Are you a journaling newbie? Or perhaps you're someone who's heard of the power
of journaling? Well in this video I'm going to share with you how to journal
and some prompts to get you started. My name is Adrian and Girdler, and I'm
president and chief efficiency officer of CornerStone Dynamics and MyVisualVision.com.
And journaling is a powerful tool and it is something that I
recommend to everyone in the world of efficiency, to actually do, because it is
through reflection that we have a true understanding as to where improvements
lie and it is that reflection that allows us to go to the next level of
whatever it is we're trying to achieve, particularly with our goals and vision.
So I would like to share with you some tried and true techniques to get you
started on this path of journaling. First and foremost, there are no rules to
journaling, so don't get caught up on how it has to be done, cause guess what, no
one is gonna see it but you, that's the beauty of journaling, it is a brain dump,
it is a place for you to start putting down your thoughts because you'll be
amazed at how much is going on in here, sometimes we even have our own
conversations that are happening, journaling allows you to sift through
all of that noise and really get to the root of what you want to do, so there's
no rules, just start journaling. The next thing you want to do, you actually want
to get yourself some really nice books, so I want to share with you some here. So
you get some really nice journals, it could be something really simple or
something a little more elaborate, but one thing I've noticed over the years of
journaling is these are your thoughts and they should be treated with care and
with respect and love. So guess what, just don't put it on a little piece of paper
so that it can get lost, put it in a single location, really get yourself a
beautiful journal because your thoughts are that important. The next thing you
want to do is you want to journal daily. This is a discipline, it's a habit, so if
you're not used to journaling then guess what, like working out, man...you got to do
it every day, but don't get overwhelmed, give yourself five
minutes. Five - ten minutes a day, and exactly where you decide to do it is
dependent upon you, if you decide to do in the mornings and make it a journal
that is looking at your at your day coming up, if it is a journaling that you
like to do at night then make your journal a reflection of how your day
went, but just be disciplined with this task and do five or ten minutes a day.
All right, now that you are getting into journaling, you're dedicated, you have
your books, help! Adriana, how do I start? Okay, sit down on a desk, relax. I'm gonna
give you some prompts, some really great prompts to start you off, I'm gonna give
you some work props and I'm gonna give you some personal prompts. So let me just
get my cheat sheet here, because I get my glasses for reading, one of the
work-related prompts you could use is: what are you grateful for, in fact up
above is a link to a video that I did on the importance of gratitude, so please
check it out, and that's a lovely way to start your journaling practice. Another
one is one to three things that went really well today, and why. Because you
want to learn from these things and you want to repeat it. The next one would be:
what are the one to three things that didn't work well today. Because guess
what, we're in the process of learning and what a great way to do that through
your journal. The other one is what personal value did I employ today or
what personal value do I want to employ. So depending on the time of your
journaling, whether it's in the morning or in the evening, change up the verbiage
slightly. That's a lovely way to get you in the right frame of mind in order to
proceed for the day or at least be reflective to see are you actually
practicing what you're preaching and what's really important to you.
And the other one is what are my goals for work?
So break that down, you don't have to do it all at once, you can do...what is my
goal for work, for this year? And just journal on that. Another day maybe pick
it out and say...what are my goals for work for this month? And so on and so
forth, and you can do that up for a week, a day, even within an hour if you want to
do...what's my goal for the next hour? It's a lovely way to get you in the practice
of journaling because the key with journaling is doing. and the more you do it the more
of a habit it will become, and you'll start to see the power behind it. So what
are some personal prompts for you in regards to journaling, because again you
can use this not just from a professional standpoint but a personal
standpoint, well some of my favorites include: one thing I've always wanted to
do, because you never want to forget about your dreams, the quality I admire
in others, and you can finish it off by saying, why do I admire that and how can
I emulate it, so again your journaling for greater understanding, the thing I'm
most thankful, for because again I am in that frame of mind of gratitude, really
important, the best advice I can give to myself, guess with what, we are brilliant
with advice giving to others, sometimes not the best with taking it ourselves.
Well now you're going to write it in your journal, and you can read it back to
yourself, which is really cool because that allows you to really hear it in a
different light, and something that I always recommend is, what do I fear and
why. Fear can be debilitating and if we can understand why it debilitates us and
what exactly it is we're fearful of, our journal can be a powerful tool in
helping us grow, so when you get really good and consistent with your journaling
and ideas, or just flowing you can take it to a whole new level and you can
start using it for problem-solving. Something that I do all the time, or idea
creation, and that is you just put what your problem is on the top, and you just
sit there for a moment, a little bit of in a meditative state, and you allow for
the ideas to just start percolating in your brain and you start to write it
down, and you go with the flow. That really is the next level you take your
journaling too, it is powerful. I have come up with some amazing ideas, creative
concepts, all because of my journal, but in order to get there I couldn't get
there a day one, you just have to start the process. So I hope these tips help
you. Please if you agree with them, write JOURNAL down below in the comment
section. I'd also love to hear your stories. Please give this video a thumbs
up right below and don't forget to share
this with your family and friends as well as your colleagues, and I look
forward to seeing you at my next video. thank you very much, see you later!