Journaling for Clarity & Focus

1. Intro: Hello. My name is Hans. I'm a content creator, and I'm very excited that you're here because you're just about to start your very own journaling journey. So this course here is for if you've either never journaled before or you've dabbled in it in the past, but you're just looking for some fresh inspiration. So I first started journaling when I was a teenager over 20 years ago, and I've continued to do it all throughout this time. And I have to say, it's been one of the most impactful things in my life, and I've used it from all sorts of things to making big life decisions. So in this Skillshare class, I'm going to distill all of the hours of countless experimentation, all of the stuff I've learned through the years, videos, books I've read all into this succinct class into some of the most useful and high impact things that has helped me. So the goal is by the end of this class, these are the things we're looking to have achieved. Number one is to give you clarity and deeper understanding of your emotions than you've had in the past. So as a side note from this, I've become a lot better at living in the moment. So number two to spot patterns in your thinking and behavior that you didn't really know about and to help you uncover those blind spots. Documenting beautiful moments in your life that you would otherwise have missed and reframing your attention. And because this has forced me to think about the good things in my life, it's actually reframed and I've become a lot more grateful because of this. Number four is, I'm going to share with you various techniques of increasing productivity, helping you make better decisions in general, particularly if it's a really big and tough one with a lot of things to think about. I'm also going to share with you a technique that has helped me from remembering 10% of what I read over the long term all the way up to 80%. There's really a lot lot more. Joning is really what you make of it. There's no one set prescribed formula. So before we really delve deep into the lessons, just a quick little disclaimer. So I do share techniques in this class that helps me reduce my worry and anxiety on certain things through self reflection. But I'm not a qualified therapist and it's not what this course is about. So if it's something more serious, it doesn't replace any professional help. But I'm really excited that you're here and you're about to start this class because it will change the way you think. There is a huge community of people out there that do journal and you're about to join this wholesome group. So I'm going to share some of the techniques that I've picked up over the years, and I hope it's going to bring you as much joy as it has brought me. 2. Five Second Moment: Okay, so before we dove into some of the more involved forms of journaling, I'm going to share a technique with you that I've most consistently stuck with out of everything here. Since I discovered it five years ago. But this technique is called the five second moment, and it literally takes less than a minute every single day. And per unit of time, this technique gives you, by far the most return on your investment. And partly for this reason, this is the one I've stuck with the most consistently. With every other technique that I'm about to go through in this class, I'll dip in now. I'll do some more consistent than others, but with this one pretty much without fail from when I discovered it five years ago to today, I've done it every single day. And it's also the most satisfying to look through. So essentially, what is is very simple. The end of your day, you just sit down and you write one sentence on something significant that has happened throughout your day. No, the idea came from Matthew *****, who is a champion storyteller in his book, Storyworthy. So the premise of the book is that telling really good stories will completely change your life. And it's not just entertaining people. It has applications everywhere, you know, from romantic partners to the boardroom, to sales, to making good friends. Literally, every aspect of your life, humans are drawn to good stories. And it also makes the point that there is one big misconception. So most people think that the best stories to tell are the really wild ones. So like, for example, let's time you had to fight off a bear to save your dog. They can be entertaining in short busts, really the best stories are that other people can relate to, particularly on an emotional level. So even really mundane things that you wouldn't think are story worthy, like having a walk with your dog or having dinner with your family can be really story worthy moments. And not only can they be used, they tend to be the best. And he says that for it to be a story, every single story must have what he calls a five second moment where the whole story is building up to that one moment. So a five second moment is a moment of transformation of change. Or it could be realization or clarity. So, for example, instead of fighting off a bed to save your dog, people would relate far more to a story. Let's just say, for example, of you on Christmas Eve, all alone, feeling really lonely and upset, and suddenly your friends come and surprise you and make you cry, for example. Or just little moments with family. So the story that Matthew ***** tells is that he was a teacher and he was challenged by his students to a competition of this game called Never Have I Ever. So the story starts off real humorous, but it takes a change in tone when one of the girls never have I ever met my father's expectations. Then Matthew says to the girl, My father actually left me when I was seven. And then the five second moment comes when one of the girls says, I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I'm sorry your father left you when you were seven. It's his five second moment because for his entire life, nobody had ever said that to him. And then in that moment, internally, he finally had that realization and acceptance that his father had left him, and he was never coming back. So that was his moment of transformation or clarity or realize. He basically says that we all have these five second moments every day, like multiple times in our day. We just need to be more alert and look for them and catch them and document them down. B anyway, if you are interested in hearing more of Matthew stories, I highly recommend you going and checking out his YouTube channel where he posts full length stories. Of course, I don't do his stories anywhere near justice on here. So imagine at the end of the day, if I was to say to you, you know, you have to tell a story just for a couple of minutes of you talking about something that happened think about what that would be. You're not writing out the entire story with this technique, one sentence, the five second moment. For example, some things that I've written in the past are that, you