@@daroldcarold3443 it's ok. Grey did say they've been designing these for years.. I bet these corners must be really tasty and have all the imaginable flavors
And for anyone keeping track, the middle section said "I don't want to write anything too personal here so just enjoy this Lorem Ipsum Dolor Set Amet ... " (or however the actual lorem ipsum goes).
@@jondal true, and grey acknowledges that you don’t have to buy the journal to do this - that any ordinary notebook can do this just as well. It’s not like he’s hiding this fact, he’s quite open about it.
Never have I connected with a person through the internet more strongly than when Grey mentioned he sucks at replying to text messages. Please know you are not alone (in fact, I'm guessing there are dozens of us!).
Ah, as someone who doesn't have this issue I feel bad. I would suggest just clicking the "mark as read" if it's a command/suggestion. I know it may be completely unhelpful, but try to say something to make sure we know you understand.
The idea of a partial credit for tracking just blew my anxious perfectionist mind. Thank you so much for that idea alone for my own journaling. Here’s to improving together!
You're right, but I also really appreciate this video showing his use case, otherwise I'd be totally lost, but the journal also leaves space for me to change whatever I want. It's perfect
they also commented that they also want to make a follow up version that could be more for people that are already familiar to the system. Where you only need a part of base journal.
I also struggle with replying to really simple emails or phone calls, and it’s oftentimes very discouraging. It’s nice to hear im not alone and there are still strategies to improve myself.
I would say that it depends. For me, it could take some time if I think there is a "terror in the", basicly I screwed up something or I expect the message to require a lot of my psychological attention. That personal life. At work I tend to answer when I got the time.
5:15 "And if, because of this video, you try some parts of this system on a pad of paper and it improves your life, I will be very happy." I have been doing the fill-in-circles part of this for about 6 weeks. Each week, on Monday, I print out a new sheet and write down my daily goals, keeping many from the previous week, or increasing them some depending on my success in the previous week. It has been awesome for me. Because of it, I'm healthier and making small daily steps toward my goals. Thank you so much for this video!
@@CoolHand032 Yeah, you can pull out a couple at the tracking pages, for example, so that you can just stick your finger in and flip right to the tracking. And rip out each daily page as you use it, so that you can flip right to today's notes.
Another important aspect I realized after watching, is how unrealistic expectations we set to ourselves sometimes. When I try to track my productivity I get so discouraged when I see I don't even achieve half of the things I set out to do on a given day. Your half-credit idea seems really motivational to keep going!
With the amount I use discord the lack of markdown in texting makes communication so much harder. Especially when im communicating with my parents who wont realize what I am trying to say
I would totally get this if it had an open spiral design. The closed book flap style doesn't work well when I'm left handed, so I'm always on the lookout for a journal like this, but with a specific binding style.
if all else fails theres 2 options i can think of that might be helpful for you! 1. get a removalble/customizable disc bound journal, its like spiralbound but the pages are removable and able to be put back. 2. get into bookbinding and bind your own journal how YOU want it, from scratch. May i recommend coptic stitch if you go that direction? It's really aesthetically pleasing for an exposed binding, and opens flat like a spiralbound.
I am left handed it still works well. The pages are the same on both sides. And it lays pretty flat. Note however I don’t write with my hand hooked so this might not be applicable to you.
Ok so in order to keep track of my patients in the hospital, I print a list and put a circle next to their entry. When I have seen them i fill in half the circle and when I complete my note (so I guess I "write" every day) I complete the circle. I love that this system is so similar to CGP Grey's! Sold!! 🙂
If you want to step up the challenge on communication, try setting the goal to _send_ one message that is not about something you need an answer to in a timely manner. So asking your wife what she wants for dinner at 5pm doesn't count, but sending the same message at noon would. Or possibly just sending a friend some comment either about your day or asking about theirs.
The part about becoming more positive because you write one positive thing a day really worked for me. When I was younger I went to group therapy 3 times a week. I knew I'd have to share something each time so I found myself picking one event each day to keep in memory to use as a story to share. Because I didn't want to be the guy who complained all the time I subconsciously kept logging at least one positive event each day (unless something that really bothered me happened). After a few weeks I began seeking out those positive events, which in turn made me more positive, and now the negative events in my life didn't seem as bad.
