Master Journaling Habit For Better Thinking and Self-mastery Using 1 Month Thinking In a Journal Challenge

Important introduction

Welcome to the first fundamental course of the &ldquo;My Thinking Journal Method '' training called &ldquo;Master Journaling Habit For Better Thinking and Self-mastery Using 1 Month Thinking In a Journal Challenge&rdquo;
There is a reason why I created this training. In today's chaotic world, being an independent thinker is powerful. To be the one who can rely on inner power and be the master of life no matter what happens outside. It gives enormous strength. So the methods you will explore here will help you to create a continuous change in your life. It is not just a quick fix.nhtytryty
Sure, you will see immediate changes after taking a thinking journaling challenge. But this guide aims to help you arm yourself with techniques and a mindset that will serve you in the long term for years to come.
Using journaling, you can tap into a reservoir of your own wisdom, self-discovery, and self-reliance. After you journal regularly, you can trust your inner voice more. Become your own authority and not only rely only on external sources of information like books, media, or other people.
Many people heard about the benefits of journaling. They started journaling and stopped doing it. That's why we're never able to discover its true power. If you make a journaling habit a part of your life, you will reap the most rewards.
Many things in your life are essential for you to do and take time. And I don&rsquo;t want journaling to be your next must-to-do thing. Or do it because it seems like a good idea. I want it to be your pleasure time and investment in yourself. In this course, I will show you the basic philosophy behind the My Thinking Journal Method.
If you have been journaling for some time, some of the things you will discover in this course can already be familiar to you. But even if you are a veteran in journaling, you will still find many valuable ideas and new perspectives here. These ideas will refresh your journaling and give you more possibilities. I will answer important questions and help you establish the correct mindset necessary to help you smoothly start your journaling journey.
Every new and beneficial thing we want to incorporate into our daily life can trigger internal resistance. It is natural for every human being. Forming a journaling habit requires time and repetition. That's why I designed this course in a way that hopefully will trigger the least resistance while you are just starting your journaling. In each lesson, I will ask you to do small exercises. Usually, they are not complex and can take just a few minutes of your time. When you do them one by one, you increase your chances of successfully establishing a journaling habit. Just don&rsquo;t overthink. Don't try to do it perfectly. Your actions are essential.
This course will help you to become a better independent thinker, your own coach, and trainer.
It will help you to:
<ul>
<li>Understand how to establish a journaling habit</li>
<li>Answer what journaling can do for you</li>
<li>I will explain how to organize your journal and writing</li>
<li>Show you how to split your journal</li>
<li>Explore principles behind My Thinking Journal Method</li>
<li>You will find out what to write on the front and back cover pages of a journal</li>
<li>Decide for yourself what journal to use</li>
<li>Find out what is the best time and environment to journal</li>
<li>Understand how much time you need to spend journaling</li>
</ul>
And lastly, I will explain how to establish a Thinking Time Ritual by taking a one-month journaling challenge. There I will give you a set of powerful questions you can ask yourself. After that, you will ponder them and write your thoughts and ideas regularly.
Just letting you know that this course is the first part of the &ldquo;My Thinking Journal Method'' training. The whole program consists of 5 courses. Each course is concentrated on one particular sphere of your life: Getting Started Journaling and establishing Journaling habit, Journaling For Self Growth, Journaling For Self Reflection, Journaling For Wellbeing and Coping with Emotions, and Journaling For Problem Solving and Organizing Knowledge. I decided to split the whole training into 5 courses to be more convenient. This way, you can achieve the desired result with each course in a particular area of your life, without the need of going through all the training.
With that being said, let this &ldquo;My Thinking Journal Method&rdquo; transform you into a better thinker and performer in your life.
Assignment 1
And because I want you to get results from the information I am giving you and not just consume theory, let's get practical. I want you to start from something tiny. Take a pen and paper or a journal if you have it already.
Ready?
Now, ask yourself this simple question: &ldquo;What do I want to achieve using journaling, and how would my life change if I start journaling regularly?&rdquo; You can close your eyes and dream about your future and then write down as many ideas as come into your mind. After you do this, share a photo of your answers with me and others. Let&rsquo;s get the ball rolling together!
I'll see you in the next lesson, where you will explore the benefits of journaling and why to journal.

Why to journal? My story and non obvious journaling benefits.

