How To Keep A Journal, Remember More And Enjoy More Success

| Podcast

How to keep a journal feature imageThe days rush by, don’t they?

And it can be hard to remember what exactly happened.

Worse…

Forgetfulness about your own life is not only frustrating, but it’s downright painful.

You know what?

It should be.

Because if you’re not actively keeping a journal, then you’re missing out on a simple technique that is guaranteed to help you remember more.

How to Keep A Memory Journal

Journaling is truly one of the simplest things you can do to remember more about your life?

It’s not only fun and rewarding. I can also make you more productive.

Allow me to explain.

An Incredible Example Of Journaling

Do I wake or sleep?

That’s what Keats asked himself back in May of 1819 when he wrote Ode to a Nightingale. Check it out. It’s well worth memorizing.

The cool thing about Keats is that he wrote letters. Lots of them.

No email.

No fax.

Heck, Keats didn’t even have a laser jet printer.

But he still wrote.

Every single freakin’ day.

And then he got tuberculosis and died.

But here’s the thing:

It’s Scientifically Proven That If You Write Every Day You Will Remember More About Your Life!

Not only that, but by writing every day about your daily activities, your experience of time expands.

In other words, you not only remember more, but you feel like you have had more time on a daily basis in which to remember more.

Pretty cool, right?

Well, I don’t know if it’ll be cool for you or not, so …

You Absolutely Have To Try It!

Seriously, just do it. Here are some amazing ways to give writing about your daily life a try.

One: Journal When You Get Up Every Morning

You know how fitness freaks talk about keeping their running shoes beside their beds so they don’t forget to get fit first thing every morning?

You can do the same thing every morning with your journaling.

Seriously. Go out and buy the fattest journal you can find and the hugest pencil or pen.

To remember my commitment to journaling, I keep them on the floor beside my bed.

Two: Keep Your Memory Journal Visible

If you’re using an app, it can be easy for your journal to get lost in a sea of competing toys to play with.

That’s why I always use physical journals.

journal during morning walks

I see them everywhere I go and even carry one in my back pocket.

Three: Journal Your Dreams

We often only journal thoughts about our waking life.

But I’ve found incredible value from writing down dreams.

For one thing, it is a powerful memory exercise, comparable to these memory games you can play with your childhood.

The practice of dream journaling also expands your sense of time.

Why?

Because dream journaling expands your awareness of how time passes while you sleep.

There’s an entire course about remembering your dreams in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass if you need more help.

But even if you don’t go through all that training, here’s the thing:

If you just commit to writing down your dreams, you’ll be amazed by what will happen in your life.

And if you can’t remember any dreams, don’t worry. Write that down. It’s as simple as one sentence: “I didn’t remember any dreams.”

Believe it or not, that simple exercise will help you remember dreams, no matter how skeptical you might be.

But I know, I know. You might be thinking, “What If I’m not a morning person?”

No problem.

Here’s …

The Amazing Secret Of Writing Magical “Remember More” Spells Before You Turn Into Pumpkin

I don’t know about you, but I have rules about when I go to bed that I try to keep, almost religiously. It helps me keep the blues away, burn more fat, build more muscle and, of course, remember more dreams.

And if you want to remember more about what happened during your day, put that plump journal square on your pillow. That way you won’t be able to ignore it come bed time.

Next, set a timer for five minutes (or even less) and write down everything you remember about your day. It sounds like a small amount of time, but even just five minutes of practice can boost your ability to concentrate on everything from language learning to studying for exams.

Don’t Overthink This Activity!

Just write whatever comes to mind starting with breakfast.

And don’t judge yourself. Nothing you write is stupid or insignificant. That little voice in your mind that’s always trying to wreck everything will tell you the entire exercise is dumb, but put a gag on it.

Trust me. That jerk doesn’t have a clue what he, she (or it) is talking about.

For bonus points, put the journal where your feet hit the floor first thing in the morning and then write down your dreams when you get up.

And yes, you should even make note of it when you can’t remember any dreams at all. We know that even one simple sentence acknowledging that you can’t remember any dreams can (and most likely will) trigger dream recall.

