Tips for Journaling to Foster Reflection

This dead-simple 2-minute prompt has helped me journal every night for 1000 days in a row. I call it the “Daily Bullets”—here’s how it works: When I first started evening journaling, I made one big mistake: I had a complex, handwritten system that took 30+ minutes to complete. This was unsustainable, so every time I would fall off after a few days. Luckily, the Daily Bullets solves that problem—here’s how: Every night, as I’m winding down, I take out my phone and complete 3 steps: Step 1: I create a note with two headers: the date & “lessons/realizations" Step 2: I brain dump everything that happened that day, in order I don’t overcomplicate this. I simply put a bullet for everything that happened. • How I felt during the day • What I trained at the gym • The coffee shop I went to • What I wrote that morning • Any meetings or calls I had • Anyone I had a conversation with • Interesting things I read or listened to Step 3: I brain dump any lessons or realizations I had The list of what happened “primes” me for reflection & iteration. I’ll list habits that are working, ideas of experiments to run, people that are draining my energy, anything and everything. Then, I shut my phone and go to sleep. That’s it, that’s the entire routine. Why does it work so well? There is ZERO friction to doing this every day. • It only takes 2 minutes • I can do it from my phone, anywhere • I can do it even if my brain is working at 10% capacity Each of these is a requirement to stick with any journal practice (which was a realization from one of my Daily Bullets a few years ago). There are 3 big benefits to this routine: 1. Daily Bullets “close the loop” on my day. Rather than go to bed with swirling thoughts, this practice gets all the “open loops” out of my head and onto the page. Also, if I need to remember anything for tomorrow, I just put it at the bottom of that note so I don’t forget it. 2. Daily Bullets help me remember lessons I would have otherwise forgotten. Speaking of forgetting, most lessons slip my mind if I don’t write them down quickly. And this is why most people never make any progress. They don’t have a practice for iteration, so they make the same mistakes repeatedly. 3. Daily Bullets create a ledger of my year and set the foundation for my longer-term reviews. And finally, the best part is being able to look back on any day from my past to see exactly what happened & what I learned. At the end of every week, month, quarter, and year, I gather these recaps into one document to capture all the lessons in one spot. Aaaand that’s it. That’s the Daily Bullets system. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

Feeling stuck? Give these three actions a try for a week (all backed by science): 1. Daily walks outside (30 mins) Being in nature lowers stress hormones and improves blood pressure and heart rates. Best practice is to do these walks without your cell phone.  __ 2. Morning and evening journaling (10 minutes per session) Morning Protocol: 1-2-3 1 - What is the one thing that will make your day a success? 2 - What are two things you are looking forward to about your day? 3 - What are three things you are grateful for? Evening Protocol: 3-2-1 3 - What are three emotions or experiences you had today?  2 - What are two things you learned today? 1 - What is one area of growth for you to focus on tomorrow? Journaling forces us into metacognition (thinking about thinking). The more we do it the better we get at identifying emotions and patterns in our lives.   __ 3. Reach out and connect to someone you trust and enjoy. Text is good. Phone is better. In person is best. Quality relationships are a key driver in our happiness. Don’t go it alone. __ Simple concepts can sometimes be difficult in execution. Just keep chopping wood. Show up everyday and you’ll be surprised at where you are in a week. ⬳   Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, please repost ♻️ and follow me for more ideas like this in the future.

On World Mental Health Day, check out this one daily science-based practice Emma Watson uses to stay grounded and sane: Mental health of children is often overlooked. Childhood fame doesn’t make that any easier. After extraordinary childhood stardom from the Harry Potter movies, Emma Watson was unmoored. “There were moments when it got so big where I almost had vertigo and felt it got so big that I felt l disconnected.” She took a four-year break from acting to focus on her mental health. After a lot of therapy and inner work, she emerged back into public life this year with a core practice to keep her grounded: Journaling with prompts. She’s not alone in feeling the benefits. I became one of the first teachers of Google’s Search Inside Yourself program which taught science-supported emotional intelligence techniques. Journaling with prompts was one of the most popular and effective practices that we taught. Although Emma's famous for magic, journaling is backed by science: In a 2006 study, nearly 100 young adults were asked to spend 15 minutes journaling. The people who journaled saw the biggest reduction in symptoms like depression, anxiety, and hostility, particularly if they were very distressed to begin with. This was true even though 80% had seldom journaled about their feelings and only 61% were comfortable doing so. Here are Emma’s daily prompts (reflecting on the last 24 hours): 1. Write 3 things that were fun or joyful 2. Write 3 things that happened that were kind 3. Write 3 things that I did well or that I liked about myself Takeaway: Journaling with prompts inclines the mind towards the emotions and perspective you want to cultivate. Science supports journaling as an incredible practice for mental health and well-being. Journaling helps you get your thoughts onto the page and into a healthy space. For a more complete set of great mental health tools to add to your toolbox, check out the link in comments from Tim Ferriss. If this resonates, please share ♻️ this post and follow Matt Schnuck for insights on inflections in life, entrepreneurship and 25 years in business.

A new year means it’s time for a new journal! This year will mark the 20th year of me journaling. Keeping a journal has been a transformational practice in my life. What do I journal about? •Weekly Recaps - I usually write out my thoughts about each area of my life at the end of each week, which allows me to process my entire life on a weekly basis. •Great Thoughts - If someone says something that speaks to me or if I read a great quote, I’ll write it down. •Goals - I try to write out and review my goals once a week. This keeps them in front of me and keeps me focused. •Memories - I use the 5-minute journal app for this. You can select a picture of the day, write your highlights, affirmations, and more. It’s fantastic. •Spiritual Growth - I write out my prayers to God, verses that stick out to me in my devotions, and things that God speaks to my heart. At the end of each year, I go through my journals and extract all the lessons that I can and put them into my year-end review. I then store all of my journals in a safe place. Do you journal? What do you journal about that has been helpful?

