![Intention Journaling: My Daily, Monthly, + Yearly Process [That I’ve Been Doing For 3+ Years!]](https://chaarg.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/bfi_thumb/dummy-transparent-qbsz1ngllmbidmooz9ufmx5vbpuon6jqlj65imdtbg.png "Intention Journaling: My Daily, Monthly, + Yearly Process [That I’ve Been Doing For 3+ Years!]")
Intention Journaling: My Daily, Monthly, + Yearly Process [That I’ve Been Doing For 3+ Years!]
Over the years, I’ve acquired a LOT of journaling processes like…
#1] Loving vs least loving journaling exercise
#3] Sacred hour [incorporated journaling in this!]
#5] Writing in my Today I Did It Right journal
#6] All the exercises in Katie Daleabout’s “Let It Out” book
But, the one process that I’ve consistently done for 3+ years is intention journaling. I’m going to break everything down for you, so you can implement the practice in your life if you’d like!
. . .
*Before we get started: Buy two journals. One is going to be your “journal for the year” [so for this year: 2020 journal] — that you’ll only write in every month. The other is going to be your “daily journal” — that you’ll write in as often as you’d like ; ).
Intentions For The Year: In the front of the journal, I write down my intentions for the year. The less, the better! I ask myself: What do I really want to focus on this year? This year, I made 6 intentions — from “more open space.. discovering what that this means” to “spending more time in silence… one day of silence each month” to “fostering my friendships.”
Desires List: At the end of the journal, I have what I call a “desires list” — it’s essentially all activities that I want to do [or things that I want to create]… I think of it as a brain dump of desires. They are concrete! For example, Vipassana was on the list for 2019. This year, a few of my desires are: get a stool test, go to Bali, find a PT, + host 5 dinner parties. Typically, I have 5+ pages of desires. I allow myself to dream! Does everything happen that year? Of course not! Here’s the fun part:
- I add to the list throughout the year
- I highlight the desire when it’s completed
- At the end of the year, when I start my next “year of X journal” I transfer only those desires that I’m still curious about!
Books I’ve Read: On the back cover of the journal, I have a list of all the books I’ve read that year!
Monthly Intentions + Reflections: The bulk of the 2020 journal is filled with monthly intentions + reflections. On the first of each month, I write down my intentions for that month. I used to be extremely specific, but now I’m more loose with it. This month, I am focusing on “going deep instead of wide” — this means that I am not taking on any additional practices + projects. Instead, I’m focusing on the work in front of me. See more here. At the end of the month, I reflect on that month! This involves a few things…
- Reflecting on the intentions that I set
- A summary of the month — activities, highs + lows
- I go through my daily journal + transfer any notes/automatic writing/quotes, etc that I want to save from that month
Daily Journal: I write in my daily journal every day, or as much as possible! I don’t have a specific process for journaling. It’s my morning pages, to do list, diary, workout planner, a place I write down quotes, etc. Once my daily journal is completely filled up, I throw it out! I typically go through 2-3 daily journals a year.
*Something To Note: While I always throw away my daily journal, I’ve kept my 2017, 2018, 2019 + will of course keep my 2020 journal! It’s incredible to see the growth + change that’s occurred. Also! It’s fun to see how some of my desires have shifted, while others have remained constant.
. . .
If you decide to use this journaling process, I’d love to hear how it goes for you!
xx
