Nearly three years
I have been using the Bullet Journal method since January 2019 as a New Year’s resolution… this might be the first time I stick to one.
At the time I had an idea of who I wanted to be, I wrote a detailed plan of the ‘ideal me’ and determined some steps that would allow me to become that person. To make this tangible, I set some goals and then thought of smaller periods of time and specific actions to achieve them.
In regards to personal goals, I decided to change my daily habits; this included prayer, bible reading, exercise, contacting family and friends. The main professional goal required about a years preparation and I broke tasks down in weeks. I pictured a well-rounded person and I included several aspects of my life.
However, I made a long list of ideal habits and I did not think too much about how feasible it was. It took me a few weeks to realise that aiming for a radical change was very difficult and frustrating. To fix this, I defined attainable habits that I was not willing to negotiate with myself and tried my best to stick to them. The Bullet Journal book did warn me about this mistake but I made it anyway! I guess this is fine and one needs to learn some lessons along the way. Once I managed the basics I had defined for myself, I added a bit more.
Not every week or month was perfect, I still have a long way to go until I am overall satisfied with the person I want to be. However, I see significant progress in several aspects of my life and that makes me happy. Nothing in this world will be ever perfect and it would be quite proud to say that one has nothing to improve. I attained my professional goal which was to be a qualified Spanish teacher. This was a massive project and I am glad to look back in my journals and see all the stages I went through to achieve this. This was a monumental task but it was done one day at a time.
One of the best lessons from Bullet Journal until now has been intentionality. Having a purpose, being mindful of the things I expect from myself and remaining focused has shaped my character and kept me stable throughout 2020 and 2021 in spite of all the changes and challenges that arouse. The thousands of things I got done in this journey are valuable, but secondary.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single stepLao Tzu – Chinese proverb
This post is day 2 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit 100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.