Rediscovering an old friend, journaling- 1/2/20
Photos of my journal- front and back cover
Rebooting Using a Journal
My #oneword 2020 is CHALLENGE. One of my goals related to this word is to reflect regularly. So as I began week #2 of my Winter Break, I decided to take some time to set up a journal.
So I started off by printing off a copy of my updated goals from my December 27th post and then added my #oneword 2020 graphic. I liked the idea of using these graphics as a way to ground my goals. Then, as part of my December 29th post, I added my CHALLENGE acrostic to the back of my journal.
All of the sudden, a little blue journal went from just being a notebook- to a scrapbook of sorts to document my yearlong journey.
After the initial setup, I recorded all of my goals down on the first page. Writing them down made it real. Spending so much time on a computer every day, there was something familiar and therapeutic about writing using a pen and paper.
The next day, I began my Goals Checkin #1. I started off my rewriting each of my goals and then sharing my progress on them. When I was reading, 5 Things Successful People Do Before 8 AM, Foy shared,
"Your journal is your personal space to ponder and pen your aspirations."
So began my daily time to "ponder and pen" my aspirations. It is amazing how when you revisit your goals daily how they stay forefront in your mind.
First Day Check in
More Than Just Journaling
Having a journal where I was pondering and penning my aspirations, I started to wonder how else I could use this book. What if I used it to collect notes, quotes and tweets that I wanted to remember?
So I started adding other things. Some of these things ended up in blog posts. Other things like #bookyourself tweiets seemed like a great way to remember my key learnings from each chapter. I started recording books I wanted to read and even screen shots of messages and tweets that were particularly memorable or important to me. It seems so simple, but this visual and written representation of my goals and daily reflections has ignited something in me that I could have never anticipated. In Innovate Inside The Box, George Couros shares," We have to make our own time for learning outside of our professional learning days." (p.84 Innovate Inside The Box) This new daily practice was documenting my master learner journey and inspiring me in new and exciting ways.
Some Additional Visuals to Document My Journey
With all these practices in place, while I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, I found these accountability graphics in the Fitness for Teachers group that I follow. I knew they had to be part of documenting my journey. I quickly added one keeping track of my consistency for exercise regularly and one for reading to learn.
So what does this post have to do with rediscovering an old friend? I haven't kept a journal in a very long time, but as I rebooted this old habit, it was like rediscovering an old friend.Six days in, I find it hard to believe that I ever stopped writing. Sure, it is Winter Break now- that makes it easier, right? But my 2020 word is CHALLENGE. I am challenging myself to establish better self care and to take more professional risks. Taking that time to write every day before the sun rises will keep me accountable and keep my eyes on the prize. Will it be perfect, no, but I know with this vision in the forefront of my mind, 2020 promises to be a year unlike any other.