know, I ordered an apricot tart for the entire family, and everyone was really happy and grateful. And my mom told me a story of how food was so important from her as a child growing up, or I had a nice compliment from someone at the owing club or even meeting up with a friend that I've known each other for 20 years and having that realization of all of the changes we've gone through. I really like this technique because by definition, they're very small moments. So, two, three months down the line, if you hadn't noted it down, it would have been completely lost forever. Over time, the amazing thing about this technique is even though it takes just like 1 minute to do at the end of every day, which is basically nothing, you start developing this lens to start looking for these moments and start being more grateful and to start looking for these little bits of beauty in your life. Like, for example, if I asked you, when was the last time you saw a pink car, you probably wouldn't remember. But if I was to ask you to specifically look for pink cars, they will probably pop up all over the show. So the same thing, if I ask you to look for, you know, impactful or story moments in your life, it shows that your life is actually full of it's more about shifting your focus. Calls it the homework for life, which I've really taken on board. So as I said, just one sentence idea of end of every day. You can do it however you like. In the book, Matthew does it on an Excel spreadsheet. For me, personally, I do it on my notion setup on my end of day review, but you could do it in your little notebook. You could do it on a piece of paper, just absolutely anything as long as you make the effort to. This is your first assignment to start building up that momentum. What's something you want to remember? So if you're watching this class and your days just started, make a note of it and remember, go about your day and start looking for these things that you want to write down at the end of day, but just make sure you do something today. On a spreadsheet, notebook. Also, once you've done that, take a picture of it or a screenshot and share it on a project gallery to inspire others. So I do challenge you to take this homework for life. It's very funny. The class has just started, and I've already given you a homework for life. Well, there's a lot more to come. So on the subject of tools, pen, paper, notebook, physical versus digital, we'll go through that in the 3. Tools for Journalling: So the great thing about journaling is you really don't need much to get started. If you're watching this video, you already have the stuff you need to get started today. We needed something to write with, a pen or even a pencil and some paper. Or if you're watching this on your laptop or your phone, you can just start journaling on there digitally. Min important thing and the best tool in the world is what you have right now. So you can start journaling right now and start building that habit and that momentum. Having said that, though, as you progress through this journaling practice and this hobby and you start really enjoying it and doing it more, there are things that you can pick up along the way that will increase your enjoyment of it over time. And there are certain things that has made me enjoy this hobby a lot more, at least. What I would advise is once you really get into it, not to use a ballpoint pen, like a big or something like this, purely because of the fact that economically, they're not very good. It requires you to put pressure down to lay down a mark. So for longer writing sessions, it can lead to cramps in your hands, which is really not fun if your hands are hurting and it just interrupts the whole flow. And you're far less likely to stick with something if it's not fun. What I'd recommend instead is picking up a rollerball. You can buy these really cheaply from Japanese bands like Uni Ball or Pi very reasonably priced. And the difference between a roller ball and a ballpoint is that one uses oil based ink, and BallpointPen uses water based inks, which are far closer to phantom pen inks, and it also lays down ink with just the weight of the pen itself, so you don't have to apply pressure which hurts your hands over time. So personally for my journaling, I use phantom pens. So for you that follow me on my social media, you'll know that I'm a huge fotomPennerd. I find out when I journal using a fountain pen, it turns it into almost an event. I enjoy it so much more. But I only mention it for awareness. There is zero practical benefit to using a fountain pen. So don't feel like you have pressure to eventually buy. So now onto the actual journal itself, there are a lot of really beautiful journals out there. So it takes some time to find one, that makes you really happy. It might seem like an insignificant thing now, but with a journal, it's something you're likely to keep for life, and it marks this big period in your life. So you want to have something that's quite nice. So the main important thing is, particularly if you're using a fountain pen is to think about the paper. It might seem like a weird thing to think about. But if you are using a fountain pen, just make a note that not all papers are fountain pen friendly. So if you use really cheap papers with a fountain pen, it's going to do things like this ink is going to splay out. There's going to be stuff that'll be stuck in between your ties, and it'll bleed over to the other side, and it's just a not pleasant experience. Your writing looks depends as much on the paper as it does on your ink. So then the other important aspect, of course, is the whole digital versus physical debate. So personally, I'm very traditional when it comes to journaling, so I far, far prefer the old ways. There's just really nothing that beats pen and paper and the occasion of it and just how it makes you feel. But having said that, in this day and age, there is a place for digital journals, because just the vast amount of tools and features it has, it just can't be replicated on purely physical journals. And the really good thing is, you don't have to pick one or the other. It's not really that set and tone. It's whatever works. So personally, I leverage both. So the one I use most is my notion setup. So I use it for my end of day review, I use it for my weekly, monthly, quarterly reviews where it's just really easy just to jot things down and to note things down. I do it for my goals. And my five second moment is actually in my Notion setup. Another one I also use on my iPhone is a native Apple journal, which is really good because it can pull in your photos. I can pull in, like, music you've listened to, how many steps you've walked or sort of just random data. I can create its own highlights, which I think is a really cool feature. A lot of other apps have this. If you don't use an iPhone, there's the day one app lots of things like this. So it's really cool