The blessing of a blank page. How a monthly writing ritual renews mindful intentions.

How do you set your intentions for your life? How do you keep track of everything in a crazy multitasking world? How do you make sure you are paying attention to your big goals when you are drowning in the day to day details? Well, if you’re like me, you do it with colored markers, and mindful attention, and humorous self-reflection, and a cup of coffee along the way. And with a bullet journal.

This is a page of my bullet journal. This was the blank page that began my September… 

I created this blank page setup on August 27th. It was just waiting for me to sit down with a cup of coffee and my pen and fill in the blanks on September first.

My monthly “Check in.”  How am I doing? There’s room enough for just a few sentences, a few thoughts. Not enough space there for a lengthy (read, intimidating/time consuming) novella.

My monthly “Goals.”  What do I want to be shooting for in the next month? There is room enough for just a few bullet points for each area of my life.

Each month, I begin a new section of my bullet journal by setting up this page of self-reflection with just a few sentences about how I’m doing (the “check in”) and set my sight on 2 to 3 goals and intentions for the next month, in each of the seven areas I’ve chosen to represent my own holistic “circle of health.”  I make the page pretty (since I know I’ll look back at it in the future, why not? And the colored markers/pencils and Washi tape allows me a tiny chance to channel my creative, artsy side.)  I set up the layout in the last few days of the month, then allow myself to simply see the  white space for a few days.  Blank, clean, welcoming, inviting space.  Then, on the first day of the new month, I fill in those spaces. I use the check-in as a glance in the mirror.  I use the goals to start anew with mindful intentions and hopes.  This has become a brief monthly ritual of reflection, of marking the passage of time, and of subtly adjusting  the rudder of my own boat in ways both practical and spiritual, as the changing winds of our time shift my course.  2020’s waters have been choppy for sure!  My goals have shifted each month to reflect my desire to move forward through those choppy waves. The act of writing them down reminds me to visualize what is important to me (not just tasks) and how my goals and actions reflect my core values and aspirations. It keeps me on track not just to live my life, but to live it better.

Aah, the blessing of a fresh page....a blank slate… a new start.  

Look at that blank page! It is a structured invitation to self-reflection, to reevaluation of last month’s goals and actions, a chance to take an hour of my month to monitor myself and brainstorm and see new possibilities. How did the last month’s challenges affect me?  How do I feel?  Where do I stand in the varied aspects of my life?  Where do I want to stand a month from now? When I look back at the previous months’ check in pages, I can start to see that even with tiny successes, I truly have made progress. And then I have an opportunity to be mindful of how I want to progress moving forward; perhaps continue the same goals, or shift my sights and focus differently.  It’s my choice. I can choose goals that are concrete and mundane (finish a book about financial management, organize my kitchen pantry, yoga three times a week) or that are subjective and lofty (become a more spiritually grounded person or focus on being a more loving and patient parent).  They can include the serious (set up a budget) and the silly (find more things that make me laugh!)  

Here is that same bullet journal page as of September 2. 

I spent an hour in the beautiful sunshine filling in my thoughts.  A few changing leaves drifted down from the tree above me onto my lap, in a gentle reminder that summer is truly ending and time is, indeed, passing in its inexorable way.

Colored pens make the writing, somehow, more satisfying, as does sitting surrounded by nature and sunshine on my deck.

Look at all those goals!  Look at all my good intentions! Look at all those pretty colors! Look at the pretty shiny Washi tape! Pretty! Shiny!

Of course, setting 21 individual goals is overly ambitious. Actually trying to fully achieve too many competing goals can work against you by diluting your efforts, so I won’t rigidlyhold myself to that impossible standard. (I plan to write more about the nuts and bolts of successful goal setting in the upcoming weeks. Let me know if you are interested in being notified and sent that more instructional/helpful post, by sending me an email HERE.)

I know I may not fully meet all the goals I set out; in truth, I know even as I write them that I won’t meet them all, and that is ok.

The power of choosing goals includes enough self-compassion, and sense of humor, to allow my authentic, very human self to fall short without shame.  (And fall short I do… I emulate Robert Browning’s quote “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp...” ) Setting intentions simply provides myself a visible compass to keep me guided in my chosen direction, so that I don’t circle endlessly back to the same point.  If I’m climbing towards a BIG goal in my life, the monthly intention is simply to find the next foothold and try to reach for it.

Choosing each next small goal is like being a climber, looking up to the top and seeking that next foothold. Any of those choices may work - and the order we choose them in shapes our individual journey. (And look at all the pretty colors along the way.)

This simple writing ritual establishes a reliable rhythm, marking the passing of time.  Have you lately found yourself with a sense that time isn’t being measured the same way since the pandemic began?  The prolonged quarantine and altered work and social structures created a wearying sense of being unmoored in time, and this helps mitigate that.  While making my weekly calendar check sets some rhythm, monthly reflections add mindfulness and depth to a rote calendar/agenda of work shifts, appointments, reminders, and seemingly endless “to do” lists. 

This is a time in which understanding and delineating what factors we can and can’t control is critical to wellness and resilience, and reflecting and goal setting really helps me focus on what I can control.  If Facebook and Instagram posts and memes are a barometer of the emotional pulse, this September has folks roiling in a sense of anxiety, helplessness, uncertainty and lack of control. They are looking to just move forward in hopes that life will “self correct” the things out of their individual control. Looking at each new month from a personal perspective provides an opportunity to remember that even in times of crisis and chaos, we can look at our own lives and control our internal responses, beliefs and intentions.  No matter what the world looks like, we can change and grow and flourish.  When faced with undeniable stressors, we can choose our response in small ways that cumulatively affect us and the world around us.  Goal setting allows me to measure the small steps over the things I CAN control, in a mindful and intentional way. 

And it helps me get shit done.  There is that.

Self reflection. Goal setting. Mindful living. Intentionality. Productivity. Shiny Washi tape and colored markers and sitting in the sunshine. All in one pretty package.

I hope your September is off to a mindful and satisfying start. Keep in touch!