of restaurants, shopping lists etc etc. Over the years, I have accumulated quite the collection. This is precisely the point where it has previously all fallen down.

If something has been actioned more or less straight away, then fine. It is when I know I jotted down the seed of an idea somewhere and now want to find it again, maybe a couple of years later. Previously this has led to me going through all the journals that seem in the right time range and trying to find it. The bullet journal system eliminates this is two simple but hugely effective steps.

Instead of opening the shiny new notepad and straight away creating content, using the bullet journal theory, I set aside about ten pages to create a contents page (or index, as Ryder calls it). Then I number the pages as instructed and make sure that whenever I create an entry, I update the contents page with a brief description and corresponding page numbers. I generally preface with a context (e.g. ‘writing’, ‘list’, ‘journal’ etc) to make it even easier to skim search.

Yes, the initial setup takes a bit of time and the whole thing falls apart if you don’t remember to update the index. However, the rewards of getting into the habit of doing so are amazing if you have a lot of creative elements of your life. I can update spontaneously when I need to, rather than having to wait until I get home to find my travel journal, writing notebook or any other specific analogue device.

Go on, give it a try. For anyone trying a tech diet, it is also a great way to let go of the apps for a while without the fear of everything falling into a void.