to just leverage both because obviously, you won't be able to have that. Your physical journal is not going to automatically collect your highlights and feed them back to you as an example. But of course, there is no replacement for just physically laying down ink. In terms of split between the two, in terms of time spent journaling on digital and physical, for me, personally, 95% of my time is done on my physical journal, and my digital journal, yeah, about 5% of the time. Sometimes I literally spend hours a day just mulling over things, just writing down stream of consciousness, random stuff on my physical journal. But on the digital journal, it's much more like businesslike. So I'll go in, I'll enter what I need to enter, and then I'll just move. So a really common way I use my digital journal is, let's say I'm out and about and I don't have access to my physical journal, and I have a moment of realization or a business idea comes into my head or just something I really want to get down. And I know because I have a bad memory that I'm going to lose it. I just jot it down in my digital journal. Or if there's something I really want to write about later, but I don't want to forget it. So I'll write down, okay, maybe I want to talk about how I felt about this thing. And then in the evening when I have some time to do a dedicated journaling session, I'll bring up my digital notes and then I'll use that as a prompt, and then I'll expand on it a bit more as an example. Other things I like to use are stickers. It might seem a little silly, but it does add a flair and a whole aesthetic look to your journal, which I really like. And that's pretty much the main stuff. So it's a really, really low barrier to entry hobby that really everyone can do. Okay, so we can really get into the meat of things now. So things with journaling, there is no right or wrong way. And it's not about prescribing. This class is more about uncovering your natural style, see what gels with you, see what you resonate. So I'm going to go through a bunch of techniques here. And I recommend giving all of these at least a try. Find certain styles you like, try stuff. And it's not even about finding one setup that works for you. It's doing that, but it's constantly evolving through time, as you are constantly evolving and your life is changing and your needs change. Alright, let's grab that pen and carry on. 4. Stream of Consciousness: So in the first lesson we talked about the very quickest way of journaling, which is our five second moment. So we've gone from our quickest now to the one that takes pretty much the longest and it's called the stream of consciousness. So the great thing about this one is also the freest and the one I find the easiest. So essentially, what you do is you literally just write down whatever's on your mind. There's no right or wrong. There's no judgment. Whatever's in your head, whatever you want to write about, you just put that you transfer it from your brain through your hands onto the paper. So it could be your dreams, things about your past, stuff you're worried about, ideas you have, upcoming things that you're excited about, pretty much just anything. I really like this one, and I find it quite therapeutic because there's a direct link from your mind to the act of writing. So the main thing about stream of consciousness is really not to overthink it and just let your hands go. So in terms of the main theme of content of what to write about in stream of consciousness, and it boils down to a lot of these journaling techniques is how you feel and understanding your emotions. One of the most common ways is just writing down how I feel in that moment. So, for example, I feel really great today because I just came back and I had a great day of exercise, and I'm feeling really relaxed right now. Or I'm feeling really frustrated because I haven't made progress on this report, and then I can expand from there. I can talk about what happened today. I can talk about notable interactions. Stream of consciousness is just great to just unload your mind sometimes if you're feeling overwhelmed. So for me, personally, it will generally be a mix of day to day stuff. So here are some ideas and things that I've used stream of consciousness to write about and how it's helped Number one, as we mentioned, is how I feel. So years ago, I read this book called Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Garman. So essentially what it talks about is how, even though we think we're quite logical creatures, actually, our emotions are actually hugely, hugely important part of everything not just to our well being, but in terms of things like you associate with logic. So making decisions. They were looking at patients that had a part of their brain damage that was linked with emotions, and they couldn't feel any emotions. And even with the very basic decision making things, they couldn't make decisions because they didn't know how they felt about. Daniel Goldman says that we generally think of ourselves as logical creatures. But actually, everything is deeply rooted in our emotions, and understanding your emotional self and how we feel is hugely important. Not just in the areas you'd think. So, for example, in the corporate environment, it was previously thought that people with higher IQs generally are high performers, but that's actually not the case. The correlation is actually far stronger with people that are very emotionally intelligent in terms of how much of a high performer they are. Another thing he talks about is the human brain is good at a few things. So remembering past events is good at spotting patterns. But one thing the human brain is very bad at is remembering past states of emotion. So writing down how I feel about stuff in that present moment is a really good way to document. Sometimes, like two or three months down the line, you look back and you're like, Wow, I can't believe that was how I felt at this time because it's changed so much. And it's something you would have otherwise forgotten. So number two is I use it to document wins and events that has happened throughout the day. Sometimes I write about really mundane things and I just reflect on them. I'll sometimes have moments of realization or shower thoughts, and I'll just write them down and then explore them. So number four is organizing my thoughts and giving me clarity is another really big one for me, actually. So basically listing down everything I think about. So, of course, it wouldn't be the one day if we have, like so many thoughts in our heads. We're always juggling, like, different things, you know, family, to work, to hobbies, to friends, and, like, 1 million other things, career, whatever it is. But the thing is, usually the most urgent and loudest thoughts in our head are not the most important one. So we don't give the correct weighting of our attention to the things that are most important, actually, it's the other way around, it's to things that seem most urgent. So for example, long term goal oriented things or fulfilling things, I keep being pushed back and back and back and to the bottom of your mind. So what this does is if you lay down all of your thoughts, everything is there in front of you and it's clear and you're not holding everything in your mind, and you can give everything the correct attention it deserves. So even that quieter voice in your head gets the attention, too. So, number five is spotting patterns over time. So one of the most powerful things about journaling is over time, you start building up this archive of things, and certain themes will come up time and again, and you start spotting things that you didn't even realize, and it's a theme. Maybe you need to change or maybe develop on a bit. So, for example, what certain things make you feel low or good or in a certain way? Her six is being more mindful and living more in the moment. Number seven, of course, I find it fun. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think so, and it's an excuse for me to use my pens. Number eight, sometimes, I find it really good to do stream of consciousness because it's just freeing to have no goals, no boundaries, and just to write whatever. Now, so I did say before that was journaling. There's no right and wrong way to do it. And we're not even that far in the course, but I already am giving you an exception. And the exception here is that we don't try and make it a performance. So what I mean by that is don't try and write it as if someone else is going to read it. Don't try and artificially make ourselves sound good, or don't even say PT things if those are not things that you believe deep down in your core. Don't avoid writing about negative emotions if that's what you're feeling. And what you write doesn't have to be good writing, or it doesn't have to make sense. Like, there is zero judgment. Just write the rest, truest reflection of yourself. It should be like a mirror, because you're not trying to convey yourself to someone or even yourself in a certain so my point is obviously not just to write about negative things, but it's okay to have negative emotions and to have that balance, to have the negative as well as the good things. And that's really the only way to get the full benefit out of stream of consciousness writing. I find it a very calm and peaceful endeavor, and I always feel lighter after I've done a session of dream of consciousness. So again, give it a try. So start by writing what you have on your mind right now or start with how you're feeling right at this moment, and then just expand there and let it go where it naturally wants to go. 5. Morning Pages: So related to stream of consciousness and another practice that I have done in the past, are what's called morning pages. I'll only talk about it very briefly, so it's on the radar because it's much more involved, and there is an entire book on it. So it's a very popular journaling method for creatives, and it was invented by Julia Cameron way back in 1992. So it was designed originally to help those in the creative industry. So writers, producers, musicians, artists, stuff like this. So it was originally designed for people in those sorts of industries who have a creative block and to help them unblock. To really help get their creative juices flowing, but it has been gaining a lot of popularity since then, and it's expanded to far beyond the creative industry. So people use it for business, for general, personal. It's just anyone can use it now. The reason why I don't want to get too deep into it because it is a really time consuming endeavor, and it's very involved. So essentially what you do is at the beginning of every single day, you wake up, you set an alarm an hour before your day starts, and you write in long hand three pages of basically stream of consciousness of what's on your mind. And it really is stream of consciousness. So she says that, basically, the main thing here is really not to overthink and she takes that to an extreme. So just to keep your hand moving, if you run out of stuff to say and you're saying, I don't know what to write, this is stupid, you literally write it down three sentences in a row until something else comes into your head. So it's a full on 12 week program, and each week has a certain theme, a certain prompt, and it takes you through an entire journey of understanding yourself and recovering from the past. Beaty Del's very deep into your thoughts and your patterns and understanding yourself. So I've personally really loved this. I've done it in the past, and I will do it at some point again. But I probably wouldn't recommend you do this straight out starting out just because of how involved and time consuming it is. And it is a little bit tricky just to stay consistent with this one because of how long it takes. I'd way rather you do a few sentences, but consistently, rather than doing this thing where you wake up for two or three weeks in a row, write three A four pages and then burn out and stop again. You're going to get less value. But having said that, if you are really keen and you sign up for this course because you want, like, a really big reset into your life, it is something you can look into. If you have a lot to process, I would recommend purchasing the book. Then after you've gone through the program, you can scale it down to more kind of sustainable levels of journal. 6. Five Minute Journal: So you do get some days where you just don't know what to write, and you're staring at the bank page, and it's quite scary, and you would prefer to have some structure. So, in this case, you can try something like the five minute Journal, which was advocated by Tim Ferris. So with this method, it's quick, it's easy. It gives you structure, and it gives you a lot of return for your time because you're getting straight to the point. So the first prompt is, I am grateful for. So with this one, of course, you can write about some of the really bigger things in your life that you're really grateful for. So like family, your friends, your careers, your health, and other really big thing. The beauty of this is if you're doing this every single day, it forces you to delve a little bit deeper to look at the smaller things in your life that you might not have thought about to be grateful about and finding gratitude in smaller things that you normally might have missed and you maybe take for granted a little bit. Another thing it helps you be more mindful. So focusing really on the moment, looking at what's around you right now, that's a good thing you've got going on. So for me, for example, on some days, I'm really grateful to have a really peaceful day where it's just me. I have a couple of Matro where it hits just right and sat down with a book I really like. It's just a really peaceful moment. Or if you're walking through a really beautiful park