we're all guilty of it one day my younger son asked me Mom what are you watching on your phone it was during a precious moment of rest with my family and I wasn't doing anything important or urgent on my phone I had simply picked up the phone and started mindlessly scrolling through Instagram post when I could have been more intentional with my time with them why do we often fall back on our phone and start scrolling aimlessly it happens because it has become our default it's so easy to access with endless new content and constant
stimulation this directional State makes us vulnerable to falling into the Trap of mindless activities but we all know it eventually leaves us with an unpleasant unsettling feeling afterwards one of the best ways to address this is this a notebook by writing things down as we become more intentional about how we spend our time and reflect on where it's leading us we can save ourselves from drifting into a directionless default when you have a clear actions planned out preferably once aligned with the goals you want to achieve and the person you aspire to become you're less
likely to feel directionless instead you can take control of your day and feel accomplished as you take each small step towards your destination That's The Power of planning and reflecting which we're going to discuss today in today's video I'm going to be sharing exactly how to use this little notebook in a as little as 3 minutes a day what to write and how to write it with my own example as you start incorporating this habit you will experience a shift from mindless scrolling and empty feelings to a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment at the end
of your day so if you're ready let me grab a notebook and let's get started this simple journaling system which I call the three-part Journal is something my husband and I designed together for his Daily Journal needs he used to be a posted guy relying heavily on posted notes jotting down to the list ideas that came to his mind or lessons he had learned from certain incidents or content he has consumed like books or videos and I thought maybe I could help him do all of these more efficiently through journaling with a notebook it's not
that I'm against using posted in any way they're great I have a bunch of them on hand all the time but his desk was literally running out of space so I thought it would be fun to come up with a more organized and efficient way to capture his notes and free up some desk space and his mind one thing to note unlike me who loves pens papers stickers my husband isn't the type to enjoy spending too much time journaling he claims he would prefer to focus more on doing and completing tasks to get the job
done and wouldn't want to spend too much time drawing outlines or reading manuals on how to do it if you've been following me for a while you know I love journaling it's kind of my gem but even between a husband and wife there can be a difference styles of approaching productivity and since we should respect our differences I thought why not help him design the simplest version of the journaling system that suits him so after some discussion and actual trials we came up with I think the simplest possible journaling system that takes minimal time to
use that's how the three-part Journal was born it's not some completely new way of approaching journaling however the goal is to keep it minimal and simple lowering the entry barrier while still maintaining its benefits if you're someone who hasn't Journal yet or is on the fence about it my objective with this video is to convince you to start by the end of it you can follow the method I will be sharing in the video or choose any other approach that works for you if you're someone who already journals you can think of this as a
friendly chat over a cup of tea about how powerful journaling can be especially in terms of the core ideas about the three-part Journal which are planning reflecting with a specific Direction in mind the system has three parts and the first is goal setting when you open the notebook the very first page is dedicated to this section by the way this is a notebook I custom designed and crafted for my husband however you can you can use any notebook for this system preferably one with dotted or lined paper rather than blank pages so that you can
benefit from the structured layout I made this section extendable so that every time he opens the notebook to start journaling his goals are right there and he can see them as a reminder here you can write down a maximum of three goals the timeline is up to you but in this particular notebook I designed I included a habit tracker or or action tracker whichever you prefer to call it with a total of three pages for goal setting each page dedicated to one month I find 3 months to be a reasonable time frame it's long enough
to see meaningful change but not so long that it feels intangible or overwhelming as an example I wrote two goals here number one being a gentle and caring mom and wife number two losing an extra 3 kilg next write down one or two actions you'll take to achieve those goals for example two actions for the first goal could be forgiving at least one incident as you know forgiveness is not an easy thing to do we humans have a natural tendency to want to get back at those who have wronged or treated us unfairly even for
our small things and even towards our loved ones however when I make forgiveness one of my actions to achieve this goal I feel feel much lighter and more at peace in situations where I need to forgive my boys or myself knowing I have committed to checking off at least one act of forgiveness per day spending time with them wholeheartedly could be my second action for the goal and for the second goal I could write down running and lifting weights these habit tracker boxes allow you to check off each day you complete your actions this way
you can see if you skip days and hold yourself account able for your progress when setting up the goal setting section in your notebook you can use a ruler to draw habit tracker boxes like this for 3 months of check offs the best part is that you only need to create the setup once every 3 months the second part of the journal is for planning this is your to-do list for tomorrow and it's dedicated to the left side of your notebook since this is a to-do list for tomorrow you can write tomorrow's datee here for