So the first important question to answer before diving deep into journaling is simple: why to journal? And there are a lot of reasons. And it is essential to know them. Because if you know in great detail what is possible with journaling, then you will only pay attention to acquiring a journaling habit.&nbsp;Before answering why to journal, let me quickly share my story. I first discovered the power of journaling more than 7 years ago. Back then, I had a difficult time in my life, a lot of anxiety, and was running in circles. I had no one around me who could listen to me or give some outside advice. I was feeling stuck, angry at myself and life. I was feeling a need to change.&nbsp;All this made me instinctively take a notebook I had near my hand and express all my thoughts, emotions, and anxiety I had on paper. I didn’t know what I was doing. I just felt it was the right thing to do. I wrote a few pages for one hour and went to sleep. When I woke up, I had a new perspective on my situation, my mind was clear, and I felt calmer. I looked at my writings and realized that part of my emotions and hardships are now on paper. They are no longer in my head.&nbsp;This made me realize a few essential things about writing my thoughts down:&nbsp;<ul><li>I am not my emotions and thoughts. I can quickly put them on paper to abstract from them.</li><li>I can observe these emotions and thoughts cool-headed when I write them down. I could understand them better after reviewing them on paper.</li><li>If I repeat this process, use new writing techniques, and journal regularly, I can better understand myself. I would be able to come up with ideas on how to solve life challenges in the best ways.&nbsp;</li></ul>After my first experience, I got a lot of intrinsic motivation and realized I could change my life.I started writing more regularly and trying different writing formats. I found other exercises and tools. I kept doing what worked and dropped what did not. I figured out that keeping a journal makes my life more prosperous and profound. More importantly, I started seeing different results in my daily life.&nbsp;When I reflect on my past journals, I feel very proud of myself for how far I have gone relative to where I was when starting each of these journals.&nbsp;As I discovered later, many successful people like Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein, Bill Gates, Nicola Tesla, and many others kept journals. Success leaves clues. People who succeed at the highest level do something different than everyone else. And of course, there are many reasons why all these great people were journaling. And here are 6 of them.&nbsp;The first reason for journaling is that if done right: you will find better support in yourself. It is like you become your own coach and mentor. You will not rely only on external sources of information but also tap into your inner wisdom and depth. And this will make you a stronger person. Much like talking to a trusted friend, mentor, or therapist, your journal can be a way for you to understand yourself better. It can help you to track progress and move faster toward goals.&nbsp;&nbsp;The second reason is it just works, brings results, and helps to solve problems and challenges. Journaling helps you to organize your thinking. When you put thoughts and ideas on paper, you make it easier for your mind to work on them because your mind gets more clarity. Writing affords objectivity. It makes it easier to understand yourself, others, and situations more accessible. It helps to see creative solutions to challenges. That happens because we see things more realistically when we put them on paper. We are here and now, not in our minds coping with problems. When you do this, you act like a scientist who tries to objectively see situations and solutions to problems. This gives you a new perspective. David attacked Goliaf with just a tiny stone and got his victory. Maybe a slight change in your attitude or action plan can help you to solve your big problem. And perhaps your problem is not so big when you accurately analyze it in your journal.&nbsp; Assignment&nbsp; So let's take a small break from theory here. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Here is a small exercise: take a journal and write your problem or challenge in detail. It can be about your relationship, business, money, health, study, or anything else. Then reread it and analyze it carefully. Think about some ideas on how you can solve this challenge. Write down 3 such ideas. Don’t think about format or grammar. Just get it on paper. Here is my example of a problem: “I procrastinate writing every day for at least 500 words”. Here are some of the ideas I wrote down to solve my challenge:&nbsp;<ul><li>Start writing at least 100 words regularly every day, then switch to 500&nbsp;</li><li>Find an accountable person to whom I will report my daily writing at the end of the month</li><li>Pay 100$ to my brother for every missed day of writing</li></ul>After you do this, share a photo of your assignment with others and me. You can blur a sensitive part of the image if needed. So please pause, do this assignment and then return to the rest of the lesson.&nbsp;Great, now let's move to the following journaling benefits.&nbsp;The third reason is that, as I mentioned in my story, journaling helped improve my mental well-being. We live in times when life and society can stress us out. Family and work responsibilities, increased information flow, and global adverse events like wars, epidemics, and recessions can make people worry and get stressed and depressed.&nbsp; Using self-reflection and emotional expression in our journals, we can let go of negative emotions, limiting beliefs and worries. All this helps to stay grounded and have good mental health.&nbsp; When your mind is healthy, it positively impacts your body. Which is the fourth reason why journaling is beneficial. It helps strengthen the immune system and recovery time. It can also help to normalize blood pressure and speed up wound healing in older adults. Studies show that people who journaled daily for 15 minutes reported fewer doctor visits and sick days.The fifth reason is it helps you set and accomplish goals. Dr. Gail Matthews found that people who write down their goals have a higher chance of achieving them when compared to those that don’t. When you put your goals and plans on paper, you help your mind visualize them better. It has such an effective influence on success because the mind works using imagination and visuals.&nbsp;&nbsp;And lastly, journaling helps you to be an active learner. As Confucius said: I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand. 2 weeks after you read, you remember only 10-20% of the information. If you hear it, you remember only 30% in 2 weeks, 40% if you saw it, 50% of what you write, 60-70% if you say it out loud, and 90% of things if you do them. And journaling is reading, writing, thinking, and doing - all these things together. Which makes it a powerful tool for learning and remembering.&nbsp;There are lots more benefits and reasons why to journal. Among them, journaling improves mental focus, helps capture good ideas, record observations and reactions. But you will discover more about these things in the following practical lessons and when you practice journaling on your own. For now, I think it is enough inspiration for your journaling.&nbsp; And in the next lesson, we will discuss recommendations on what journal to use better.