on your way home, for example, just taking those extra few seconds just to really take in and appreciate nature. Yeah, so it just trains you to notice those really small things. Number two is, what do I need to do to make today great? So I find this one so powerful. So for me, in the past, and even at some points today, there'll always be a task that I've been putting off and off for ages, and just the thought of it just makes me not want to. But I don't know what it is, but I just can't bring myself to do it because it just seems too daunting to do. But the thing is, if I was to scale that right back down, it's like, Can I just write on a piece of paper that I am going to do this? That doesn't seem so daunting, but it's something funny about committing and writing something down. It just triggers your brain. Once it's written down, it seems a lot less daunting. And for me, at least, having written it down and committed to it, it sets things in motion that I'm far more likely to do that task. And the other thing is, if you have a few things to do, writing them all down just helps train your focus, and you're far less likely to procrastinate on it. So in terms of the great day part, I tend to focus on stuff that I directly can control. So let's say if you have an interview coming up, I'm not going to say, today would be a great day if I get this job because that's not completely in your control. You write, you know, Have I done my prep, have I done my research? Have I gone through all the interview questions that are potentially going to come up? So that would define what a great day looks like for you. So at the end of the day, if you've gone through all of your prep and if you've prep, best way possible. What the final result is doesn't impact on whether you've had a great day because you define it at the start. So you're not going to get to the end of the day and move the goalpost as to whether it was a good day, which I think is a really powerful thing, too. So you can just take that win. I'm a three our daily affirmations. So over the years, I've had a bit of a funny relationship with affirmations. It's not something I do a lot, but I have realized in some situations, it can help, but I think some people take this a little bit too far. I have come around to daily affirmations. But I make sure these are things I actually resonate with because as humans, a big part of our behavior comes from our internalized identity of ourselves, of who we are. So it's not about being fake and affirming that we are the most amazing person in the world, and everything we do will succeed. I'm saying I'm God's gift to the planet and just repeating that on and on again. But a far more productive way to use it and one I resonate with is reminding yourself of the good traits you know example, I'd say, I'm very consistent, and I will persevere and finish projects if they are important to me. So the great thing about the five minute journal is it hits a lot of the things that you would have talked about in your stream of consciousness, but it's hypercdensed, those three proms and you can continue going on about your day. Just that 5 minutes spent answering those three questions every single day will already give you so much clarity. And if you feel like you can expand on each one of those three things. So again, try it for yourself. Go through these three proms, write down your three things, doing the five minute journal, and if you do feel comfortable, share it with others by posting it on the community gallery page to help inspire others. So it might not seem a lot, but if you do it every day, you start seeing the power of compound. 7. Journalling for Disappointment: So when something disappointing or something I perceive bad to have happened, almost without fail, I'll go to my journal to help me process what's happened and how I feel about it. So journaling is my comfort space, and it helps me to internalize what's happened. So say you didn't get that job you really wanted or you've just had a breakup, or you've dropped your favorite mug, and it's really sentimental. What are some questions I ask myself. Normally, I follow a whole process. So the first thing, of course, is just to dump my emotions. How do I feel right now about this whole situation? Just so remember, there's no judgment. Negative emotions aren't inherently something you should always avoid. It's okay to feel sad and wallow and process a bit. So then number one is just to check in with yourself and write down everything you feel. So getting to the bottom and labeling my emotions. So this will start off quite easy because the first emotions are going to be really obvious. But as you continue writing, it's about teasing out those emotions and feelings and interconnected things that might not be so obvious. But it's always worth taking the time to really accurately label all of the emotions are going on within you, so you understand. Because a big part of confusion and frustration is that there's emotions going on inside of you, but you don't really know why or where they're coming from. So this is the first step to getting to the bottom of that, which will help you inform what decisions you want to make next. So, number two, what does this actually mean for us now? Like, are these thoughts or emotions valid? So number three is, how can I make the most of this event? So what this does is it automatically pivots your thinking. So if it's a breakup, for example, maybe now you can explore some of the things you've wanted to explore but couldn't before in your relationship as an example. And number four is, what are we going to do about this? So the main thing here is all of these steps doesn't have to be done in the same session. Actually, I would advise against it. It's about just letting things take their natural course. It takes time to process and move on in your own time, because, of course, it can be a bit much and a bit of an overload to go from, you know, I feel really sad and disappointed about this thing to right. Okay, what are we going to do about it next? Just, you know, be patient and let things take their time, but go through these steps. 