Bullet Journal: January 2016 Reflection and February Goals

As January comes to a close all I have to say is that this month was BUSY! Even crazier is that February will be even busier and it looks like things start off with a possible snowstorm.

And seeing this potential for rain and snow makes me feel like Bernie

Just because last month and this month will be busy, it does not mean we cannot be productive. Something I am going to keep in mind and use a framework for February is breaking up my time into larger chunks of work time. This past month I divided and conquered in smaller sections and felt more anxiety and less productive than ever before.

As Charles Franklin Thwing said in 1912 in his book  Letters from a Father to his Son Entering College. 

“To save time, take time in large pieces. Do not cut time up into bits…The mind is like a locomotive. It requires time for getting under headway. Under headway it makes its own steam. Progress gives force as force makes progress. Do not slow down as long as you run well and without undue waste. Take advantage of momentum. Prolonged thinking leads to profound thinking.”

I will be focusing on a new system in my Bullet Journal to block off chunks of time. I tried many methods(see the video below) but all the methods took to long to draw, create, and then process. When the effort of documenting equals that of the activity it simply is not worth it and I burn out quickly.

What I found powerful is documenting a few specific habits that I want to get a gauge on. It is hard to argue the facts when they are in your face. Even crazier is how we can manipulate our thoughts to think we are making improvements. I have some habits to reduce next month to reach my levels of fitness and health and daily documentation hit me hard in the face.

For the month of February I will be keeping

• my monthly workout and weight chart
• My life energy source and drain source charts to develop a stronger baseline
• Daily logs with weekends being clumped together
• document one little life moment each day

For the month of February I will be trying out

• methods to block chunks of time to work
• methods to make sure I prepare each day instead of winging it throughout the day
• A monthly goal of learning and figuring out how to log learning
• better handwriting and graphics

One month in and I can see value in bullet journaling. Each person has their own system. The goal is to keep what works, drop what does not work, and try new systems to keep yourself learning and engaged.

In the end I am improvising another month of Bullet Journal to find out what works best to help me meet my goals and live a great life. If you have any tips or suggestions please leave a comment with the ideas so I can test them out.

Life is a lot like jazz… it’s best when you improvise.

– George Gershwin

ICYMI

Bullet Journal Episode 1: Preparing for 2016 and Migrating 2015 Notebook…https://youtu.be/efYiPTHGTR8

Bullet Journal Episode 2: The First 10 Days https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZFfVYLR3kM