Gratitude Journaling

I recommend doing this every day, or at least every week.

Count your blessings.

Fill in the blank. I am thankful for...

1. List at least 7 things off the top of your head and mention the reasons why you are grateful for each of them. 

2. What are the top 3 from that list? Star them or put them in priority order. Then, be even more thorough as to why you are thankful for each of those top 3 items. 

3. Review at least the last 3 lists you've made. Do a JRT (Journaling Review Template) of them.  

(Image Credit: Stacy Duplease)

Gratitude Journaling

I recommend doing this every day, or at least every week.

Count your blessings.

Fill in the blank. I am thankful for...

1. List at least 7 things off the top of your head and mention the reasons why you are grateful for each of them. 

2. What are the top 3 from that list? Star them or put them in priority order. Then, be even more thorough as to why you are thankful for each of those top 3 items. 

3. Review at least the last 3 lists you've made. Do a JRT (Journaling Review Template) of them.  

Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper Author & Sci-Fi Writer

The Story of John Arundell and Roanoke (A Sci-Fi Time Travel Novel)

& the Remembering Your Present Journal Keeping Series

Email: storykeeper2121@gmail.com

Bookstore: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction

dba Remembering Your Present, LLC & Storykeeper 2121

(Image Credit: Stacy Duplease)

Review of Your Journaling (with Journaling Review Template)

INTRO (AND WHEN?)

Every week, month, 3 months, 6 months, year, 2 years, 4 years, 5 years, 7 years, 10 years, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 years, etc., it is important to review your journaling. 

WHAT IS REVIEW?

It is re-reading your journaling from the past periods listed previously in the Intro section of this blog post. Then, you summarize that period of time. Finally, you analyze that period of time in your journal. 

WHY?

Review is important to review for several reasons:

1. Review helps you remember--where you are, have come from, and are going--so you do not forget. 

2. It helps you to analyze things of/in your life.

3. You can see what patterns/repetition there is in your life.

4. It's important to take a look at the lessons learned.

5. Review helps you know what to change.

6. It reminds you of how far you've come.

7. It helps you to count your blessings.

8. It gives you a fresh/new perspective and point-of-view.

9. It gives you more manageable segments of your journaling so in 30 years, you do not have to re-read everything on a yearly basis. 

HOW?

Do this Review Journaling Exercise for each of the segments listed above. 

If you have journaled before, do this:

Do whichever of the steps are applicable below, according to how many days, weeks, months, and/or years of journaling you have.

1. Go week by week through your journaling and fill out the Journaling Review Template (JRT). Start at the beginning of your journaling. Do the JRT for each week until you catch-up to today. (TIP: If you did not journal every day, do the weekly for every 5 or 7-days of journaling.)

2. Take four of your weekly reviews (the Weekly JRTs) and do a month review for them (even if it's a period of time longer than a month).

3. Take three of your monthly reviews (the Monthly JRTs) and do a 3-month review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 3-months).

4. Take two of your 3-month reviews (the 3-months JRTs) and do a 6-month review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 6-months).

5. Take two of your 6-month reviews (the 6-months JRTs) and do a year review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than a year). 

6. Take two of your 1-year reviews (the year JRTs) and do a 2-year review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 2 years). 

7. Take two of your 2-year reviews (the 2-year JRTs) and do a 4-year review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 4 years). 

8. Take two of your 2-year reviews  plus a 1-year review and do a 5-year review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 5 years).  

9. Take two of your 5-year reviews (the 5-year JRTs) and do a 10-year review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 5 years).  

10. Then, do the 10-year, 15-year, 20-year, and every 5 year denomination after that.

11. Do the next section after this one when you are caught up to today.

If you have not journaled before, or have done any fo the previous 11 steps, then do this:

The Journaling Review Template.

THE JOURNALING REVIEW TEMPLATE (EXERCISE) INSTRUCTIONS:

1. At the end of every week, do the Weekly JRT from your previous 7-days of journaling. 

2. If you have a total of 4 Weekly JRTs at this point, do the Monthly JRT. If not, skip to the JRT Section. 

3. If you have a total of 3 Monthly JRTs, do the 3-Month Review. If not, skip to the JRT Section. 

4. If you have a total of 2 3-Month JRTs, do the 6-Month Review. If not, skip to the JRT Section. 

5. If you have a total of 2 6-Month JRTs, do the Year Review. If not, skip to the JRT Section. 

6. If you have a total of 5 Year JRTs, do the 5-Year Review. After this, do in segments of every 5 years. If not, skip to the JRT Section.

JRT: JOURNALING REVIEW TEMPLATE

1. Write an one-sentence summary of this time period.

2. Write an one-paragraph summary of this time period.

3. List the top 7 memories, or top 7 memorable things, from this time period.

4. What went didn't go so well?

5. What went well and you want to repeat?

6. What lessons were learned?

7. What did you remember from the past?

8. What did you plan for the future?

9. Do a Stream of Consciousness (SOC) and write about whatever comes to mind about this time period. 

10. Write more about 3 of your 3 strongest memories or memorable things from this time period (as a continuation of #3). 

11. Write a 2-paragraph summary. 

12. Write anything else that comes to mind. 

~ Stacy Duplease

(Image Credit: Stacy Duplease. 17 Nov. 2012. Virginia Beach.)