8. Journalling for Anxiety: So everyone deals with anxiety and worries about life differently. And over the years, I've tried a few techniques. So the first thing is, if I'm worried, just to write down and label that thing. So going back to our stream of consciousness example, once you write something down, it unloads your brain, and it automatically allows your brain to think about the next thing. And the next thing is asking myself, actually, is there something I can do to alter the outcome? If the answer is yes, I immediately shrink down the time frame, because I find that a huge part of worry is things about the unknown. So for example, if there are a lot of things you need to do on the run up to your interview, that increases worry because the longer the time frame you think, the more you worry. If you limit your time frame to just today, what can I do today? More actions I can take? That increases the certainty a lot. And for me, it has reduced my worry a lot because I've got something to occupy my brain with and then I'll just do that again and again. And once I've gotten to the stage where I've done everything physically I can in my power, I tell myself, Well, I don't need to worry because I've done everything I can and trusting that everything will work out okay and not trying to waste energy on things that are outside of our control. This is getting a little bit philosophical, but understanding that I'm part of the wider universe. If I've done everything I can, the universe is going to take its course anyway. And remembering this quote from Seneca saying that we actually often suffer more in imagination than in reality. So what if you've done everything in your power and you're still worried? So this is still affecting you, a concept that I really like from the former Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, which reframes the whole issue. So he says that people often pray for a certain outcome, so for a certain thing to happen or a certain thing not to happen. But often the only thing we are fully in control of is ourselves. So why not instead of praying for something that is out of our control to happen or not happen? Why don't we use that power and pray for ourselves, not to desire that thing to happen or not happen and not to fear that thing from happening. Going back to that interview example that you really wanted, how can we be not so desperate to really want this job? How can we put our whole identity and concepts of success or failure on whether we get this interview, which is not even 100% in our control. Well, one example is maybe instead of using that energy, we would have waited on worrying. We can research different opportunity like a plan B, either another job or we could go traveling if it doesn't work out. Or maybe if none of this works out, we can start our own business. There are so many ways to reframe, and it takes away the fear because you know that whatever happens, you'll be fine as long as you've done everything you. So to summarize, number one is what are we worried about? How do we feel? Label the worst case scenario. Yeah, number two, of course, is what's the very worst that can happen? Number three is can we control it or do something about it? Number four is, I, yes, how can we break it down into very small chunks that we can control? And what are the next immediate tasks? Number five is, how can we maximize the next 24 hours or even the next hour? Number six is what are we going to do tomorrow? Number seven is, if there's nothing more we can do, how can we reframe? How can we be not so desperate for a particular outcome that is not directly in our control? Probably out of all of these steps is allowing myself to be proud that I've done everything I can, regardless of the result. So in my journal, not denying myself the opportunity to be happy to be linked to a certain event. I'm allowed to be happy and proud how the day has gone. And knowing that if I do everything in my power today and I repeat that every single day, focusing one day at a time, that trusting eventually things will work out. And to let go of the outcome, things will eventually work out even if that's not in the way that I had originally envisioned and to really let go of the outcome and let the universe just run its course. 9. Journalling for Decision Making: So journaling for decision making is actually a really great use case for me, just because you get everything in your mind, all of the different considerations and decisions all out there on paper. So nothing gets missed, and you're not forgetting certain points just based on whatever you remember or feel in that particular moment. So, of course, every decision is unique and your situation will be unique to you. But with every decision, there are some core elements that are common to basically everyone. So let's just break it down into a step by step process. So some things I like to ask myself. Number one, what is the driving force for each case? And then number two is what's the first emotion that you feel for each case? Number three, is for both paths, what would it actually cost you? So the main thing here, what we're asking ourselves is what are we actually sacrificing? And by definition, if it's a close decision, you are sacrificing one thing or another. Otherwise it would just be an easy decision. But it's understanding that with each path, you're sacrificing something, what that thing is, and is it acceptable? And it's about being very clear and just laying that. Nmaphor is how much of this is inertia. And this is actually surprisingly a lot bigger than what most people think. Many people are stuck in a particular position, not because it's the best situation for them or what they want out of life, but just because they're stuck there and it takes too much activation energy to move. Which option is likely to lead to pain in the short term and which option is likely to lead to pain in the long term? What does your gut say at this very moment? What feels right? And number seven, of course, is there more information that you could gather to help you make a more informed decision? So, of course, listening to your guts is all well and good, but sometimes having more information can be just hugely insightful. So let's just say as an example, you're about to make this huge decision. You want to just pack up your life and move to a different country. I don't know, it could be Bali or Portugal or something like this. And, you know, you've listened to your guts. You've thought of the pros and cons. But maybe sometimes more information is good for you. So instead of just making a decision here and now, why don't you speak to some actually lives there or who has lived there, arrange a coffee with them and just pick their brains and get a first hand account of the pros and the cons. That's just an example, but more information almost never does you any harm. Number eight is, if hypothetically you couldn't fail, which option would you choose? So this helps quantify how much of that is down to fear. Find out for basically every single decision, all of these sorts will come into my mind at some point, and it's about laying everything down. Then usually what happens is, I get to the point where I realize the sticking point is actually one of these points then that needs to be resolved in some way or another. And once that's pinpointed, I delve a little bit deeper into it and I journal about it. And then it becomes a lot clearer what the situation is and what steps I need to do next. As a very final point, if you have gone through all of these points and you are still struggling, Naval Ravkan makes a really good point and a framework that he uses for making tough decisions. So going back to the point of is this likely to be more painful in the short term or the long term? With Naval Ravkan, if it's a very close decision and it's a 50 50 at this point, he will always pick the decision that is more likely to lead to pain in the short term and have a payoff in the long term, which I think is a really good policy to go by. You want to take the hit in the short term for the longer term payoff. 