How To Keep A Journal For Achieving Your Goals

We have an entire year of test-runs, mistakes, and wonderful achievements to look forward to, but those resolutions we tend to list at the beginning of every year often end up merely collecting dust in our minds. Even some of our finest soulful resolutions never make it past February with our scattered efforts to meet the needs of everyday existence and still grow as human beings.

However, one often underestimated step can significantly help for achieving your goals, and it’s a tried-and-tested method for boosting your self-discipline even in those most demanding, health-related aspirations. By using journaling as your go-to method to stick to your goals, you’ll get to fill out your 2019 blank slate in a way that will finally allow you to release all of your potential and enjoy the process even more than before.

Writing means forming a mindset

When you think about putting aside 15 minutes every day to scribble in your notepad, it seems like a fairly easy task, doesn’t it? Much like any other habit, it takes dedication and persistence, even if you find it enjoyable, which is why so many people give up after days of starting in the first place. You can begin by setting a repeated alarm on your phone to remind you to write a few sentences in your journal. Make sure to focus on very specific goals that are not vague, but detailed, and achievable most of all.

That way, even if you don’t stick to your “I’ll skip sugar today and swap sweets with apples”, you’ll have a written reminder of it, so that you can give it another go the very next day. As you start developing the habit of writing, you’ll notice that you’ll start remembering your assigned goals more easily, increasing your chance of actually succeeding. Let those alarms go on for a few weeks, or until you find yourself writing on a regular basis, and then you can implement some self-monitoring!

It’s the attention to detail that counts

Writing down your goals and discussing every aspect of their completion every time you write in your journal means that you will not stay stuck on a random list of ten New Year’s resolutions. Your goals will be able to change and adapt, you’ll be able to introduce more refined approaches to achieve them, and you’ll be able to outline every step of the process.

That means that you no longer have a very vague, undefined goal far in front of you in the future with no clear means of achieving it. You can use your journal to build a roadmap of simple steps you can count on to give your goals meaning and purpose. If you wish to find a better job, take immediate action that will contribute to your overarching goal, and take it with no postponing.

Increased accountability

When you have clear, simple short-term goals staring you in the face from your journal page, and when they can literally be done any time, you need to face your own moral compass. There are no excuses to always postpone that dental checkup, or that visit to your optometrist. To put things in perspective, if you’re wearing glasses, you know that you need to occasionally make sure you don’t need a new prescription or that you don’t ignore any headaches or eye-strain.

But since we often take our senses and abilities for granted, we indefinitely delay all of those little chores that come with the territory of being human. So, instead of making another delay, head to your favourite eyewear store and look for new glasses frames to make your habit more inspiring, and give yourself that little nudge to make and go to the doctor’s appointment.

When you write down “I’ll take care of my eyes”, it’s difficult to actually commit, but when you formulate it into “I’ll call my doctor today at noon to confirm our annual checkup, and I’ll hit the store to find a stylish pair of frames for my new prescription” – then you’ll give yourself a fair chance at success.

Progress fuels more progress

Not every well-phrased little goal will be accomplished even after you have stopped using the alarm and you’re in the habit of completing your little challenges. It’s still basic human nature to skip what you dislike the most (such as not eating that muffin) and move straight to the tasks that are easier on your willpower. In time, however, even the most gruelling challenges become more manageable, because you see so many checked off items in your journal – hence the benefit of combining bullet points with regular notes and other writing styles.

Use these short, focused statements to keep your attention of the portion of your journaling efforts that really matters the most. As you start checking off more of those items that are exceptionally difficult for your character, you’ll discover a greater sense of accomplishment, and inspire yourself to take your resolutions one step further than before.

Learning about your inner-self

Finally, journaling is one of the most effective forms of introspection. It gives you insight into your deepest, least understood desires, motives, and aspirations, allowing you to restructure your goals as you move forward. Even more importantly, writing down your goals and remaining consistent with this practice lets you manage your expectations from yourself.

We often either underestimate or overestimate our abilities at any given time. Writing down what you want to do, and seeing how much you’ve actually managed to do can give you a new, fresh perspective on your potential.

Writing is a healing tool that can help everyone make smarter goals and tracking their progress as the year moves forward. This is a perfect opportunity to end the typical list-making of New Year’s resolutions, and turn it into a continuous desire to grow, not out of a clean slate, but proud of all the goals you’ve accomplished thus far!

Please don’t forget to share this article with your friends and family. You never know who might be wondering about how to keep a journal.

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