How to use The Slow·o·lution Journal in the most effective way

As you all know living a healthy and mindful lifestyle is of a huge importance to me. I truly believe that there is nothing more important than our own health……..even more so now that I have two young kids. To be completely honest I was never a big fan of journals (planners yes, but not journals) because I simply thought that they are not as effective. That is until I decided to give it a try one day, and boy was I positively surprised. What we don’t realize is how powerful it is to write something down – for example, the moment you write down a goal, then it is like a promise to yourself and you do whatever it takes to achieve it. Journal also gives you the opportunity to recognize different patterns, that otherwise you will not be aware of!

I have tried many different methods before I designed this journal……so it is safe to say that it is based on a lot of experience and passion! Before you get started, I wanted to walk you through the journal, and share with you how you can maximize your results and experience.

• yearly overview – in 2 pages, you have a complete overview of your year and the different “bigger” events that you have planned – e.g. vacations, trips, parties, important deadlines, etc

• defining healthy and mindful lifestyle – the most important aspect at this point, is defining what does a healthy and mindful lifestyle mean to you – we are all different, and it means something different to every single person! This 1 page will give you the opportunity to define what these two aspects mean to you, to see where you currently are, and where you want to go
• important dates – 2 pages overview of all the important dates in your life on monthly basis – e.g. birthdays, anniversaries, etc
• summary 2017 – this page gives you the opportunity to reflect on the previous year with any positives, struggles, thoughts and mindful moments that you can build on
• my goals 2018 – this page gives you the opportunity to set bigger goals that you will be working on throughout the year

• vacation planning – we all know that taking vacations and time off is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle! This page gives you the opportunity to plan, compare, set budgets, etc for each of your travels throughout the year
• summary previous month – this page gives you the opportunity to reflect on the previous month, and build on all the positives, and acknowledge the struggles
• my monthly goals – this page gives you the opportunity to set smaller goals for that particular month, which in turn will help you achieve your yearly goals
• weekly overview – these 2 pages are an overview of all your meetings and to do’s for the week

• daily journal – this page per day focuses solely on your health and all the different aspects that should be taken into consideration when talking about a healthy lifestyle. This is a powerful tool, that will help you realize different patterns, and also how your body and mind adapts to the different changes. Here is how you should go about it:
• grateful thoughts (morning) – in order to set the tone right for the rest of the day, the first thing you should do when you wake up in the morning is to think of 1 to 3 things that you are grateful for in general

• grateful thoughts (evening) – here again in order to fall asleep with a positive mind, think of 1 to 3 things that happen that day that you are grateful for
• goals – this space is for setting your daily goals. It can be as small as drink 500ml more water, or go to bed by 10pm…….a lot of times we need to make small changes in order to form a healthy habit
• sleep – how much sleep did you get the night before? was it a quality sleep?
• water – how much water did you drink throughout the day?
• meditation – here you can add whether you have meditated that particular day and for how long
• bowel movement – a lot of people don’t feel comfortable talking about this, but the truth is that it is a big factor in a healthy lifestyle. Here you can note down how many times you had a bowel movement that particular day
• physical state – how are you feeling physically that particular day
• mental state – how are you feeling mentally
• nutrition – list everything that you eat that day. I usually eat 5 times a day, and I mark my meals as M1 (breakfast), M2 (lunch) and M3 (dinner), and the 2 snacks S1 (morning snack) and S2 (afternoon snack)
• workout – list all the workout activities that you did that particular day
• daily thoughts – this space is for any thoughts, issues, anxiety that you would like to note down
• weekly summary – in this page you can reflect on your week, note down all the positives, any struggles that you might have had, any mindful moments that you would like to build on, etc
• Christmas shopping – this page is only in the month of December. I know how stressful it can get with getting everyone the right present on time…..and budget! This overview, will help you organize yourself, set budget for each person, etc

Above everything remember that this is a journey, and along the way there will be a lot of ups and downs. Learn from each experience, and build on…….and always listen to your body.

Stay healthy and enjoy the journey,

Anna

Photo by © Cécile Gall / cecile-gall-photography.com