10. Book Notes and Learning Logs: So this is another really high value use of journaling, and this is book and learning logs. So research has shown that actually the best way for us to retain information is to immediately review what we've just learned. So I don't do this type of journaling method that often, only if it's a particular topic that I'm really enjoying, like a book I'm really enjoying reading and a particular topic that I find particularly engaging and I want to retain more of it. So, personally, I've always enjoyed reading. From as a kid today, it's something I've always stuck with. But the problem is, particularly if it's a non fiction book, it's a huge time commitment, and I'll spend, let's say, you know, a couple of weeks or even up to a month reading some non fiction book. Let's just say, like, two, three months down the line, you asked me to talk about this book. I would have forgotten most of it. And sometimes, even if I sit down and read a book, say, for 45 minutes, I read like two chapters or something, and an hour later, someone speaks to me and says, Oh, can you just summarize what you've just read? And then I'll sit down and think, Oh, actually, what did I just read? Like, a lot of it has just gone, which is quite embarrassing. So I did do some more research into this whole subject of retaining what we read. And I was really surprised to see that we only retain about 10% of information that's conveyed to us in a passive way, like reading or being lectured to. But at the same time, if I was being honest with myself, it kind of tracks with my past experiences. So the long and short of this whole study is that passive methods like reading and being lectured to are really bad. But the best ways of retaining information are active means. So research says that immediately using and retrieving that information helps consolidate that in your brain. So in this case, writing about what we've just read. So often, what I'll do is after a reading session, I'll literally just write bullet points of everything I can remember since the last reading session. Then I'll write it into my own words to process it a bit more. At this stage, it often surprises me, actually, how little I remember, because when you're reading it, your brain just kind of convinces you, Oh, yeah, I know this, I'll remember this. It's fine. Only when you actually have to use it, it's actually not there. And the good thing is, once I've done this and it becomes super obvious to me that I've forgotten about it. Next time, it does retrain my brain because I know I can't get away with just convincing myself that I've understood it, I actually have to retrieve that information. So it makes my future reading sessions much more productive because now I'm actually actively trying to remember it because I know I have to use it in an hour or so. So afterwards, I try to process it in terms of, like, do I agree with everything I've just read? Can I find examples of what I've just read in everyday life? So let's say I'm reading an economics book and it's talking about, I don't know, like booms and things. When was the last boom that happened? I I'm reading a psychology book, like, when was the last time I observed this kind of behavior in my everyday life? And then I'll write about those things. So once I've written everything that I can remember, I go in and fill in the gaps. So what I do is when I read my books, I take highlights, and then I save them to my notion set. Now it's a case of going through my notion and looking at my favorite highlights. So this will plug the gap of things I've forgotten. And then I'll just repeat the process again in terms of, like, processing what are looking for examples in real life, stuff like this. So now reading has gone from being a passive experience where I'm only remembering about 10% to being a very active experience where it's gone up to around 80%. So it's not something I do super often just because it takes a lot of time, and it takes a lot of effort to do. But it's always fun. And then if there's a book that you particularly like, it can be useful. And, of course, it doesn't have to be a book. Like, there's so many mediums that you can learn nowadays. So, for example, if you've listened to something on a podcast, just taking that audio information and putting it into written information. That can be super useful or YouTube videos. So much of the stuff I learned is through YouTube now, so you can write about something something you've watched on YouTube. It could be absolutely anything. So that's the homework for this one. I want you to write an extract about something that you found really interesting from a YouTube, a podcast or a book or an article 0R absolutely or even the shorts, absolutely anything. Share it with us in the Project Gallery. So there's a lot of benefits to this. So one of the best ways to learn something from the study is teaching. So you're inadvertently teaching other people stuff. You're inspiring other people. And I always find that it's really interesting to learn about like niche topics and inspiring others. So yeah, make sure you share that in the project gallery with everyone. 11. Three Things for a Great Day: So a simple, quick, and really effective one is writing out three things that would make today a great day. So I use this one generally, if I'm having a slump and I really need to refocus and I have a lot of tasks that I've got backlogged. I need to refocus, get myself in gear, and go through my tasks. So most people would say to do this at the start of every day to write down three things you want to achieve by the end of that day. And for me, I think when my day has already started, that's probably a bit late. I find that I much, much prefer doing it the evening before. I write down the three things I would make tomorrow a great day. So this way, I find out I'm already pre primed in the morning. So I've thought about those things. I've had the night to sleep on it. And as soon as I wake up I see those things that I've already worked on the night before, and I just go about hitting those things off instead of waking up and then spending some time thinking, Oh, what should I do today, and blah blah blah? And then I get into this whole cycle of procrastination. And I find out in the morning, I have a lot of stuff already ticked off, and they'll give me a dopamine rush. And there's something about writing it in the evening because it's a different day. You're doing it tomorrow. It just feels like the stakes are lower. So I'm going