How to choose a journal for the best results?

A lot of research tells about the many benefits of handwriting. When we write something down, we are most likely to remember it. We instantly use thinking, doing, and visual senses, increasing our cognitive and learning abilities.
I personally use a physical pen and paper for journaling. I am also taking notes and bookmarks digitally during the day. But I do the main journaling in a physical journal. You can also journal digitally on your tablet, especially if you have a stylus.&nbsp;
Anyway, I discovered that the best tool for My Thinking Journal is a physical journal. Just a few reasons: it does not need to be charged constantly. It makes me unplug from constant notifications and shallow streams of information. In short, pen and paper help to do the main thing: concentrate on my own thoughts and life.&nbsp;&nbsp;
When I first started journaling years ago, I used simple school copybooks. I was not thinking about the importance of a place where I write. Instead, I focused on the ability to express my thoughts and organize my life using pen and paper. So if you are just starting your journaling adventure, then making it your habit is more important than choosing the perfect journal to buy. So you can start with whatever you have.
Anyway, during my journaling experience, I realized a few important things regarding the medium for writing.&nbsp;
<ol>
<li>The first one is that your journal should be comfortable for you to take wherever you go. And I want it to be as small and compact as I can. If it is too big and heavy and you want to go on nature with it and have more things to carry, then a small journal is the best option.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Second, you need to like your journal, so you will write in it. If you want to write on lined paper, choose a journal with lined pages. You can select a checkered or blank page notebook. It is all up to you to choose. Just select a journal that you will enjoy writing in.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Third, I am no longer buying cheap copybooks for my journals. Only notebooks with high-quality paper and elegant look and feel. It is an investment worth an extra few dollars. I discovered a psychological connection between the quality of the journal and the quality of writing I am doing in it. My subconscious says: &ldquo;Hey Alex. It's time to open your thin, elegant journal and start putting your beautiful and elegant thoughts and ideas there&rdquo;. Currently, I use a thin sketchbook covered with leather-type material. I like its quality paper and ribbon that I can leave on the last page. This way, I can quickly return to the previous page after writing. This sketchbook also has a rubber band, which helps hold it together. Plus, I can put a pen between a rubber and a journal. I am talking about all these tiny details because they give me the additional joy of writing moments in such a journal!&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
Just remember that it is a book you are writing and it can be of the type you want and like. Pick something now to establish a journaling habit. Experiment with journaling; buy something else if you need it next time.&nbsp;
Assignment&nbsp;
Before going to the next lesson, make a commitment. Choose your journal from what notebooks you already have, or buy a new notebook that perfectly suits you. Then you can write your name on it and share a photo of it with other people and me. Or alternatively, if you like an idea, you can take a selfie holding it.&nbsp;
And in the next lesson, we will discuss the proper mindset behind journaling.
&nbsp;

Establishing proper mindset for your journaling 

It can surprise you, but I need to tell you that there is no one best way you can set up and organize your journal. However, I experimented with different methods and formats of managing my writings through the years. I came up with a few suggestions that will help you on your way too. In the following 2 lessons, I will show you some best practices to organize your journal for the most growth and positive life changes.&nbsp;And now, I want to tell you about 2 main principles of my Thinking Journal Method regarding journal keeping. It is essential to know these 2 principles because they can offer you a simple mindset for journaling required for long-term success. So here they are:&nbsp;Your system. The first principle is that you want to create your way of journaling. This means you will figure out the best way to write your entries: how many sentences, how many times a day, how you split up your journal, how much to write, and what tools to use in the current moment. You will understand what and how you want to write and organize your entries when you go through the training and implement different tools and exercises. Journaling is the book you are writing, and you will feel the most pleasure when doing it your way.&nbsp;So experiment and figure out what works best for you. My main suggestion here is to habitually put the date, time, and location of your entries. You can rush and skip doing that. But after journaling for some time, you would like to return to your older record to see how far you have gone in your life and your progress. Those dates and times will give you a more detailed description of the moment of life when you were writing. This will help you better understand mental changes within yourself and your environment over time. Putting time will also help to see how consistent you are with your progress in a journal and stay accountable.&nbsp;Ultimate freedom. The second principle is to be free and not restrict yourself in how you write.&nbsp; Don’t let anything create borders for your self-expression in a journal. You are writing it for yourself, not for others to inspect. Don’t think about your handwriting style or grammar. Your punctuation or length of sentences are not so important either. Only the act of writing and thinking in your journal is. Say all freely and as you wish. Draw pictures, diagrams, and whatever you want to connect deeply with yourself. Voluntarily include other people's quotes, print out a paragraph of a book or article, and glue it on your page if needed.&nbsp;With that being said, let's wrap up this lesson, and in the next one, we will discuss how to split and organize your journaling entries and their front and back cover.