After looking into e-ink tablets, the one I want has OneNote functionality. I remembered how much I liked this idea so now I'm going to recreate this journal In OneNote with a personal tweak or two. I came back to the video for screenshots. Even though you won't read this, Thanks for the inspiration.
I'm interested in that pen he is using. It looks like it would be ergonomic and satisfying. I feel like Grey put the requisite too much thought into it and I would also like nice things.
Just bought it after watching "spaceship you" a second time. I feel it is more important than ever to have some form of organization to keep the core spinning
I like to imagine this video was actually a way for Grey to indirectly apologize to all the people he hasn’t replied to yet and show them that he’s aware and working on it 🥺 In all seriousness though, this looks like a really helpful journal system, I’m going to pick one up when I can :)
I bought 4 last year (1 for each of my parents, 1 for my productivity oriented friend, and 1 for myself) Love the design and materials! I found it hard to start journaling out of the blue but this was a great reminder to give it another go. I love your videos CGP, thanks for being a teacher and an inspiration!
Are they full year journals? The fact that there's a quarterly journal subscription option on the website makes it feel like it covers a 3 month period.
@@severinbechtold1873 They said "1 for each of my parents" which brings the total up to two, then "1 for my productivity oriented friend" which brings the total up to three, and finally, "1 for myself", bringing up the total to four
It lacks the one thing that every single other journal/notebook lacks, a pen chimney. It's a safe bet that yours is perfect bound, like everything else is these days. All you have to do is glue the page block about 3/8 of an inch from the spine.
Grey, I want you to know you’re a role model to me. Not in a fanatical weirdo way, but in the sense that your journey from a directionless 20-something to the organized and successful researcher and presenter has inspired my ADHD self to make similar improvements in my own life. Thanks for making great videos and always presenting productivity in a way that feels less like corporate buzzwords and more like cheat codes to life. Keep rockin it, man!
I went from procrastinating everything to mostly doing everything in a couple months with strong ADHD and high-functioning (which actually means "weak" (sort of)) autism. It can be done!
When you take the time to write out anything, you go out of your way to already take those steps to wanting to better yourself in any which way. It's just you, the pen and a blank page...write out what speaks to you the most
Thanks Grey! The explanation was really useful for kicking my creative/planning juices into gear. Sometimes I am rendered paralyzed by a blank sheet (digital or physical) piece of paper or a brand new notebook. For some reason I love buying them, but don't USE them! I also have a bad tendency to only see big goals, but not the steps it takes to reach it. Like I only see a mountain of solid stone, I don't notice that it is... say... made of small pebbles. Sorry I ramble... Thank you!!
Grey's mom wanting to learn Magic is.... very wholsome. I hope it's true. It warms my heart. I would have loved for my parents to be interested in a hobby of mine so much they got involved themself :)
It is absolutely true. He talks about it on his podcast Cortex. He spent like two months back at his parents for a long break and he got his Mom into magic. As he put it, they're very similar people so he figured if he loves magic, his mom would too
I'm on my third or fourth journal so far and finally have a setup for the daily box pages that's been working pretty well for me. It took about three months of messing around with what I wanted to write about in those boxes daily before it clicked.
I feel like one of the things I need to track is using the daily page.... I'm new to journaling and find that the most difficult, but love the daily tracker partial/full credits!
@@mrkirby8622 sorry to be one of those people but Europe isn't the EU, the EU is a group of countries in Europe with common political polices (laws) and Europe is a continent
Thank you for recommending the journal so perfectly and yet making it obvious that this specific journal doesn't improve you and it's just a tool. You don't have to buy my product isn't something you hear everyday :D
I find replying to emails to be a real pain, but friendships are important and are worth a little pain. Great work on the journal, I love the concept and design.
I'm working out my own personal journal/planner system right now, and the partial credit for things I'm tracking is just what I need. Thanks for sharing your system so clearly!