to say, Okay, I'm going to do this, this this. And then, okay, we can just do it tomorrow. Whereas, if it's on the same day, I don't know. Maybe it's just me. I just feel a little bit more overwhelming to do that. I don't do this every single day, only when there's particular moments when I feel really behind your stuff, and I really want to have, like, a really focused sess clear things up and to get me back on track. And if it's a really big task that you're feeling really anxious about, it's about breaking those into smaller tasks. So let's just say if I have to do my annual tax return, which takes a lot of step and it takes ages to do, I can just write start tax return, download bank statements. There'll be other things on the list, number two is maybe clear my inbox. Number three, go to the gym. So the things I would say is not to get overly ambitious, set three things that you know what you're going to do. So it's not about doing everything in one day, but it's just about that consistency. So even if you break into very small blocks, you take those three things off, next day, do the same, do the same, building up that momentum, and things really, really 12. Evening Review: I So if you're like me, sometimes it'll be more your thing to journal in the evening. You might prefer the cama environment when everything is done and it's not so frantic and it's not like a deadline where you have to do everything in 5 minutes. One thing is taking the time to reflect on your day, particularly if you have a really busy day and there's so many things going on in your head and you're always rushing around. You have lots of responsibilities, things to do, people to see, and you've just not had a moment just for yourself. So this is really important because it gives you that opportunity just to process everything. So it could be interactions you've had with people with something you've read or just whatever you want to think about a little bit more. For example, how did your business meeting go? Or say, you went to an art gallery and you saw a piece of artwork, how did that make you feel? Or it doesn't even have to be critical. So this practice was actually carried out by Greeks philosopher Epicurius, where similar to stream of consciousness, he advocates just writing down your thoughts without any judgment and reflecting on them. So the main premise of this is just to help you relax and find pleasure in the present moment. Which is something I've been working on a lot personally. So what are some themes for your evening reflections? Who write about what you're grateful for what do I need to do to progress my goals in the next 24 hours? What did I learn today? What excited me? What could I improve on and how do I feel? So this is really powerful because it helps you document those things over time. So if you're behaving in a certain way, if you're making particular observations or if a certain feeling comes or if you feel a certain way about something, it's building up that document over time and spotting that pattern. And the same goes for wins and things you're grateful for. So I do this one quite a lot because I feel like it gives me a lot of clarity and calmness, particularly at the end of a crazy day. 13. Class Project: So the project here is to showcase your unique style. So the prerequisite here is you want to have tried at least a couple of the styles throughout this class. So it could be anything from stream of consciousness to five minute journaling. So you get a feel for what you like, what you don't like. Then you just showcase to everyone what combo works best for you. So, for example, often my setup in the morning is, first thing, I'll do my morning pages. Then I'll always have my journal buy my laptop, so I can jot down, like, random thoughts, you know, a sentence here and I feel. And this would be throughout the day. And every couple of days or so, I'll do some book notes, and at the end of the day without fail, I do my five second moment in my notion setup. Sometimes I'll do an evening review, but this is more of a mix depending on the situation and on the day. And in terms of what I write about, it will be a mix. So sometimes it'll be heavily based on how I feel. Sometimes it'll be very matter of fact like this happened, and just documenting. Yeah, show us all what excites you most about your setup. Like, what's your favorite part about it? And what benefits have you gained from it. Now, of course, I do know journaling is a really personal thing, so I'm not going to say, share your entire journal entry or whatever you're comfortable with. So, absolutely, you can share your entries with us if you wish. Another way you could do it is just write out your setup and tell us the best mix for you, so it helps inspire others, and maybe we could all take inspiration from each other. You can be very creative in how you share it. And remember, the power of journaling is in compound. So it's always evolving. So don't feel like you always have to stick to one certain way, but just make sure you journal in some form, try different things, always experiment, but to continue to do it. And then over time, we can look back at this really rich record that we'll keep for life and we see that journey that we've come along from the beginning. So even though journaling is seen as a very solitary endeavor, in my opinion, it takes a certain person to journal. So, for example, if I meet someone in my everyday life and they say, they journal, I immediately feel like we have something in common. So you're also joining, like, a big community of people, which is really exciting. So, yes, please share with us in the project gallery what your journaling setup is. I'm really curious 14. Closing Thoughts: Right, so you've made it to the end of the journaling course. I'm really glad that I've had this chance to go on this journey with you and share some of my favorite techniques. And, of course, this is just the start of, like, a big journey for you. So just to recap on some of the things we've talked about. So journaling is a highly personal thing. Doesn't have to be beautifully written. You don't have to overthink it. It's meant to be a true reflection of yourself. And your safe space. And like I said before, it is part of a really wholesome community. Just the fact that you've made it to the very end of this course and participated in the projects. Like, you are now in the community. So keep uploading stuff and sharing with your classmates on here, but I really like to stay connected with you. So if you like to stay connected, you can follow me on my Tik Tok. It's Hands Can property with underscores. Or you can sign up to my newsletter to handstaschan.com, where I share a lot of updates about my life, and a lot of it actually is centered around journaling and fountain pens and productivity and things like this. So have fun. Feel free to email me, message me, reach out, and most of all, just enjoy.