example in my case December 7th this way when tomorrow comes you can leave the notebook open on your desk making it easy to glance at your tasks and check them off as you complete them and as you can see the to-do list is divided into two parts the top section is for Action task related to your goals which you can easily reference them from the extendable first page of the goal setting section on the far left for example I might write run for 10 minutes this is one of the actions related to my goals it
can vary slightly each day tomorrow for instance I'm planning to run for only 10 minutes because I have a talking head video shoot scheduled which takes quite a bit of energy even if you already have your goals and actions written down here on the left it's helpful to specify them in detail as you write down and plan for tomorrow imagine what you'll do how you'll do it and how long you'll dedicate K to each action this bottom 2/3 of the left side is for your to-do list of daily chores and responsibilities if life's todos can
be categorized into two parts they will be managing life and leading life while the top section focuses on leading steering your life toward fulfilling your goals the bottom section is for managing the day-to-day task necessary to keep life running smoothly for instance in the managing Part I might note down tasks like completing the payment for my kids hot lunch or researching Christmas gifts for my parents and in-laws this planning too section is where everything you aim to accomplish for tomorrow whether actions related to your goals or day-to-day responsibilities they come together in one place the
beauty of the system is that the goals and have a Tracker you see on the left seamlessly influence your planning ensuring your to-do list remains intentional and directed towards what truly matters to you the right side of the notebook is resered for writing down your Reflections for the day for example this would be the reflection for December 7th the day after I wrote the todos on the left side reflection is one of the most crucial steps in mastering or fine-tuning your goals and becoming the person you aspire to be for example if your goal is
related to running a business analyzing data and reflecting on your progress can help you determine whether to stay the course or make a necessary pivot even for personal growth meaningful results are impossible without reflection without identifying the problems within ourselves we can't work on Solutions or adapt effectively if you have to take just one tip from this video Let It Be This start reflecting every day even if it's just for three minutes so here are some helpful prompts to guide your reflection what threw a pebble into your pond of mind and why in other words
what made you feel something strongly today whether it was gratitude Joy frustration or even anger and why how can you adjust or improve for tomorrow you can also try answering these questions in alignment with the goals you've set for instance since one of my goals is to be a gentle and caring mom and wife I can reflect on how I acted in alignment with this goal today I might ask myself what was my emotional state regarding this goal how did I show gentleness and care today were there moments when I could improve so make time
for reflection preferably with those goals in mind or at least start from there for example here's what I could write down I was a bit sensitive and irritated because I was preoccupied with the deadline I had to meet but Joey encouraged me with his gentle hug by analyzing your day and performance you create an opportunity to build self-awareness and refine your approach for continuous Improvement this way you move one step closer to achieving your goal as you can see this is as simple as it gets when it comes to journaling but it's still powerful even
with a small amount of time you spend daily because it harness the power of planning and reflecting more important importantly it's about planning and reflecting with your set goal in mind life can be hectic and we're often busy trying to remedy all the wear and tear but then you get directionless stagnant and tired of doing everything you do managing your life eventually falling back into mindless activities that leave you feeling empty and unsettled in other words managing your life is certainly necessary but it shouldn't take off all your day leading your life in a specific
direction is also crucial and you do this by setting goals pursuing something meaningful and becoming the person you want to be from my experience journaling is one of the best ways to do just that the solution needs to be tangible which is why I think having a notebook on your desk that you can reach all the time is great idea to help you stay consistent it should be also be simple enough with a low entry barrier so you can easily start and stick to it you don't have to replace all your screen time with journaling
or anything else right away but just taking as little as 3 minutes a day before scrolling or watching your favorite show on Netflix can make a huge difference in the coming year so I recommend getting a notebook and trying this for at least 7 days to see how it impacts how you feel back to my gift for my husband he actually likes it and has been enjoy using it so far it serves its purpose and he also mentioned that he often opens the notebook thinking he's just going to spend 3 minutes but then almost always
ends up spending more time on it that's why finding a journaling system that works for you and that suit your style and personality is so important and don't worry this is just another one I made for filming this video not the one he's using but if you're more like me and enjoy spending time journaling and writing things down down a bit more and you want to take your journaling to the next level you can check out this video where I share the system I'm currently using and also please let me know in the comments whether
I convinced you to start journaling by now if not also let me know in the comments what's holding you back I would love to hear your thoughts that's it for today as always thank you so much for watching and I'll see you in the next one bye
