For years , I kept on making daily to-do lists that had the particularity to be continuously rolling onto the next day. Why? Because when creating the list, I was always positive in over achieving and setting myself challenging tasks. I often thought as well that days had 48 hours and that I had a set of triplets helping me achieve all those impossible activities. By the end of the day, the mood is grave and disappointment is showing its pointy noise. Cleverly, I discovered erasing pen so the title Monday could easily become Tuesday or Wednesday at the top of the frustrating never-ending list. I knew something had to give.
Success List
I first discovered the power of words and decided to call the list: My Success List. The result improved a little bit but was far from being life changing. Somehow, writing on paper feels good and I always liked doing it.
There is something so personal and involved in taking a pen and writing your thoughts on a piece of paper. It feels like making a contract with yourself. I also love my handwriting and see the pages I have covered as art and a reflection of my sense of style.
Morning and evening routines
I am a strong believer in the power of a structured daily routine packed with all the tools I have discovered during my travels, my readings and my conversations. I needed to find a tool that wool focus my mind in the morning and evening on my daily goals. The idea of a journal came naturally to me but I knew that for this activity to achieve anything, it had to be simple, take little time and have immediate effects. I love the power of positivity and words so I called it Success Journal.
My Success Journal
I have seen over the years, so many Success Journals with complicated probes and questionnaires. I did not want any of that, I wanted a simple journal to would give me the push I needed to achieve my short and long terms goals. I decided to buy a simple lined journal with a pretty and inspiring cover.
Setting the key rules
Then it was time to set the rules:
- Write every night just before bed 3 tasks that you want to achieve the next day. While they had to be challenging, they had to be achievable. Keeping it to 3 was the key to allowing my mind to focus rather than going around the gardens of procrastination .
- Every morning as I woke up, re-open the journal at the page written the night before to remind myself of my goals.
- Remind myself why I need to achieve these 3 tasks. How do they fit in my bigger plan, my long term plan.