Daily journaling is a habit I started two years ago, and I believe this habit is a contributing factor to my growth, happiness, and success. There are no rules to journaling. The structure and content are up to you. My journaling often includes details of the day’s experiences and outcomes, accomplishments/successes, goals, crazy ideas, lessons learned, empowering questions, affirmations, gratitude thoughts, and even reflection on stuff that doesn’t make much sense at the time. I also identify and include a WORD OF THE DAY with my journal entries. The word bubble attached highlights the 365 words. To kick off the year of daily journaling, I select WORD OF THE YEAR which provides focus and direction. In 2023, my word was TRANSFORM. After taking several days to read, process, and reflect upon the words written, I am grateful for this habit as the insights gained validate the power of daily journaling. Below are five AH-HA’s from 2023: 1. Go to bed with empowering questions for the subconscious to work on. Let your brain work on things while you sleep. 2. The words we use make a big difference in how we think and act. Example: “I get to” versus “I have to”. 3. We are all worthy of a seat at the table. The belief starts within us. 4. How we frame our past and present experiences shape our thoughts and beliefs that impact our "future self". The good news, when those stories hold us back, we can reframe and rewrite them. And we can do this anytime. This is critical because I’ve discovered our “future self” vision DRIVES how we act and think in the present. 5. Play at the level of your future self. We act differently when we know things will happen. Want to read more insights gained? Check out the LinkedIn article posted. #successmindset #journaling #oneword

I’ve journaled just about every morning since 2017.  Journaling has helped me remain grateful, resilient, focused, and striving.  Here's one simple 3-minute journal exercise I use every morning to kickoff my day (before answering email, planning the day, or checking my phone): The Daily 3-Minute Journal: Date: XX/XX/XXXX Grateful: List some of the things you're currently grateful for. It could be the big things like your partner, your family, your job or "small" things like the weather that day, texting a friend, or your morning coffee. Jot down everything that comes to mind in one minute and then stop! Victories: List some of the recent victories in your life. Maybe you did a great job on a project at work, spent time with your parents, or had a killer workout. Again, take one minute to list out everything that comes to mind and then stop. Affirmation: Write down one or two affirmations. These can be something specific like "I am the Founder of a Beautiful New Yoga Studio" or something more broad like "I am happy, healthy, wealthy, and full of energy.” (I use this one all the time!) That's it! In three minutes you've expressed gratitude, counted the victories you normally overlook, and created a positive affirmation for your future. 📓 Give it a try and let me know what you think  📓

Did you know journaling can be a game-changer for leaders? It’s not a new concept, it’s been around for centuries but it’s having a powerful resurgence. And for good reason. I’m thrilled to share that I’ve recently invested in an executive coaching platform that includes an integrated journaling feature for my clients and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. This simple yet powerful practice is helping leaders unlock clarity, self-awareness, and stronger decision-making. So what’s the big deal about journaling? At its core, journaling is the practice of capturing your thoughts, emotions, and reflections consistently. For professionals in high-stakes leadership roles, it’s a strategic tool, not just a reflective one. It helps you identify patterns in your behavior, thinking, and reactions, so you’re not just relying on the fog of memory or gut instincts. It also has proven health benefits: lowered blood pressure, reduced stress, and improved cognitive function, to name a few. Here’s how to get started: ⚫️ Choose your tool: a notebook, an app, or even the Notes section on your iPhone. 🟠 Set a goal! Aim for just 10–20 minutes a day. The key is consistency, not perfection. ⚫️ Be honest and specific! Name your emotions, capture your leadership wins and misses, and reflect on how you showed up. After two weeks, go back and review your entries. Are there patterns in how you lead? What do your interactions reveal about your mindset and emotional agility? Are you becoming more coach-like in your leadership? Leadership isn’t just about solving problems—it’s about evolving through them. Journaling helps you do exactly that. #executivecoach #leadership #mindset #journaling

Do you know what one of your most formidable superpowers is? What can unlock the incredible potential inside you? Reflection is one of the most important tools in the self-development tool chest. It also happens to be one of the most underutilized. It is customary during the transitional phase into a new year to spend some time reflecting back on the previous year and planning goals for the next. This is not a bad practice, it is actually essential, but it only becomes effective when it becomes a consistent practice. When consistently applied, reflection helps us to understand our passions, motivations, fears, desires, strengths, and weaknesses. It helps us recognize our mistakes and flawed thinking. It provides us an opportunity to tap into our creativity and uncover innovative approaches to solve our goals. In short, it empowers us to grow and improve. How can you tap into this practice and start unlocking your superpower? Here are some tips: ➡️ Start with 5 minutes. Grab a notebook (or your phone!) and simply freewrite your thoughts. No editing, no judgment, just stream-of-consciousness exploration. ➡️ Seek your sanctuary. Find a space that whispers calm. It could be a sun-drenched park bench, a quiet corner of your favorite coffee shop, or even a corner of your own bedroom bathed in morning light. ➡️ Expand your toolbox. Journaling isn't the only path to self-discovery. Try sketching your emotions, mind mapping your goals, or taking a solo walk and letting your thoughts flow. ➡️ Make it a daily ritual. Treat reflection like your morning coffee; a non-negotiable habit that fuels your day. This year, create your #LeadershipLifestyle and unlock the incredible potential within you. Make consistent reflection your superpower, not just a seasonal ritual. Thanks for reading! 💬 share how you use reflection in the comments 🫴 share this post with your network 🔔 click + Follow to stay informed on future tips and insights into creating your own Leadership Lifestyle! #reflection #SelfImprovement #LeadershipDevelopment #leadership #journaling #meditation #UnlockYourPotential