How to split and organize your journal for best convenience 

Now let's talk about how to split your journal. When I first started journaling, I decided to have a few journals for different life topics. One for learning, one for planning my day. Then I decided to add one more containing ideas and quotes. It did not take me long to realize that I couldn’t keep all three journals simultaneously. Because I need to remember what I need to write in my journal, it is not practical to carry 3 of them with me. Later I tried to split one journal into sections of equal length. So one was for planning, the other for learning, and so on. This approach was better and more convenient. However, there was one problem with this approach: often, one section was filling faster than the other. If, for example, I was planning more in my journal than writing gratitude, then the planning section outgrew the gratitude part in a few months. And that made me move to the next journal with many pages left. I was also uncomfortable that I “had to” fill the planned sections. This is against my thinking journaling method philosophy which is the ultimate freedom.&nbsp;If you are ok with the cons of such an approach or think you will not have such a problem like me, then you split your journal into equal parts and start from it. You simply decide what topics you want to write about in your journal and split it. For example, you can divide your journal into 5 main sections: Growth, Reflection, Well-being and Emotions, Problem Solving, and Learning. You can also add special sections relevant only to you, for example, Business, Family, Traveling, Parenting, and so on. Here is how to do it in practice. If, for example, there are 100 pages in your journal and you have 5 sections, then you will have 20 pages dedicated to each section. Each section starts from the cover page. In the middle of it, you write the name of a section in capital letters. So you can have 3 sections beginning with cover pages with words in big capital letters like BUSINESS, LEARNING, GROWTH. This, of course, will help you to navigate between sections.&nbsp;I also came up with another simple approach to organizing my entries that you can use if you feel comfortable. I call it a “Tagging” approach. It works similarly to hashtags in social networks. Using this method, you journal sequentially - there are no sections in your journal. All you need to do is to put a hashtag with the journaling topic near your entry. For example, tags like #Learn, #Remember, #Gratitude, #Goal, and #MyWhy. Then later, when you reflect on your entries, you can easily recognize entries by their topics. It also gives additional variety in naming your entries while there are a limited number of section names.&nbsp;&nbsp;Use whatever method you like more. You can use the section or tagging approach. And by the way, you can combine 2 techniques and have both sections and more detailed tags inside of sections.&nbsp; Assignment 1 Before moving forward in this lesson, I encourage you to put what you have just learned into practice. Take your notebook, divide it into sections, or start writing some entries and put tags and dates near each entrance. Here are some ideas what you can write about:&nbsp; <ul><li>Things you are grateful for in your life</li><li>Your plans for tomorrow&nbsp;</li><li>List of 10 ideas for your project</li></ul> After you do this, share with other people and me a photo of how you divide your notebook into sections or how you made your several first entries. You can blur a sensitive part of the image if needed. So please pause, do this assignment and then return to the rest of the course.&nbsp;With that being said, let's wrap up this lesson, and in the next one, we will discuss how to organize the front and back cover of your journal.

