How I Journal for Mental Clarity (very simple)

This is a simple breakdown of how I journal for mental clarity. I don't spend more than 5-10 minutes on it a day. This originally began as a bullet journal and has slowly evolved into what it is today.

Timestamps:

0:31 - overview
2:24 - part I (daily tracker)
6:17 - part II (weekly reviews)
8:17 - par III (monthly resets)

[sesamesprinckles]

I appreciated the fact that you’re journal was so “ugly”. I tried to journal before and making a system but i got really frustrated by the fact that my journal didn’t look like those “perfect” ones in the youtube videos.

[okn]

" I havent found a way to enjoy the productivity of the morning and the creativity of night. ". I felt that so much.

[gurudra]

The mind is a loyal servant, but a very dangerous master

[nuvoclassic]

To balance my productivity with my creativity I challenged myself to go to bed at the same time EVERY night - including weekends. It was not easy because I'm a night owl and love to watch movies with my hubby. I'm 68 years of age and I've never been a 'morning person'. Since Dec 2019, I've been tracking my bedtime and wake time (plus hydration and steps) I now start my bedtime routine around 9pm and I wake up naturally between 6am and 7:30am, without an alarm clock. It's great.

I'm productive (working on projects in my home office - journaling, bible study, planning, reading, organizing, etc.) as soon as I rise for a few hours before breakfast. During the day, I do household chores inside or outside in our gardens. After dinner (around 6pm), I am creative in my home art studio. I feel better mentally and my depression is history.

oh, and every night before I fall asleep I write a full page in my diary (draw a little if I feel like it) and read in my current bedside book until I drift off. (I'm a 'serial' book reader. I read multiple books concurrently.)

BTW, I only answer email once a week on Wednesday.

[miriamtm]

I’m Spanish and I have always thought of “siestas” as a thing only lazy people did and I refused having siestas for that reason. Well, last year between studying periods in the afternoon I found myself lacking energy and tried having siestas. Turns out, it was exactly what I needed, and whenever I feel a little tired I lay down on my bed, and sleep either for 30 min or 1 hour. If I can’t sleep, I’ll just rest for 25 min, thinking with my eyes closed. It has the same benefits and you’ll feel refreshed. I often do this when I’m tired or when I’ve been studying for 2 hours aprox. only until 17:30 pm. I won’t sleep later than that as it messes up my sleeping schedule at night. But bear in mind that you should listen to your body and you should prioritize sleep, it’s not being lazy, but rather mindful. You should give it a try!

[mattia]

"There isn't an app out there that I feel makes me reflect in the way that this journaling method does"

So true.

[SharumKiSketchbook]

You and Matt D are the best discoveries I made on YouTube. Thanks for adding so much value Nathan

[KBXen]

I like how you aren't hesitant on displaying your vulnerabilities. There are a lot of YouTubers who pretend to have figured everything out and force their ideals onto their viewers, claiming their ways are the best.
You seem genuine, it's nice. Good stuff 👍

[Arekusuu_]

I started journaling on June 2019 and here is how I am journaling right now:



1. I usually start the month dedicating a page for a minimalist calendar in which I write the number date and the initial of the day next to it. This is merely to just to keep track of activities that you think that are interesting (1S - Company dinner) ->just keep it simple.
2. Then In the second page I create 2 tables. One for the habit tracker, and the second for the mood tracker.
- Habit Tracker: Just recreate the same calendar you did but adding an extra layer to write down the initials of the habits you would like to practice this month. And then as the days goes by, just mark an X on the habits you have done that day:
M S C BJ
1 X X X
2 X X


-Mood Tracker: The idea is to subjectively grade the day from 1-10 based on your mood.

This way at the end of the month you have a picture of how productive and emotional it has been.


3. Then I left as many pages as I want to put reviews that I might consider important. I simply write the day of the Reflection and write the thoughts fo that day. (i.e: some days of lower productivity I might have reviewed that and explained my thoughts)


Tips:
1. I have found that the less habits you want to practice the better. Started with 7 on June, and now I practice 4 with daily dedication (i.e: Sport, Study Chinese, Meditation, Bullet Journaling). And then, seeing that you have been very productive also encourages you to keep it up.
2. I found that months that I have been more productive are related to a better emotional state of mind. This can be due to better sleep schedule, hydration, food, etc.


That is it! Hope I can help others with my way to go. Of course we are constantly changing, therefore, 3 months from now I might be doing something slightly different hahaha :)


Nathaniel I want to thank you again for all the humble work you are putting out there. Keep it up. And I wish all the best for you in this 2020.

[ekaiordan]

You're first person who emphasized the importance of emotional state and not only goals and purposes...

[WillReil]

I recently started getting back into journaling. I always find that unless I keep track of things, my mind becomes a useless mess. I started by planning out my daily routines, then by breaking down my day into smaller tasks. This has been immensely helpful for motivating myself to make and improve my own YouTube content.

Thanks for sharing your process :)

[Syn]

8:31 you mentioning trying to stray away from outcome based goals and focusing more on systems and processes..wow everything comes into full circle, i just recently learned this from Atomic Habits by James Clear 😭

[iKingTiger]

I'm Spanish and that "siesta" moment caught me off guard. I thought we were just being lazy at the middle of the day hahaha

[josiec]

“What gets measured gets managed” Found this channel yesterday and it sent me on a real rampage of inspiration (so hardcore), which helped lift me out of a recent depressive episode 🙏 I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with journaling. Gonna give this a shot!

[justinseldon]

Dude! You're channel has helped me through pretty difficult times. You're pretty awesome!

[azilbean]

Thank you for the simple, and straightforward tips. I've started (and stopped) many types of journals over the years and enjoyed them all. I want to start journaling nor for mental health, so I bought a journal and started watching videos for tips. You'll probably ever read this since your video is 2 years old, but I have 2 tips for you in regards to to finding creativity in the morning and napping. 1- Start your day w/ a low-effort, hands-on task while you're drinking your morning beverage. It can be a low-effort creative task like zentangling or journaling, but it could also be something physical (like yoga) or useful (like cleaning). The point is to "prep" and "reward" your brain for creativity & productivity. I've started doing this recently and it has helped me a ton! 2- Don't lay down for a nap w/ the intention of sleeping (which we can often only do if we are exhausted or sick), think of the time as a way to rest your body and rest your mind. Set a timer for 20m-45m and lay down for a "rest." You can listen to music, meditate, do slow yoga the floor and end in "corpse pose, " or just sit in silence watching a candle until you feel ready to close your eyes and rest. Hope those help someone!

[VenusVoice]

For those brilliant minds with ADD and need these tips especially but can't focus on the whole video, read the timestamps and skim.

I love this guy.

[MultiSuperRita]

Thank you. I told about this "Journal for Mental Clarity" to my therapist and She suggested me to follow your instruction and now the "your" journal is part of my therapy. Thank you for your suggestion!

[raytheonorion]

The cycle I fall into, I journal, I set goals, I end up succeeding as a result, the workload increases, I have less time to journal & analyse what I write, I lose momentum with it, I restart at 0.

[CianeMibs]

Nathaniel, thank you so much for your content. It’s so difficult to find high quality content on YouTube. I am amazed by your beautiful soul and awareness of yourself and the world around you. There’s no doubt you inspire a lot of people from all over the world. Again, thank you for such high quality content you provide us and for taking time to do this. Cheers from Brazil!