November #BulletJournalChallenge: Reflection
/Hello there!
I'm super excited to share with you this month's theme for the #BulletJournalChallenge! It's something very near and dear to my heart and I believe it is an essential part of our lives that is built in the Bullet Journal system. Go check out the article and find out the theme here!
“Focus is nothing more than eliminating distractions”
– Tim Ferriss
We go about our days checking off tasks, reacting to incoming information, and generally swept away in the toil of everyday life. At times it can feel as though the daily grind is in control of us, rather than us in control of our days and actions.
In order to gain control of the reigns, we must step back to reflect.
Reflecting inspires a peaceful state of mind, nudging us gently to refocus our attention.
Reflection in the Bullet Journal is handled by way of migration – the very component that makes the system brilliant. Intentional reflection invites us to think about whether what we’re doing is aligned with our current focus or not.
The analog format of the Bullet Journal encourages reflection in a tangible way, unparalleled through other mediums. Migrating by hand is the essence of the Bullet Journal. It encourages deliberate consideration when deciding which tasks are absolutely essential. Figuring out whether a task is worth moving forward is an empowering sensation, it puts you in control of whether you will do the task.
It’s the act of being present with your thoughts and the tasks that propels you to rediscover the words that may have become white noise over time. Reflecting can be the difference between being in control of your life and reacting to your life.
This form of reflection can help remind you of your big rocks, bigger picture, and priorities. It can also ground you, making you present with what you’re doing and what you’re trying to accomplish.
Tasks can seem important, but taking a moment to reflect is essential to distinguish the seemingly important from that which truly is. You’ll know the difference if it’s something that matters to you or if it’s simply something that seems to be a good idea, but won’t actually do.
Be honest with yourself. Gauge how you feel when you read the task; does it bring stress, elicit urgency, or inspire and motivate you? These are all emotions that can be attached to either important or non-important tasks. The trick is figuring out which are worth pursuing by pushing through the feelings versus those which are overloading you. Of those that aren’t necessary, and you’re able to say no to: just strike them out. Doing this will enable you to have the time for what you truly want to do.
Another thing to consider when migrating is whether the task you keep migrating is actually a project. Take an ax to the task and look through the smaller shards to figure out whether you can accomplish a smaller component of it. Pick the ones that hold the biggest impact.
Conversely, are you writing down too many action steps when you already know the steps to take? Pare down to make your list more manageable.
Over time, your reflecting and migrating skills will become honed. You will become more focused, at peace, and in control of the flow of your days one day at a time as you become more attuned to what truly matters to you.
Questions to help you reflect:
– Is this worth my time?
– Does it matter?
– What will make me feel the most accomplished?
– What can I do right now to get closer to my goal of _______ ?
– What is the next step?
– Is this task worth rewriting?
– Do I even want to do this task or do I only have it written down because I think I should?
How do you reflect?
The text above was originally published on Bulletjournal.com
You can participate in the challenge by taking photos related to the theme in some way and sharing them on social media with a description and tagging them #bulletjournalchallenge.
The challenge themes are open-ended and open to interpretation. The themes are meant to be a way to work on the basic principles of the Bullet Journal system and continually keep them in mind, hence the challenge.