Organizing front and back cover of your journal

Now let's talk about the essential assets of your journal: the front and back cover. These 2 journal parts are always the easiest to access. You can leverage them and write on them some important stuff. Before going further, I need to make a revelation here that I do most of my writing in a journal using a pencil, not a pen. Specifically, I use Pilot Super Grip pencils with replaceable leads and 0.7 thickness. I first started doing this because I wanted something that had a permanent thickness of lines and style. It is also convenient to erase what you wrote or correct. And using a pencil is especially useful for the front and back cover because you can change some things there during the lifetime of a journal. But again, it is your journal, so feel free to use whatever pens you like.&nbsp;Let’s start from the back side of a journal. I usually write some wise quotes or facts I liked the most. Something that makes me think about life differently or motivates me to grow. For example, here are some of the quotes:&nbsp;<ul><li>“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones,” ― said Confucius.&nbsp;</li><li>Believe in yourself, and you will be unstoppable.</li><li>Change: “When things happen, I’ll be happy” to “When I’m happy, things will happen for me.”</li></ul>You can intentionally keep a few last pages for the quotes or insights you will collect while keeping your journal.&nbsp;Now let's talk about the front cover. The first things I put on the front cover are the year and date my journal was started, my phone number, and my name. I do this in case somebody finds my journal. Then on the front cover, I usually put my beliefs, goals, and “whys” or mottos. And it is hugely important because you have an opportunity to see these things every time you open your journal. This will help you to deeply inject those concepts into your subconscious. In its own turn, it will help you feel more connected to your core self and get to your dreams more easily.&nbsp;Here are simple definitions of what these entries on the front cover mean and why they are so important:<ol><li>Your Goals - are your north stars, where you go, when you want to come there, and what results you want to achieve.</li><li>Your Whys - are profound reasons why you are going toward your goals. They guide you and push you forward in life.</li><li>Your Beliefs - your core thoughts that you think are true that will help you to be better in your life, business, relationships, and performance.</li></ol>I recommend leaving multiple pages empty (up to 4) at the start of your journal so you can put more of your beliefs, goals, and ‘whys’ if they appear later. You don’t need to put all these things on the first day you start your journal. Instead, you can add entries on your own temp as you go through business and life.&nbsp; Assignment 2 The second practical assignment is to take your journal and start filling your front and back covers with essential things like quotes, goals, whys, and goals. You don’t need to fill all the space. Just write some parts you are ready to. Start with a few simple things.<ul><li>Remember some quotes that motivate you or give you some insights. Find them online or remember someone said it to you as a child. Then write 1 or 2 of them on the back of the back cover of your journal.&nbsp;</li><li>Then ask yourself what the number one goal you want to achieve is. So important to you that if you reach it, everything else will be unnecessary or at least not so necessary to accomplish. Write this big goal on the back of the front cover of your journal.&nbsp;</li><li>Write your motivation. To do this, ask yourself why you want to achieve this goal? What motivates you to achieve it? Find your real why and write it down on the front cover. This will help you to move forward when you don’t want to or resist.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>After you do this, please share a photo of your journal upgrades. It will help you and inspire other people too.&nbsp;I’ll see you in the next step, where we will discuss the best environment for journaling.

What is the best environment for journaling?

I want you to realize that a journaling habit can facilitate recreation and rejuvenation periods in your day-to-day life. And here is how. We live in an information overload age. The world goes crazy with all the events, advertising, wars, and stress. We are constantly bombarded with new messages. That's why most successful people find some time during the day when they can close inputs and open their output. The time when they can enter a zone of their thinking instead of receiving thoughts from the external world.&nbsp;This is a time for them to generate ideas about their lives, goals, and challenges they are faced with. And the best way to do it is to think in a journal regularly. The ability to unplug from external noise and invest your particular attention in designing your dream life is a golden and rare skill nowadays.&nbsp;You can journal at your work desk if you enjoy it. But psychological research and studies show that the best ideas, creativity, and inspiration come in unusual environments. Not in the same places where you spend most of your waking hours. Here is why. When you are in a usual place, you have your typical identity attached to this place. This makes everyday thoughts come up in this environment. Same perspective, same patterns. Suppose you want to change how you look at a problem, set a big goal, or find some solutions. In that case, I recommend you to take your journal with you and go to the environment that triggers your elevated state of consciousness. For some, it can be in nature: near the water or forest. For others, it can be a coffee table in a crowded restaurant or a comfortable armchair on the balcony. What is important is that these places should help trigger your peak states. Listening to good inspiring music while journaling can help you too.&nbsp;Your high state is essential. Because the state in which you set your goals and create your plans or even think about them sets a positive trajectory in which you will manifest your dreams in reality.&nbsp;I try to journal in quiet places in nature. This environment triggers my creativity. Your best spots can also be in nature or in the comfort of your car.&nbsp;I’ll see you in the next step, where we will discuss the 2 best times for your journaling.

