Secret OWL Society

Why I always throw away my journals

The concept that stood out most to me in this video is when she said that the thing that we hold onto the most is often the very thing we need to let go of. I've stumbled on this practice myself in my own personal organizing. The most recent "big" thing I've let go of were my journals. I threw them all away. Yup. And it's something I do regularly.

I remember when I wrote a guest post on Miss Minimalist, I shared about how I throw away my journals. I got a lot of comments from people who were really intrigued by the idea. They started to contemplate what kind of de-cluttering action they could take with their own pile (or boxes!) of journals. The idea forced them to get honest with themselves and even admit that their old journal collection was starting to cause them anxiety. Just the thought of someone else reading what they wrote in privacy was unpleasant.

It's a personal decision in the end. For me, journals are a TOOL to help me grow and think things through. They represent a version of myself that I've outgrown. I don't want to identify with an old version of myself. I want to focus on the NEW. I don't want to "look back" over past experiences. I want to make NEW and BETTER experiences. Throwing away my journals is like an affirmation to myself - an affirmation that practically shouts, "IT'S TIME TO GET OUT THERE AND WRITE A NEW STORY."

I see so many people who talk so much about their past as if it's this wonderful, glorious thing and the best time they can ever expect to have. I don't want to fall into that thinking. In my world, THE BEST IS YET TO COME. My past has nothing on my future.

So it's kind of an interesting process - I write in a journal for my personal development and I throw them away for my personal development.

There's a romanticized idea of leaving your journals for "generations to come," but I don't want to be limited by that idea either. I don't want my journals to be my legacy. I want the stuff I create in THE WORLD and on THIS BLOG to be my legacy. If I have something worth sharing and teaching, it goes HERE on this blog in order to give value to the world NOW, not after I die.

So in the end, I think you just have to choose. You have to weigh the pros with the cons according to what your value system is I guess. Maybe if you really think your journal entries are worth passing on, then put it in an ebook and self-publish it, or start sharing them in a blog...what are you waiting for?

Free Paris-Inspired Week at a Glance Printable

Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to spend 3 incredible weeks in Paris on my own. I went to the Notre Dame Cathedral almost every day, ate fresh croissants, walked all over the place, went up the Eiffel Tower, stayed in a real-deal Parisian apartment, a beautiful hostel right on the river, a cozy attic bedroom...Right before I went to Paris, I sat down with a lady in Nice, France who was nice enough to take the time to walk me through a map of Paris and give me a list of things to do - a list that she compiled and refined over the course of visiting Paris over 40 times in her lifetime. I thought that was crazy - go to Paris 40 times!? But after I spent 3 weeks there myself and started to get to know certain areas - like the walk by the Seine - like the back of my hand, coming back to Paris 40 times didn't seem so crazy any more.

Are you a fan of Paris or France too?

Click the following link to download your Paris-inspired printable: Paris Week at a Glance Printable

Here are some pictures from my trip:

Free Printable: October Calendar

Hello October! Right now, we are getting ready for a typhoon that's about to hit Guam, so I knew I had to hurry up and create this for you before the internet disappears. Island life. :)

Hope you like it! I'm getting better at doing these every month so check back next month for your November calendar too!

To download the PDF, click the following link: October Calendar Printable

Create Your One Page Life Plan (w/ free printable!)

The other day, in my other mastermind group - Blogger Buddies - we were talking about how we kind of needed a boost to get refocused and moving again with our goals. I shared an idea that always works for me when things don't seem to be moving as they should. The problem is usually a lack of clarity around what we want the next phase of life to look like.

You see, we create the reality we have pictured in our mind and if all you can "see" is the present reality - or worse - the past reality, you're always going to be living in that and you're always going to feel stuck. So I came up with an exercise that is always good for getting unstuck and making the leap to the next step. (It has worked like magic for me - I don't know why I don't do it more often!)

SOS EXERCISE

1. Take a piece of paper and list the different areas of you life. This should include health, career, finances, relationships, etc.

2. Next to each area, write down what you want to see happen in that area within the next 90 days. (90 days is always a good time frame for creating dramatic changes).

3. On ONE sheet of paper, write out what your ideal life looks like as a whole 90 days from now - like a one page essay covering all the areas of your life. This is your ONE PAGE LIFE PLAN.

4. For the next 90 days, read your life plan every day. This is why it should only be one page long. Keep it in your Life Binder or wherever else you are guaranteed to come across it and read it.

To help you get excited about doing this, I made a printable for you! :) Click the following link to download the PDF:

My Ideal Life Printable.

How I combine my paper planner with this task management app...

I love paper planners. I love writing on paper, thinking on paper, and I believe that there is more power in writing down your goals than in typing up your goals.

However, that doesn't mean I have paper everywhere cluttering up my life. I'm a minimalist and I'm always on the lookout for digital tools and apps that can work well with my paper-based systems (like my Life Binder) and keep everything as organized as possible.

So I recently created this printable (pictured left) and it's been working really well for me and hopefully for everyone who has purchased it from me at my Etsy store (thank you so much). Today I'm digging in a little deeper on how to make this particular printable even more effective using a digital tool I just found called Todoist.

You see the parts of the printable that I've highlighted purple? This is where I record "My to-do's" and then whatever "Opportunities" happened that day along with the "Next Step".

Now, at the end of the week, I go back over the last 7 days of this printable and I transfer To Do tasks (that I still need to complete) and Opportunities (that I still need to take advantage of) over to Todoist.

Here are 4 reasons why I like Todoist more than other task management apps I've used:

1. Super simple and easy to use. This is a big deal for me.
2. I can organize my tasks into projects.
3. Lets me sort tasks by priority. YAY
4. I can make a task fall under another task within a project. This is so awesome because instead of looking at a long list of tasks wondering where to start, I can arrange the tasks in a way that wittles a project down to the smallest, first step.

I'm sure that there are other apps I've tried that have the same features, but this one really clicked with me and really helped me keep stuff from falling through the cracks. Plus I love how it helps me maximize my Ultimate Daily Planner printable in a really efficient, minimalistic way.

Do you have a task management app that works well for you? Share it with us in the comments. :)

My Week Printable

This style of a weekly planner is one of my favorites because of the routine tracking feature.

The act of sitting down and planning your days is essential to intentional living.

Tell your week how you want things to go! Develop good habits! Design your life!
The pen to your life is literally in your hands. :)

This printable is only available in my Etsy store. If you'd like to check it out, click the following link:
MY WEEK PRINTABLE.

One way to live with less stress...

A few years ago, I had an epiphany - a moment in which I became keenly aware that if I decided to take 100% responsibility for my life, I could then make my life what I want it to be.

And it's been working.

Taking 100% responsibility is a daily commitment. Sometimes it can feel like a wrestling match with yourself.

It's a challenge. But it's better to accept the challenge of taking 100% responsibility than to accept the stress that will invade your life the second you give even 1% of that responsibility away.

The second you do the latter, you are in the "blame zone." You are in the zone of thinking: "Well, my life is this way because this happened to me or so-and-so did this to me." When you think that way, you're stuck. You have no control over your life because you won't even exercise the power you have to control yourself.

The first step to taking 100% responsibility for your life is being able to stop and say:

"I am here right now because of my choices. I am here not because of what has happened to me, but because of how I responded to what has happened to me. And I can change where I am by changing my response to events/circumstances/problems/people/opportunities going forward."

So no matter what "happens to you," stop and think: "How can I take 100% responsibility for this? How am I going to respond? How can this make me a better person going forward?"

What do you think? Are there areas in your life where you feel stuck and stressed out? You might need to look more closely and see if you've let go of your hundred percent.