Review of Your Journaling (with Journaling Review Template)

INTRO (AND WHEN?)

Every week, month, 3 months, 6 months, year, 2 years, 4 years, 5 years, 7 years, 10 years, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 years, etc., it is important to review your journaling. 

WHAT IS REVIEW?

It is re-reading your journaling from the past periods listed previously in the Intro section of this blog post. Then, you summarize that period of time. Finally, you analyze that period of time in your journal. 

WHY?

Review is important to review for several reasons:

1. Review helps you remember--where you are, have come from, and are going--so you do not forget. 

2. It helps you to analyze things of/in your life.

3. You can see what patterns/repetition there is in your life.

4. It's important to take a look at the lessons learned.

5. Review helps you know what to change.

6. It reminds you of how far you've come.

7. It helps you to count your blessings.

8. It gives you a fresh/new perspective and point-of-view.

9. It gives you more manageable segments of your journaling so in 30 years, you do not have to re-read everything on a yearly basis. 

HOW?

Do this Review Journaling Exercise for each of the segments listed above. 

If you have journaled before, do this:

Do whichever of the steps are applicable below, according to how many days, weeks, months, and/or years of journaling you have.

1. Go week by week through your journaling and fill out the Journaling Review Template (JRT). Start at the beginning of your journaling. Do the JRT for each week until you catch-up to today. (TIP: If you did not journal every day, do the weekly for every 5 or 7-days of journaling.)

2. Take four of your weekly reviews (the Weekly JRTs) and do a month review for them (even if it's a period of time longer than a month).

3. Take three of your monthly reviews (the Monthly JRTs) and do a 3-month review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 3-months).

4. Take two of your 3-month reviews (the 3-months JRTs) and do a 6-month review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 6-months).

5. Take two of your 6-month reviews (the 6-months JRTs) and do a year review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than a year). 

6. Take two of your 1-year reviews (the year JRTs) and do a 2-year review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 2 years). 

7. Take two of your 2-year reviews (the 2-year JRTs) and do a 4-year review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 4 years). 

8. Take two of your 2-year reviews  plus a 1-year review and do a 5-year review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 5 years).  

9. Take two of your 5-year reviews (the 5-year JRTs) and do a 10-year review for them (even if it's a longer period of time than 5 years).  

10. Then, do the 10-year, 15-year, 20-year, and every 5 year denomination after that.

11. Do the next section after this one when you are caught up to today.

If you have not journaled before, or have done any fo the previous 11 steps, then do this:

The Journaling Review Template.

THE JOURNALING REVIEW TEMPLATE (EXERCISE) INSTRUCTIONS:

1. At the end of every week, do the Weekly JRT from your previous 7-days of journaling. 

2. If you have a total of 4 Weekly JRTs at this point, do the Monthly JRT. If not, skip to the JRT Section. 

3. If you have a total of 3 Monthly JRTs, do the 3-Month Review. If not, skip to the JRT Section. 

4. If you have a total of 2 3-Month JRTs, do the 6-Month Review. If not, skip to the JRT Section. 

5. If you have a total of 2 6-Month JRTs, do the Year Review. If not, skip to the JRT Section. 

6. If you have a total of 5 Year JRTs, do the 5-Year Review. After this, do in segments of every 5 years. If not, skip to the JRT Section.

JRT: JOURNALING REVIEW TEMPLATE

1. Write an one-sentence summary of this time period.

2. Write an one-paragraph summary of this time period.

3. List the top 7 memories, or top 7 memorable things, from this time period.

4. What went didn't go so well?

5. What went well and you want to repeat?

6. What lessons were learned?

7. What did you remember from the past?

8. What did you plan for the future?

9. Do a Stream of Consciousness (SOC) and write about whatever comes to mind about this time period. 

10. Write more about 3 of your 3 strongest memories or memorable things from this time period (as a continuation of #3). 

11. Write a 2-paragraph summary. 

12. Write anything else that comes to mind. 

~ Stacy Duplease

(Image Credit: Stacy Duplease. 17 Nov. 2012. Virginia Beach.)

A 30-Day Journal About the Last Year: Day #2--The Ideal Year

THE IDEAL YEAR JOURNALING EXERCISE

If you could have lived the ideal year over the last 365 days, what would that have looked like? 

1. Journal your response in your journal.

2. Think on this ALL day long and write whatever comes to mind. Do not censor yourself. write it down even if it doesn't make sense or sounds silly. 

3. At the end of the day, write at least an one paragraph summary of your perfect/ideal year the last 365 days. 

4. Why did you come up short of this? Why? Be specific and list as many things as you can. 

5. How did you succeed in living the ideal/perfect year? Explain why. Be specific and list as many things as you can. 

6. What have you learned for next year? Be specific and thorough. 

~ Stacy Duplease

(Image Credit: Stacy Duplease. Virginia Beach 17 Nov. 2012). 