2 best times in the day to journal

You can journal in time when you want or need to. So if you are reading a book, you can capture the main ideas in your journal as you are reading. Or, if you come up with some idea during the day, you better capture it in your journal immediately to avoid forgetting it. Same about the time when you want to journal for your work tasks.&nbsp;In other cases, there are 2 particular times during the day when journaling can be the most beneficial.&nbsp;The first one is before you go to sleep. As Thomas Edison famously said: “Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.” At night our subconscious minds continue to work. The subconscious mind is mighty and responsible for most of the processes in our buddies, from digestion to blood circulation. Successful people from various fields use their subconscious minds before going to sleep. And a journal is a handy tool for this.&nbsp; Assignment 1 Plan beforehand what you will journal about today before going to sleep. Here are some ideas about what you can do in your journal during this time:&nbsp;<ol><li>First idea. Reread the goals you set for your future or tasks for the next day.</li><li>Visualize the next day or dreams you are going to. You can write your visualization in your journal as a plan or ideas.&nbsp;</li><li>You can make requests and ask questions to your subconscious mind. To do it, think about your request deeply. After that, forget about it. Next, go to sleep. Let your subconscious search for answers while you sleep.</li><li>The other idea can be: you can also read or write affirmations, like: “I can do it,” “I can achieve my dream,” “Obstacles are only opportunities for me,” and so on.</li></ol>After you do your night writing session, if you like, share a photo of your journaling. You can blur some sensitive parts. It will help you and inspire other people too.The second best time for using your journal is early morning after you wake up. During this time, your brainwaves are still in the theta state. You are rested and full of energy, and your thoughts are clear.&nbsp; And this is a perfect time to program your subconscious for the best day possible by writing in your journal. It is a simple and great way to put yourself on a successful trajectory for the day. Try doing it for 5-10 minutes over several days. You will see a tremendous difference between using this simple morning ritual and scrolling your phone.&nbsp;Both in mood and productivity during the day. Assignment 2 After you wake up tomorrow, journal for a few minutes. It can be just 1 or 5 minutes. Time does not matter. What is important is taking action to start establishing a habit.&nbsp;Here are some ideas about what you can do in your journal during this time:&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul><li>You can start simply reviewing or writing your plan for the day.</li><li>You can also grab any thinking questions you will discover later from this guide and answer them in the morning.&nbsp;</li><li>It is also possible that your subconscious mind will come up with some idea during the night, and you would like to write it down in a journal the moment you wake up.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>You can write what great expectations you have for your new day.</li><li>You can motivate yourself and journal why you are going to do some critical work today.</li></ul>After you do your morning writing session, if you like, share a photo of your journaling.&nbsp;&nbsp;And I’ll see you in the next lesson where we will discuss an essential question about how much time you need to spend journaling.

How much time do I need to spend journaling?

When it comes to how often and for how long you should journal, my answer is simply how often you need and want.Lots of people start pushing themselves to write a few pages every day. So often, people begin stressing themselves out by writing many pages in one day and then stop opening a journal for months. In my opinion, it is the wrong approach. Journaling can be an extraordinary leverage for personal development and life success. But a journal is just a tool, not a destination. Your better thinking and better life experience, in general, is what is essential.&nbsp;Journaling should be an enjoyable process that you like to do. Your friend should be ready to capture your thoughts, listen to your emotions, and help you brainstorm ideas. But as any good friend, he knows that you have other things to do in your life. So occasionally you meet together, have a great time and do other things.&nbsp;There are 2 extremes you should avoid: not writing at all and writing all the time. Somewhere in the middle, there is a perfect balance that will help you not to burn out. Maybe when you do reflection exercises once a week and think about important questions that will help you plan your next week better, you will need more than 10 minutes. The same can happen if you get stuck on a project or goal you want to achieve and want to take some time and brainstorm. Or you want to express your emotions and need some quiet time to ponder.&nbsp;In all other situations, research and my experience show that 10,15 or max 30 minutes a day of journaling is enough for most people. When you overeat food, it can be unhealthy. The same goes for journaling. My rule is to journal to the moment when I still have some hunger left to journal, and then I intentionally stop. This makes me want to return back again more often.You need to feel yourself when you want to open your journal and reread it or put in new entries. That's why it is a good habit to keep your journal with yourself wherever you go. This way, you can capture some ideas or thoughts you come up with or hear somewhere during the day.&nbsp;Also, there can be different periods: more or less intensive journaling. So don't feel guilty when you are not journaling for some time. Nowadays, I plan my next day in a journal, capture ideas, draw diagrams, and brainstorm almost every day. I reread my previous entries regularly. But there were periods when I did not open a journal for days or weeks. Sometimes life gets busy.&nbsp; During such periods I try to return to my journal. Then I review what is going on in my life to organize it. It is an excellent habit to have too.&nbsp;So, try to establish a daily journal ritual for at least 5 minutes in the morning and/or in the evening. It is better to start small and make it a habit.&nbsp;In this point of course, you should be equipped with all the necessary ideas and understanding to help you start your journaling challenge. So I’ll see you in the next lesson and discuss the thinking time journaling challenge.

