Table of Contents
Getting Started
Life Journal is much more than just a simple journal—it's a system of linked databases I've built and been using for the entirety of this year so far.
You should know right away that this system is a commitment, and it could seem complicated at first. I built this so I could take better control of my day-to-day life by combining journaling, basic daily metrics, and goal-setting in one system. That's quite a lot to manage in one place, so expect a bit of a learning curve. Once you understand how to start using this system, it will fit right into your daily routine.
With Life Journal, you can:
- Set big goals for the entire year, and break them down into smaller goals for each quarter, month, week, and day
- Track and review your progress, stats, and state of mind throughout the year
- Take control of your life and plan more effectively
You should not use Life Journal for:
- To-do lists or scheduling
- Project management
Instead, try my free Smart Planner!
How Life Journal works:
Setting goals for each phase of your year allows you to break them down into parts that can be accomplished from year → quarter → month → week → day.
Reviewing with a journal system helps gives you a better sense of what you were doing, what went well, and what you can improve on each day → week → month → quarter → year.
By setting goals, executing on them, and then reviewing your progress, you create a cycle of constant, effortless improvement. Instead of asking yourself "what did I actually do this week?," you'll be able to look back at your consistent log of progress for every single day since the first day you start using your Life Journal.
Setup
Set your goals
Planning ahead is like giving a gift of productivity to your future self.
Start with your goals for the rest of the year. It doesn't matter if you are starting in July (when I published this template) or any other month. With your goals set for the rest of the year, move onto the current quarter goals, then this month's goals → this week's goals → today's goals.
The databases are linked so you can see your Year Goals inside of your Quarters Database. With this setup, you will reference your goals for the year in order to make effective quarterly goals.
The same exact setup is in place for Quarters → Months, Months → Weeks, Weeks → Days.
Always reference your linked goals to ensure you're staying on track with your overarching goals for the year.
Before you get started setting your goals, keep this in mind: All of the weeks, months, quarters, and this year are already created in the template. However, you'll have to create a new page every day. Make this the start of your morning journaling routine.
Here's how you can set up and break down your goals all the way from year-long goals to what you will accomplish today:
Year Goals
- These are your biggest, loftiest goals. Effective goals for your year are usually centered around a theme rather than a specific metric.
- Example:
- Be healthier (this is not a measurable goal yet, but we'll break it down as the length of time gets smaller)
Quarter Goals
- When making your quarterly goals, break down your yearly goal into chunks. You can start to use bulkier, broader metrics for your quarter goals.
- Example:
- Lose 10 lbs.
- Eat a plant-based diet for half of my meals
- Build an effective exercise routine
Month Goals
- This is where things start to get interesting. Break your Quarter Goals down into parts and try a SMART Goals approach: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based
- Examples:
- Lose 10 lbs. → Lose 3-4 lbs. this month & sleep 8+ hours nightly
- Eat a plant-based diet → Create a sustainable meal plan & research healthy foods
- Build an effective exercise routine → Go to the gym 3 days a week & research effective exercise methods
Week Goals
- Continue to tighten up your goals. Weekly goals can be more specific, immediately actionable, or something done over the course of 7 days.
- Examples:
- Lose 3-4 lbs. this month → Lose 1 lb.
- Sleep 8+ hours → Be in bed by 10 PM each weekday
- Create a sustainable meal plan → Cook at home for breakfast and dinner every weekday
- Research healthy foods → Read and document a list of healthy foods from trusted sources
- Go to the gym 3x a week → Wake up early to go to the gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
- Research exercise methods → Spend 2 hours this week watching instructional videos and researching exercise routines
Day Goals
- These are your goals with immediate impact. When creating daily goals, ask yourself: "What are the most important things you will get done today that will help accomplish this week's goals?"
There's no perfect science to setting goals and breaking them down so don't get intimidated. Think about goals that will make the most sense for you in this moment. Feel free to adjust your goals at any time you feel that they are no longer serving you.
I've set this template up with some things that I like to track in the databases:
Wake-up time - When did I wake up today?
- HHmm format: 0700 = 7AM, 1900 = 7PM (you can't use a normal time format in this column)
Sleep Rating - How rested did I feel when you woke up?
- 1-10 scale
Weight - What is my body weight?
- In Pounds or Kilograms
AM, Noon, & PM Mood - My mood throughout different parts of the day
- 1-10 scale
Mood (avg) - Averaged AM, Noon, and PM Mood scores
- Automatically calculated
Focus, Nutrition, Exercise - 3 metrics I use to gauge my personal productivity/health each day
- 1-10 scale
Day Score - Self-assessed score for the day. I usually combine all of the stats for the day (mood, focus, nutrition, etc.) to evaluate this score.
- 1-10 scale
Purpose - How much "purpose" did I feel in the work I did today?
- 0-2 scale
Control - How much "control" did I feel over my day/schedule?
- 0-2 scale
Effectiveness - Did I you accomplish my goals/to-dos for the day and make an impact?
- 0-2 scale
These are the metrics I personally like to track on the day-to-day. Each one of these trackers serves a purpose in my overall personal goals of being healthy and productive every single day. You're welcome to change these column headings to your personal needs.
There are also some "empty" columns (titled Tracker 1, Tracker 2, and Tracker 3). Rename these columns to things you would like to track each day.
Here are some suggestions:
- Studying (minutes)
- Meditation (minutes)
- Focused Time (minutes)
Keep in mind that the Tracker columns are Number columns, so you'll have to track things like minutes and amounts.
End of Day Review
There are 3 text fields that make up the Life Journal review process:
Wins
- List all of the positive things you did
Losses
- List some things that didn't go so well
Thoughts
- Your overall thoughts on how the day went. I use this as a mini-journal for each day.
