We’re a quarter of the way through the year. Can you believe it? If you’re experiencing time like I’ve been, your head is probably spinning.
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To help slow everything down, I’m working on building my cadence for a new quarterly review process. This new process is simple, with three steps and a deadline:
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- A journal entry looking back - Pure reflection on how the quarter went, what I learned, how I felt, and the relationships that had an impact.
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- A journal entry looking forward - Part hopes and dreams, part reflection on what I learned and how it applies to what I want to get done.
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- A journal entry roadmap - I am, by trade, an operations person - so this is where the planning happens. What specific actions will I take to get where I want to be?
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This is all due by the seventh day of the first month after the quarter hits. Another thing I’ve learned from my day job is that periods, particularly in finance, don’t close right away. There’s accounting to be done, numbers to run, and things need to catch up. The seven days give the quarter and me time to breathe. This deadline will also usually catch a weekend, when I have more time to do this successfully.
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My friend Jim has done some excellent writing on personal reviews, and David Sparks released The Productivity Field Guide, which also delves into this process. Both resources bring clarity and understanding to the idea of being productive with an emphasis on the humanity of it all, which is often not seen in this realm.
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If you’re doing quarterly reviews, hit reply and let me know the thing you like most about it!
​Day One, my journaling app of choice, has been busy. I wrote about some much-needed changes to the iOS app, such as improved visuals and a significant navigation change that splits everything into two tabs: Journal, which is self-explanatory, and More, where they’ve redesigned the On This Day, Streaks, and Daily Prompts tools and combined them.
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I’ve been using Day one for over a decade, and didn’t love the design of the previous iOS app. It felt outdated, especially when Journal from Apple was released. Day One is a far richer experience than Journal, so I’m glad they’ve brought the UI in line with the rest of the experience. There are also updates to the iPad OS app, which I’m exploring on my brand new M4 iPad Pro, but that’s for another newsletter…
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In addition to the new iOS app, they’ve also launched a Windows native application. I heard from one reader who’s been using the web version on their Windows machine at work and doesn’t feel the need to download the app. If you’re cross platform or a Windows native user, give it a download and kick the tires.
It’s been a minute since I last reached you. I’ve missed sending you notes, and I am working to get back on the bi-weekly schedule with Saturday delivery. Let me know if there are topics you’d like me to write about or if you have journaling-specific questions. I’m happy to answer them.
If you know someone who might enjoy learning how to write their own story down, forward this email to them today.
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