I would get one myself, unfortunately I'm a broke college student, so I'm happy grey suggested to try this with a regular notebook. I'm using a composition notebook that was like 50¢ at an office supply store, and I hope it works out well. I'll definitely be trying to use this system and to see if I progress or if it just doesn't work out.
You might want to get a journal stencil for making circles and boxes, of many different sizes, but in an overall size that fits inside the cover of your notebook. Check out the (so many) choices on Amazon!
As a former college student that was strapped for cash myself I hear you ! Yes, save your money for other things. There's time to indulge in this stuff when you are out of school. In the mean time you could consider creating your own pages on Word or Excel and printing them up for a cheap binder.
@@mattfrank9120 this exactly. Thankfully, grey showed all the pages and what they look like, and it would be easy to make something similar using something different.
Feature request: a version where the writing pages only have one large box. I can always split that into 4 if I want, but I used this last year and the thing I wanted the most frequently was more space to write a single entry on a single page. Love it though. The care Myke and the gang put in really shows and it's much appreciated.
A long time ago in a Q&A you said to "build a self-reflection process into your life" (or something similar), and said that you did weekly, quarterly, and yearly checks with yourself to see how your life was going. What does that entail? Are there specific questions you ask yourself that guide your decision-making and mindset for the following week/quarter/year?
Grey talks a lot more about his productivity efforts in a podcast he does with Myke. I would recommend starting with episode 101: Productivity, although it is worth listening from the beginning to hear them talk about their productivity journeys
@@dobystone I listened to the episode, I definitely took a lot from it, but I don't remember them talking about specific patterns of self-reflection. Grey talked about how he started by just writing things down in a journal and looking back at the journal every once in a while, but that's something I already do, and I feel like there's probably some smarter way of reflecting that has a direct impact on my life than just looking at previous thoughts.
@@chrisberry7640 I think you've got the gist of it. In other episodes he talks about how he and Myke both take their notebooks and look at those "note" pages where they've jotted down feelings and daily struggles and then search for a sort of 'problem' theme. What's the thing they aren't focusing on that is causing these "symptoms" to manifest? So yes, there is a smart way of reviewing your previous thoughts. Look for reoccurring issues or challenges and see if there is a root theme that could help you be mindful on a daily basis. Hope that helps a little bit.
Most of that book wouldn't help me much, but the progress circle thingys are something I'll have to look into. Thank you Grey, you've helped me with my crippling laziness. Ever since I got lazy my life was ruined, but now there's a new hope.
Even though I don't necessarily need the journal, because I can copy stuff on my ReMarkable2, I bought one, just for the sake of supporting you (and feeling better about copying it). This it honestly t h e most perfect time in my entire life for something like this, Grey, so thank you so much. When I'm finished copying, I might give this as a gift for a friend, who I know will like this. Who knows, maybe they'll become a fan of yours too! Happy new year, everyone.
Serious question: at what point these daily trackers or even better, being so much focused on "self improving" becomes actually draining/damaging . I am genuinely curious, is there any research into this? I wouldn't be surprised if they told me that although in the general population this is a positive and much needed help, there might be people who actually would benefit from worrying less about their current "performance". Just some thoughts really.
From my extensive research I have found that anyone who already journals all the time doesn’t need it, and anyone who doubts they can make it a habit needs it.
I don't think your comment exactly meant this, but for me I know when I create systems for myself, I need to play a balancing act between complex enough to actually work and not so complex it overwhelms me and I stress over the system as much as I stress about actual life stuff as well.
I highly recommend the recent book "Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals." He gets into exactly what you are talking about. Notice in this video Grey is barely focused on "to dos" for his work, and mostly focused on self care and making his life meaningful. Basically, this is the key. If you do what Grey is doing you're not going to become overly focused on work. If you use traditional planner systems, that is a very real danger. But it all depends on your outlook. The key is what Grey said early on: accept that you're not going to get to everything, then do important things. Things that are important to YOU.