Prepare Your Mindset for Thinking Time Journaling Challenge 

Our daily life consists of hundreds of choices. Together they form more significant decisions that include the direction of our life. We often go through life not thinking deeply enough about what we will do or the consequences of our actions. This leads to mistakes, foolish acts, and not correctly planned projects or vacations. Following your heart is not a bad idea, but taking our brains with ourselves is even better. Life gets busy, and we don’t always have time for thinking, planning, or generating ideas. Or let's say it as it is: we don’t always make time for it. It is a habit that needs to be formed. Occasionally we stop and think, but how many of us do it regularly and intentionally? This lesson will show you the process and philosophy behind the Thinking Time Journaling Challenge. You will guarantee increased clarity about your life, yourself, and your actions when you go through this challenge.&nbsp;&nbsp;To make things simple, first, let me ask you what something called “thinking” is? Thinking is just the ability to ask questions and answer them. And the quality of thinking, of course, depends not only on the quality of intelligent answers. But also from the quality of questions. The better questions you ask yourself, the better the thinking process you can do. Smart people have good answers, and geniuses have great questions. So don’t underestimate the importance of a good question. Asking a good question can help you unstack in a difficult time or help you to face something important you were unaware of.&nbsp;Here is a simple story that illustrates the importance of good questions. When Albert Einstein gave exam assignments to his students in university, he always gave them the same questions. Other colleagues thought he was nuts because students are not stupid and could prepare answers for well-known questions in advance. Professors advised Einstein to change the questions he was asking students on exams. When he refused to do so they asked him why? And he responded cleverly: the questions are the same, but the answers are changing…A simple moral from this story is that life is constantly changing and moving. Answers that were true yesterday can be false today. What is important is that good questions can stay the same. They are designed to find out what is the current situation and circumstances. What to do now in current conditions and with the information you have.&nbsp;&nbsp;That's why the Thinking Time Journaling Challenge is all about asking yourself good questions regularly and answering them in the best way possible.&nbsp;

Starting Your Thinking Time Journaling Challenge 

The nice thing about this one-month challenge is that it will not take much of your time. Just 5 or 10 minutes daily. What is important is not time but your commitment to your self-growth. Remind yourself what positive results you can get from establishing a journaling habit. Knowing the answer to this question will help you stick with a challenge. For me, journaling and thinking daily give me new ideas and perspectives. It helps me to think more clearly and plan my actions and decisions better. It helps me to be an independent thinker. Allows me not just to react to life events but intentionally create the life I want.&nbsp;So after you know your motivation, let's move to the challenge.&nbsp;What you need to do during the Thinking Time Challenge is to answer at least one good question every day.&nbsp;<ul><li>Take some time or put a timer on for 5 or 10 minutes</li><li>Pick up a question you want to think about.&nbsp;</li><li>Then you take your journal and ponder on this question.&nbsp;</li><li>You write everything that is coming to your mind regarding this question.&nbsp;</li><li>Go as deep as you can. Turn on good music and be in a quiet place so no one will disturb your thinking time.&nbsp;</li><li>Obvious answers are on the surface of consciousness, and unobvious responses are on a subconscious level. Continue writing after your first answers. There can be your real breakthrough.&nbsp;</li></ul>Now you can ask: where can you get better questions that will lead you to better thinking? You need to create a list of them. You can just sit down and brainstorm questions you want to get answers to. It can be in any area of your life: business, love, work, learning, or money. You don’t need to make a bank of questions in one sitting. You can just keep adding one question here and one question there. Maybe you will be listening to some podcast or reading a book and hearing some questions. Or some great question will pop up in your mind during a shower.&nbsp;The idea is to have a data bank of great questions. Ideally, these questions should be categorized by topic. When you have these questions, you can just pull one of them you need now and inspire your best thinking.&nbsp;To make your life easier, I prepared a list of good questions you can ask yourself in different areas of your life. Just reading these questions will not make a big difference in your life. So avoiding answering them is natural. But it is all about 1 question a day. Answering only one. No need to answer 20 of them daily. Give yourself some reward after you finish answering a question. It can help you to establish a habit. So in 30 days or 1 month, you will have 30 thinking sessions and 30 questions answered. Imagine these questions you need to respond to achieve your desired success. So take it seriously and don’t sabotage your success.&nbsp;Here is an example of answering one question in my journal. Pay close attention to how first I wrote general and apparent answers and then went deeper and found some great ideas.&nbsp;So here is a question: How can I be more consistent in my daily performance?&nbsp;And here is what I wrote in my journal: I am more consistent when I regularly plan my day. When I go into the flow state and do my best work. When I remind myself why I am doing what I am doing. When my “why” is much bigger than what I do. When I just schedule my deep work time and start working. The most challenging part is starting. So if I can begin my work quicker, be more focused, and not be distracted, I can do a lot of high-quality work. That's it. I wrote just a few sentences. And the last two, in particular, reminded me of exactly what I need to do daily to stay in peak performance. So don’t hesitate and start your thinking time journaling challenge to improve your life.&nbsp;It is time to wrap up this lesson, and in the next lesson, I will give you a set of questions in different categories that you can select from and answer in your journal daily.