There's one extra text field only found in the Days database:
Story Moment
- It's nice to think back at the end of the day and remember one specific thing that made your day interesting. This could be an interaction you had with someone, progress you made on something, or anything exciting you would tell someone if they asked: "what did you do today?"
Each of these text fields are linked to the database the next level up (Day Wins are shown in the Weeks database). This makes for easier reviewing at each higher level
After each review (Day, Week, Month, Quarter, Year), check the "Complete" checkbox to indicate that the review is done. This tells you that the information you're reviewing at a higher-level is complete.
Demonstration
Here is how your goals and reviews move through each part of the year:
Step-By-Step:
- Create a new Day for today in the Days Calendar by clicking on the " + " when you hover over today's date, or by clicking the "New" button in the top-right corner of the calendar.
- Select the "Day Log" template each time you create a new day.
- Set Year Goals → Quarter Goals → Month Goals → Week Goals → Today's Goals
- Journal and track your metrics each day, filling in all of the empty fields, and checking the Complete box after you complete your day.
- After a week of daily reviews is complete (Monday → Sunday), select the past week in the Weeks List, and select the "Week Log" template. Then fill in all of the empty fields, and check the Complete box.
- The "Week Log" template will create some prompts and set you up for reviewing your week. You can edit the "Week Log" template to add or remove prompts, and add anything that will help streamline your weekly review process.
- Once every week in a month is Complete, move onto your Month review. Apply the "Month Log" template which will generate some of the same prompts as the "Week Log."
- Once each month in a quarter are complete, move onto your Quarter review. The process is the same as the Weeks & Months: Apply the "Quarter Log" template, fill in all of the empty fields, and mark the quarter Complete.
- Once every quarter in the year is complete, move onto your Year review. Apply the "Year Log" template, fill in the empty fields, and mark the year Complete.
Recommended Life Journal Schedule
This is the schedule I use personally, and recommend for you to stay on top of your goals & reviews:
Daily
Wake-up
What?
Create new Day in the Days database or on the Calendar View
Select the Date
Assign the Week
Add your Wake-Up time
Measure your Weight
Create → Today's Goals
- You can also set your goals the day before if you prefer
Something you're Grateful for (1-2 sentences)
Use my Inner Coach (1-2 sentences)
- Use this to mentally coach yourself on something you're thinking about. Take an outsider's perspective on a problem you're facing or a feeling you have at this moment.
AM Mood
When?
- As soon as you wake up.
Noon
What?
Noon Mood
- You can also just fill this out at the end of the day if you can remember how you were feeling
When?
- 12 PM
Evening
What?
Fill out all of my trackers:
Focus
Nutrition
Exercise
Effectiveness
Control
Purpose
Today's Wins
Today's Losses
Today's Thoughts
Story Moment?
Mark the day Complete
When?
- 6-7 PM (in the evening after the bulk of your day is over)
Weekly
Goals
What?
Week Goals
When?
- Sundays before the new week starts on Monday.
Review
What?
Week Wins
Week Losses
Week Thoughts
Week Rating (based on the average of your Daily ratings)
Week Log (template)
Mark the week Complete
When?
- On the Tuesday after the previous week is complete.
Reviewing your weeks on Tuesdays allows for time to pass after the past week is over. This will help you take an objective look at the previous week's results.
Monthly
Quarterly
Yearly
Goals
What?
Year Goals
When?
- 1-2 Weeks before the next year starts
Since this template was released in the middle of the year, set goals for the rest of the year. When adopting a new system, just start from where you are now.
Review
What?
Year Wins
Year Losses
Year Thoughts
Mark the year Complete
When?
- Day 1 of the new year, or after every review is complete for the year
By the 1st day of the new year, every review will be complete.
It helps to look back after all of your reviews are 100% done.
Tips
Why are their black squares in the wins/losses/goal inputs?
When a Rollup column combines text fields, they're separated by a single comma. This can make it difficult to read while reviewing. With the "▪" at the start of each text field, it becomes easier to differentiate each input.
What's up with the arrows → ?
If an arrow is after the name, that means the information inside will be used for the field underneath. If the arrow is before the name, the information you will input is based on the field above.
In the example above, your Month Goals will appear automatically and you should use them as reference for what you set for your Week Goals. After every day in the week is complete, your Day Wins will be a string of 7 days worth of "wins" . Summarize them in your Week Wins field.
Daily and Weekly Ratings are manual. Month, Quarter, and Year ratings are calculated automatically.
It's up to you to rate how your days and weeks go. I suggest keeping everything on a 1-10 scale to make it easier.
Views
Days
- Calendar View
- Best Days
- Worst Days
- All View
Templates
Days
Day Log
- Journal
- Use this space as a morning journal
- Log
- List things that happened today that you want to make note of for later review
Weeks
Week Log
- Planning & Goals
- Prompts to get you thinking deeply about how your plans and goals went, and how you will look to improve them next week
- Willpower
- A checklist of items to think back on over the past week
- Self-Awareness & Habit check-in
- Prompts to help you think about your feelings about the past week and the good/bad habits you formed
Months
Month Log
- Planning & Goals
- Prompts to get you thinking deeply about how your plans and goals went, and how you will look to improve them next week
- Willpower
- A checklist of items to think back on over the past week
- Self-Awareness & Habit check-in
- Prompts to help you think about your feelings about the past week and the good/bad habits you formed
Quarters
Quarter Log
- Planning & Goals
- Prompts to get you thinking deeply about how your plans and goals went, and how you will look to improve them next week
- Willpower
- A checklist of items to think back on over the past week
- Self-Awareness & Habit check-in
- Prompts to help you think about your feelings about the past week and the good/bad habits you formed