Nick Allen

Daily Journaling Template

In work and in life I’ve tried to follow a continuous beta mantra.
Always be testing, upgrading and improving.

\\ This is a sidestep from my classic business and marketing posts, but bear with me.

One thing I’ve been trying lately is daily journaling. I haven’t perfected it and I use an alarm still to prompt me every morning to do it.

It’s a practice that many of the world leaders, smart investors and creatives use to improve. Of those interviewed for Tim Ferris’ book Tools of Titans, a majority had daily practices of: journaling, meditation, waking early, physical activity and shocks to the system (either intermittent fasting or cold water immersion).

The book’s a good read BTW, or digest each podcast for the whole story, uncategorised.

Here’s a little video with the details (sorry if you’ve seen this on IGTV)

We often get quite granular with our KPIs and goals, but how often do we really review what’s working?

Here’s the template I use as a prompt.

Journaling Template

What went well
What am I grateful for and what went well yesterday I can be proud of and replicate.

Today’s three
Things that if I get them done will move the needle

  1. _
  2. _
  3. _

Today’s experiment
What am I going to try today. Something new.

Reflection
What didn’t work? What do I need to follow up? What can I celebrate? Who should I connect with and connect to someone?

What can I share that I’ve found useful?
=======================================================

Hope you guys find this useful.
Let me know if you’ve got a Journaling tip, habit or continuous beta effort in play.

Versions for you:

3 responses to “Daily Journaling Template”

  1. Dan Antion Avatar
    Dan Antion

    I could see how this could be helpful. We do a group stand-up (we donโ€™t stand) but only 2 days a week. Everyday seemed too much. I guess the key lies in what you do with them after a few weeks.

    Reply
    1. NickWAllen Avatar
      NickWAllen

      Yes and I think the intent of the meeting has an impact. In the past if the team come to celebrate what they’ve done and get focused on today it’s different to ‘well why are you still working on X’. Keeping them short, standing to emphasize it helps. And going over things that people could see if they looked in our workflow management tools (Trello) is also a drag.

      Reply
      1. NickWAllen Avatar
        NickWAllen

        Making it proactive and future focused rather than dwelling on the past I think is key.

I would love to hear your views!

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