For many years I have been searching for the perfect journal. I’ve tried many: Daytimers, Franklin Planner, Moleskine, the Best Journal, and several others. While these are all good journals/diaries, I could not find one that fit my complicated (some would say neurotic) needs. So one year after the publication of my book, “Self-Aware: A Guide for Success in Work and Life“, I decided it was time to create my own journal/diary.
Here are nine qualities I hoped to capture:
1. I was looking for a daily journal which would compare my intentions for a day to the actuality of what I did during the day.
2. I wanted a journal which helped me stay more focused on what I intended to achieve during each meeting I had scheduled that day.
3 I wanted a journal which would capture all actions that I had committed to during each meeting I had during the day. If there was no action coming out of the meeting, why bother with the meeting?
4. I wanted a journal which helped me maintain my focus during the day. I’m highly distractible, so anything that helps maintain focus is a great benefit to me.
5. I’m an avid goal setter. I wanted a journal which would help me to stay focused on my short-term and long-term goals.
6. I strongly believe that life is a journey where, if we are attentive, we can get a little bit better day by day. I wanted a journal which would help me to reflect on my day and my progress toward becoming a better, more self-aware person.
7. Years ago, to become more of a positive person, I began tracking what I called the “the abundances of the day.” These required me to focus every day on what I appreciate about life. I find by writing and recording in a book, I am able to be more mindful, positive, hopeful, and self accepting.
8. I believe we are engaged in a lifelong learning process. Every day there’s something about ourselves that we can learn. We can learn from our mistakes, and we can learn from our successes. I believe it is important to track every day life lessons learned.
9. It’s also been somewhat of an obsession for me to try to take good care of myself and others who are important in my life. As a behavioral psychologist, I believe it is also important to track how we take care of ourselves and what we do to take care of others important in our lives.
With these nine points in mind, I embarked on the adventure of creating my own journal. I added some key lessons from my 2016 publication, “Self-Aware: A Guide for Success in Work and Life”. The new journal is now available on Amazon to purchase.
I invite you to check it out and use it for 90 days. The nice thing about publishing on Amazon is that it’s easy to make changes in the book. So as you use “The Journal for Self-Aware: A Guide for Success in Work and Life“, please feel free to give me feedback on how it can be improved. Link here.
Thanks in advance for your support.
Rob