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December 13 - December 22, 2023
The hard truth is that we can’t “make time,” we can only “take time.”
Procrastination indicates that it may be the most challenging Task on your list, because it worries you or doesn’t interest you. Put it first.
Studies show that we need about five compliments to balance out every negative remark made toward us. That’s because we remember negative events more intensely than positive ones.
Mark Twain once wrote, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”
Worry has a way of holding our attention hostage. This is especially true for things we can’t control due to the elevated level of uncertainty.
If you finally come to the conclusion that an obligation is adding no value to your life, or that the effort far outweighs the value it provides, then you’ve identified a distraction. Let it go. If you can’t let it go for whatever reason, deconstruct (this page) your obligation and figure out your alternatives.
The office
the experience taught me that it’s all too easy to start feeling as if we’re being held hostage by our circumstances.
Start a new Collection and give it a Topic that names the problem: “I can’t pay rent.” Now ask yourself why. Write down the answer. Now, challenge your answer by asking why again. Do the same for the next answer, and so on, up to five times.
Do for GEC
Study your effort Each Collection is an attempt to learn. It’s important to study your Collections, both the ones that worked as well as the ones that didn’t, to see what you can take for the next round.
The Bullet Journal’s four core Collections (Index, Future Log, Monthly Log, and Daily Log) will serve you well in most cases. That said, Bullet Journal embraces the fact that one size does not fit all.
Challenges Is there some part of your life that’s consistently making you feel angry, anxious, overwhelmed, or self-critical? Once you’ve figured out what the challenge is, creating a Custom Collection tailored to address said challenge can prove very useful.
If you find beautifying your notebook is essential to maintaining your motivation and productivity, then have at
As we’ve discussed, overwhelm can quickly drain us of our motivation and excitement. We can mitigate this by educating ourselves ahead of time.
On the flip side, be careful not to fall down the research rabbit hole. Educating ourselves can be fun and feel productive, but for some it becomes a way to avoid getting on with the process. The longer you research, the more options you will surface, which can also be overwhelming. We want to avoid this infamous “analysis paralysis.” We need to research, but we also need to make progress. How do we do both, in the proper proportions? This is where time boxing (this page) comes into play.
Context provides information that will help us prioritize.
Another example of customizing an existing Collection is by integrating a habit tracker into your Monthly Log.
