Journaling is not just
for 12 year old girls! Journaling can be a powerful weapon in your get-it-done
arsenal, and it’s easy to do. You can and should put all kinds of things in a
goal journal, not just your thoughts and feelings on a given day.
Journaling is just one
way of tracking your actions and successes, and yes, even your setbacks and
failures. It also keeps your goal right in front of your face so you keep on
top of taking action steps each and every day. It keeps all your ideas and
revelations in one place so you can go back and review whenever you want. For
example, if you are having trouble getting motivated one day because you feel
like you’ve been working hard, but making little progress, going back into your
goal journal is a wonderful way to help you see that all of those little
actions really are paying off in a big way. So what should you keep in your
goal journal? Start with these ideas and add to them as you see fit.
1.
Detailed goal--Write down your exact goal in as much detail
as possible. Describe it in a way that makes you feel excited about what your
life will be like when you achieve your objective.
2.
Your Why--Your Why is the big reason why you want to reach the goal you have
defined for yourself. It’s the reason you are willing to take the massive
action steps needed to change your life for the better.
3.
Massive action plans and schedule--When you make the plan for how you will go
about reaching your goal, write it here. Writing it down is important so that
you can track your efforts so you can see what actions are creating the most
results.
4.
Braindumps--A brain dump is just a list of actions that you need to take in no
particular order. Sometimes all the tasks you need to take build up in your
head, making you confused about where you should start and what you should do
next.
5.
Prioritize--After you do a brain dump, organize the tasks into a priority list
and add them to your daily and weekly to-do lists.
6.
Daily to-do list--Write out your to-do lists here so they are
always handy.
7.
Aha’s--As you make massive action, you will have inspiration or aha moments
when something becomes clear. Capture those ideas here so that you can refer to
them later when you are ready to put them into action.
8.
Journal entries--Yes, you should actually journal. Sometimes
there’s nothing better than stream of consciousness writing to help you solve a
problem or get your worries off your chest. It’s a therapeutic and
inspirational way to work.