Monday Morning Journaling Exercise

INTRO: WHAT IS THE MONDAY MORNING JOURNALING EXERCISE?

If you take a weekend off from journaling, it is important to make sure to have a session of journaling to claim what happened, and was memorable, on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. That way, you do not forget about it later.

I recommend this exercise if you didn't do any journaling--or if you did. This Journaling Exercise might bring out more from your journaling, after all, if you did journal over the weekend. 

TIP: Make sure to do it first thing Monday morning before you get too busy. If there is one thing I've learned, if I get busy, I might not get this journaling down on the page. 

ANOTHER TIP: You can do this Sunday before you go to bed as well--or each night or morning over the weekend. Do whatever works for you--and works for you at the time. You might need to do something different each week--depending on your schedule and what comes up in your life. 

ANOTHER TIP: Do this every week and do not skip this. You'll get a lot out of it. 

THE MONDAY MORNING JOURNALING EXERCISE

TIP: Do at the very least #'s 1-4, preferable #'s 5-10.

1. Take out your calendar/planner and make sure to fill in what you did over the weekend, if you haven't already. If you have, go back through it and see if you forgot anything.

(TIP: I always put everything first on my online calendar that I have on my phone, Amazon Kindle Fire, and computer/PC. That way, if I don't have time to journal, I at least have that record and can journal more about it later on the week. I've noticed if I don't do this, I will forget about it. So, I always start here.) 

2. In your journal, write at least these section headings:

~ Friday night

~ Saturday a.m.

~ Saturday p.m.

~ Sunday a.m.

~ Sunday p.m.

3. Under each heading, write a sentence or more description of everything you did and/or at least one thing that was memorable. 

4. What was most memorable about the weekend? List three things and why. Then, number them in priority order.

5. Write more about each of the three items listed in #4.

6. Write more about your #1 memorable thing from the weekend. 

7. What did you learn this weekend?

8. What did anything from your weekend remind you about something from the past  If you didn't, think of some now. 

9. What future plans did you make this weekend? If you didn't, think of some now. 

10. Write a summary of your weekend. 

TIP: If you don't have time to do all of these, do at least numbers 1-4, and come back to these each day of the week for a couple of minutes.

~ Stacy Duplease

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 17 November 2012. Virginia Beach.) 

Monday Morning Journaling Exercise

INTRO: WHAT IS THE MONDAY MORNING JOURNALING EXERCISE?

If you take a weekend off from journaling, it is important to make sure to have a session of journaling to claim what happened, and was memorable, on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. That way, you do not forget about it later.

I recommend this exercise if you didn't do any journaling--or if you did. This Journaling Exercise might bring out more from your journaling, after all, if you did journal over the weekend. 

TIP: Make sure to do it first thing Monday morning before you get too busy. If there is one thing I've learned, if I get busy, I might not get this journaling down on the page. 

ANOTHER TIP: You can do this Sunday before you go to bed as well--or each night or morning over the weekend. Do whatever works for you--and works for you at the time. You might need to do something different each week--depending on your schedule and what comes up in your life. 

ANOTHER TIP: Do this every week and do not skip this. You'll get a lot out of it. 

THE MONDAY MORNING JOURNALING EXERCISE

TIP: Do at the very least #'s 1-4, preferable #'s 5-10.

1. Take out your calendar/planner and make sure to fill in what you did over the weekend, if you haven't already. If you have, go back through it and see if you forgot anything.

(TIP: I always put everything first on my online calendar that I have on my phone, Amazon Kindle Fire, and computer/PC. That way, if I don't have time to journal, I at least have that record and can journal more about it later on the week. I've noticed if I don't do this, I will forget about it. So, I always start here.) 

2. In your journal, write at least these section headings:

~ Friday night

~ Saturday a.m.

~ Saturday p.m.

~ Sunday a.m.

~ Sunday p.m.

3. Under each heading, write a sentence or more description of everything you did and/or at least one thing that was memorable. 

4. What was most memorable about the weekend? List three things and why. Then, number them in priority order.

5. Write more about each of the three items listed in #4.

6. Write more about your #1 memorable thing from the weekend. 

7. What did you learn this weekend?

8. What did anything from your weekend remind you about something from the past  If you didn't, think of some now. 

9. What future plans did you make this weekend? If you didn't, think of some now. 

10. Write a summary of your weekend. 

TIP: If you don't have time to do all of these, do at least numbers 1-4, and come back to these each day of the week for a couple of minutes.

~ Stacy Duplease

(Image credit: Stacy Duplease 17 November 2012. Virginia Beach.) 

Enjoy your weekend

I hope you enjoy your weekend. 

Be good to yourself--and try not to be too busy. 

Give yourself some time to recharge. 

Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper Author & Sci-Fi Writer

The Story of John Arundell and Roanoke (A Sci-Fi Time Travel Novel)

& the Remembering Your Present Journal Keeping Series

Email: storykeeper2121@gmail.com

Bookstore: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction

dba Remembering Your Present, LLC & Storykeeper 2121