Journaling Questions To Improve My Life

<ol>
<li>If I had all the money I wanted, what would I do in my life?</li>
<li>If success was guaranteed, what would I attempt to achieve?</li>
<li>How would I like others to describe my life after its end? Am I happy with their description, or can I change something?</li>
<li>What is success for me? Am I living my definition, or can something be changed?</li>
<li>What values do I admire the most in others? How can I incorporate such values into my life?</li>
<li>If I had no fears, what would I do in my life that I currently don&rsquo;t?</li>
<li>If I have 100% certainty I will improve 1 area of my life, what would this area be?</li>
<li>What is the one thing that will motivate me to get in the morning and start doing the work needed? How can I implement or add this 1 thing to my life?</li>
<li>What daily actions can I do now to bring me closer to an ideal future?</li>
<li>What time wasters do I have in my life that don&rsquo;t allow me to have the desired results? What can I replace this time waster with?</li>
<li>What is the one thing I was hiding from that, if I face, will finally make my life better? When will I face it specifically?</li>
<li>How can I increase my day-to-day happiness? What is the one thing I can do to make it happen? How to expand its frequency?&nbsp;</li>
<li>What success have I been proud of? How to increase its frequency?&nbsp;</li>
<li>What am I doing that brings me a lot of joy? How can I do it more often?</li>
<li>What is the biggest problem I have right now? What is the shortest, fastest, and easiest way to solve it?</li>
<li>What frustrates me the most in my day to day life? How can I eliminate this from my life in the best way?&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

Journaling Questions To Improve My Relationships

<ol>
<li>List people that bring the most joy into my life. How can I spend more time with them?</li>
<li>What skills or attitudes can improve my relationships with others? How can I incorporate them into my life?</li>
<li>List people or qualities of people that take you down in life. How can I spend less time or completely stop spending time with these people?</li>
<li>What questions can I ask other people that can improve communication with them, and I will get to know them better?</li>
<li>What am I afraid to tell my loved ones about myself? Why? Will it help our relationships if I will open up more?</li>
<li>What dialogues with other people was I avoiding for such a long time? When will I make time to talk truthfully with them and engage in a difficult conversation?&nbsp;</li>
<li>What qualities do I lack that I would like to develop for myself?&nbsp;</li>
<li>What are the people I would like to take with me to an inhabited island? How can I spend more time with them in my everyday life?</li>
</ol>

Journaling Questions To Increase My Focus

<ol>
<li>What problems in my life do I have from not being focused enough? Is not being focused worth it?&nbsp;</li>
<li>What is the one thing I can do today to be more focused? &nbsp;How can I continue doing it?</li>
<li>What are my 2-4 biggest distractions that make me unfocused? How can I eliminate them or remove them from my life?</li>
<li>What are the real reasons I am not as focused as I could be? Am I sabotaging myself? If it is so, then why?</li>
<li>What excuses do I tell myself to not be as focused as I can be? &nbsp;What is the root cause of these excuses?</li>
<li>What is the focus in my life, and how do I define it?</li>
<li>Why is being focused vital to me? &nbsp;What can being focus do for me in my life?&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

Journaling Questions To Improve My Personal Performance

<ol>
<li>What can I do to increase my energy naturally? How can I maintain my high energy level daily?</li>
<li>Why am I not productive right now? &nbsp;What's holding me back?</li>
<li>What skill sets can improve my performance and help me to achieve my full potential? &nbsp;How can I &nbsp;develop these skills?</li>
<li>What work brings me the most joy and results? Why am I passionate about it? How can I spend more time working on these things?</li>
<li>How can I automate my chores or routines to make my life easier and more productive?</li>
<li>Can I delegate some of my work? What do I need to do to make it happen? &nbsp;Who am I will delegate to.</li>
<li>Remember the day of my peak performance? How can I have more of such days? What can I learn from these experiences to repeat them more often?&nbsp;</li>
<li>What are my unique strengths and talents? How can I spend more time leveraging them in my daily life?</li>
<li>What skills I'm currently not developing that, if developed, can increase my performance and productivity?</li>
<li>What morning routine would start my day off in the best possible manner? &nbsp;How can I incorporate this routine into my daily life?</li>
<li>How can I structure my day so that its most important tasks will be implemented in the first order in the morning?&nbsp;</li>
<li>How can I be more consistent in my daily performance? What I'm not doing or what I'm not seeing?</li>
<li>What are my top responsibilities? How can I improve my performance in each of these things so my overall results will be improved?</li>
</ol>

Journaling Questions To Increase My Income

<ol>
<li>How can I earn more from activities I'm already doing?&nbsp;</li>
<li>What knowledge do I have that I can transform into money-making?</li>
<li>How can I partner with other people to make money with them?</li>
<li>What 1 or 2 skills can I develop that will help me earn more income?</li>
<li>What is the easiest and fastest way to earn more money right now?</li>
<li>How can I increase the quality of my work to increase the money I'm getting?</li>
<li>What are the daily actions I can do that can increase my income?</li>
<li>What do other successful people do daily to increase their income? &nbsp;What can I learn from them? How can I repeat their process?</li>
<li>What is the one thing I am not doing that can dramatically increase my earnings?</li>
<li>What knowledge do I have (that I neglect for some reason) for which other people can pay money?</li>
<li>What are my most profitable activities, and how can I increase my time doing them?</li>
</ol>

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