If none of these suggestions appeal to you, try this technique on for size:

The Miraculous Memory ­Improving Wonders Of Having An Accountability Partner

Sarah Peterson from Unsettle.org used to be my accountability partner. For about a year, we wrote each other 3-­4 times a week, sometimes more. We exchanged these shared “progress journals” for three purposes:

1) To tell each other what we’ve been up to. This practice automatically helps us remember more of what we’ve been doing with our days.

2) To tell each other what we’re going to do next. Each simple report on what’s coming up for us in our businesses massively increases the chances that we’ll actually follow through.

3) To make it easier to remember core concepts and processes to repeat or avoid in the future.

Find a partner like this and I’m sure you’ll find that the effects are magical.

Why?

Because stuff gets done. And you remember more.

Pretty sweet, right?

You Bet It Is. Sweeter Than Candy Wrapped In Magnetic Memory Silver!

So here’s your homework:

Ask a friend who you know is keen on getting more out of life to be your accountability partner.

Don’t overthink this process. Just whip out an email to the first person that comes to mind.

And if you need a quick template to kick your butt into motion, here’s a template for you;

“Hey [insert name],

I was just listening to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast and Anthony was talking about how having an accountability partner can help you remember more about our life and even be more productive on a daily basis.

I know that you’re trying to achieve [insert goal] and you know I’d love to [insert goal]. How would you feel about emailing each other every day or every couple of days to check in and see where we’re both at.

Let me know and I’ll send you his podcast with more info on how it works and we’ll get our accountability party started.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Pretty easy, right?

Well, you don’t have to take my word for it. You can get in contact with Sarah here and she’ll give you her side of the story and some cool free stuff that will make you even more productive too.

I never tell Sarah about any of the dreams I remember, but now that I’m putting this lesson in remembering more about your life together, maybe I should …

In any case …

Just make sure to ask permission before you start spilling the contents of your unconscious mind into your accountability emails. You don’t want to freak your partner out or distract from the matter at hand:

Remembering more about your daily activities and becoming more productive in a targeted manner.

And if all of these ideas still don’t appeal because you’re simply not into writing (but still want memory improvement), here’s …

How To Supercharge Your Memory By Keeping An Audio Or Video Journal

It’s pretty easy. Here’s what you do:

1. Get a device that records video and/or audio

2. Press record

3. Let it all out.

And to show you how it’s done, I’ve made made that quick example video for you on the day I wrote this post. Just scroll up to the top and watch it from beginning to end. I show you how to keep a journal and improve your memory in three ways by giving you an example of this third way. 🙂

No need to share these recordings like I’ve done on a YouTube channel or podcast, but heck, why not? You never know: It might go viral and you’ll wind being the next internet celebrity, win new friends and positively influence people.

Stranger things have happened.

Using A Memory Journal To Help Complete A Language Learning Goal

Another powerful way to benefit from a memory journal is to use it as part of learning a language.

For example, I love The Freedom Journal for language learning. It makes it easy to set goals and track progress.

But even without such a tool, all you have to do is:

  • Set a weekly goal
  • Gather the words and phrases you want to memorize
  • Show up daily
  • Review using a specific process we teach here on the site
  • Rinse and repeat

It’s a lot of fun, and helps you see your progress in your own handwriting. This simple artifact leads to more accomplishment while creating pride and confidence in your skills and abilities.

So here’s the ultimate question:

Are you down with one of these daily journaling techniques?

If so, just get started. I guarantee that you’ll remember more about your life and, yes, be more productive.

And if all that weren’t enough, I invite you to learn how to improve your memory even more by claiming this free Memory Improvement Kit. It’ll show you how to create and use a Memory Palace so you can learn, memorize and recall anything in a way that is simple, easy, elegant and fun.

Till next time …

Keep Magnetic! 🙂

2 Responses to " How To Keep A Journal, Remember More And Enjoy More Success "

  1. Hey Anthony,

    Great post! I’m the worst at remembering things so keeping a journal could be really beneficial for me – thanks for all the tips. Since there’s so much other buzz going on from the moment you wake up, making it a habit – and an easy habit – should be a priority. For example, I’m a keen user of Evernote so one way of approaching this could be to create a specific folder in Evernote for a journal. Writing for 5 minutes every day rules out almost any excuse 🙂

    • Your Evernote idea sounds like a great plan, Camilla. You could also set your smartphone or use notifications on your computer to automatically prompt you to take this action as well.

      Enjoy the transformations this will make for you!

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