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Here’s what I’ve got for you in today’s issue of WFH Dads:

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→ Recommendation of the week - My journaling notebook and pen of choice

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A simple way to reflect on your life

My journaling practice has gone through a lot of iterations over the years, and I recently found myself trying to journal about too much, too often.

Then when I read the book Tiny Experiments, I learned about a reflective practice that helped simplify things for me. It's given me a framework to reflect on the many domains of my life in a way that feels productive and meaningful.

It's called the Plus, Minus, Next journaling practice.

What is Plus, Minus, Next

When you reflect on something, you get out some paper and write:

PLUS: What went well?
​MINUS: What didn't?
​NEXT: What will I focus on next?

The author of the book suggests putting it in columns like this:

How I approach it

This is meant to be a way to reflect on some experiment you've done in your life, but I have found it to be a great way to just reflect on my week.

I sit down to do this every Sunday afternoon. As I work through it, I think through all the different domains of my life and just decide if there's anything I want to note from that week:

• work
• fatherhood
• marriage
• friendship
• fitness
• health
• self-development
• side-hustle
• faith

I generally try to think of more things to put in the PLUS section than the MINUS as I'd like my journal to be a place where I'm dwelling more on what's gone right than what's gone wrong, but if it's been a rough week, the MINUS section will be longer.

In the NEXT section, I don't write every single thing I plan on doing that week. Instead, I see it as a way of thinking through where I want to put more of my efforts that week, often as a result of how the previous week went.

• Did I fall behind a bit at work last week? I'll list out a few big work projects I want to really focus on.
• Did I feel disconnected from my wife or kids last week? I'll consider what I want to do with or for my family.
• Did I feel particularly isolated or lonely last week? I'll write down who I want to text to hang out.

Here's an example of the whole reflection:

How it's helped

What I've really liked about PLUS, MINUS, NEXT is how simple it is. It gives me some structure without being too overprescribed. And the weekly cadence has been good for me.

Ultimately, the reason I've been journaling for over 15 years is because it helps me clarify my thinking and my emotions. It helps me identify negative patterns (that I otherwise wouldn't notice) so I can actually do something about it. It helps me also identify the aspects of my life that bring me life and energy so I can keep doing more of that.

It makes me a better husband, father, son, brother, friend, employee, and entrepreneur.

Journaling makes me a better man.

Give it a try

If you've been wanting to journal but haven't been sure what to even write about, grab some paper and give this a try at the end of the week.

Recommendation of the week

​Moleskine notebook​

Keeping the journaling theme going, my notebook of choice over the last 15 years has been the Moleskine.

I've tried out a bunch of variations:

• ​lined pages​
• ​blank pages​
• ​grid pages​
• ​hard cover​
• ​soft cover​
• ​standard size (5" x 8.25")
• ​XL size (7.5" x 9.5")

On the blank pages, I didn't like how my writing wouldn't be straight. And the grid pages felt like they were better if I did bullet journaling. The soft cover was OK but I like the durability of the hard cover. And the XL size made it less portable.

So I've settled on lined pages, hard cover, standard size as my preferred notebook. I try to get a new color at the start of each year.

And my preferred pen is the Pilot 0.7mm G2 pen. Black ink. 0.5mm feels like it's running on empty the whole time. 1.0mm feels like I'm writing with a Sharpie.

Curious to hear your notebook and pen picks if you're a journal nerd!

What about you?

Do you (or have you) journaled?

Thom Gibson Founder of WFH Dads ​​​

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