I think usually trackers that focus on self improving could not always become damaging or draining since you could put in goals that focus on others such as spending more time with friends and family and going to activities that help you make friends and putting a goal to do community volunteering time or putting in breaks and relaxation time.
I had to pause the video at 4:00 to figure out if that was footage of RDR2 or real life. If that's not a testament to the evolution of video game graphics I don't know what is.
well, i'm poor soo i didn't pay the 25 euros required to get your book, but i do appreciate you delivering the contents of it for free i'm greatfull for the openeness with wich you share your work I came back to this vidéo after watching 7 tips to be miserable and started squibling in my book Thank you.
I really like the theme pages. I recently started bullet journaling and I think that would make a great addition. I might just have to make it a spring of novelty
part of me wants one... but the other parts knows I'm going to damn-well forget about it after the 1st day :^ If there was a program-version that I could having hovering on my desktop on my pc that I can use in the morning/evening, I'd use the hell out of it :^ but only because I'm digital vs analog with notes and such
Android has "loop habit tracker". It doesn't do partial (though it supports numbers, so you can do Target 1, and enter a half.) Grey got me hooked on journaling in Notion (though he doesn't use it)
I have a google form set up, which I then have linked to a spreadsheet, that I can do stats on, etc. - Primarily it's for tracking my mental health, but I have questions like "did you do exercise today? yes/no/I-tried", or "roughly how many portions of fruit/veg did you get?", or "how much time did you spend on fun projects?", which serve as a reminder to look after myself, but also end up looking a whole lot like a habit tracker. I have almost all my questions set up as multiple-choice, which makes it a lot easier to just fill in regardless of how I'm feeling, aside from the last two (one for listing what I Did to help mental health, and another for just offloading whatever is on my mind / writing about my day / etc.). I figure something like that you could pretty easily adapt to your own situation, and given it's just a webpage, effectively, you can fill it in on the go. Alternatively, you could try setting something up in excel, or go for something entirely different. There'll be a lot of helpful solutions for you! :)
As someone who got into keeping a planner this past year, the serotonin you feel at the end of the day when you get to color in a circle or check off a box is incredibly motivating. If you have a list of things every day that needs to get done, I would recommend this approach of getting to color in shapes and looking back on how many shapes you got to color in on previous days!
I had already been using trackers, but I didn't think about also using my journal for written stuff (the gratitude things, goals, etc...), so I'm going to try incorporate that and see how it goes :D
there is a video on the matter of gratitude made by Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell. it's called 'an antidote to dissatisfaction' and it has scientific data on how that actually works and helps. super recommend watching it
I have a journal and was re-watching this slowly, taking notes so I can figure out how to start. Just noticed at 3:05 that Grey has 6 books about chess openings that he is using to stack up equipment. So funny.
Cortex itself has really improved my life. I don't use the journal, because I have my own very specific to me journal design. It has elements gleaned from multiple sources, including cortex. I write down positive affirmations, things I'm grateful for, and my top 5 must do or top priority tasks for the day, among other boxes. I have my own rating system for the day at the bottom too. It all looks very pretty :p But the theme system journal definitely is part of what pushed me to put this together for myself. I also do use a yearly theme system to inform my more specific goals/decisions, so thank you for that. It's a really helpful idea. This year I'm calling the "Year of Character", which is a mix of learning new skills that have been on my list for a while, and focusing on positivity and aspects of my personality that I greatly value and want to expand upon. (There are actionable steps for this, I promise.) Anyway, just wanted to say I appreciate this productivity stuff very much.
Excellent idea, concurrent thinking - I basically do all these steps on my own accord, before I even knew you had made a journal for it. I like to have a daily TODO list, note x3 daily highlights, and take detailed notes for any meetings or talks I attend. Then because I am a major nerd, I wrote a Software Requirements Specification (SRS) for my life - which I call the life project.
4:26 CGP Grey writes half in English, half in Latin. The Latin loosely translates to "I tell against the gift: The gift may be loved, it may seek (adipiscing ebt), but I give (cusiual) time as great labor and great gifts". Who knew Latin could be useful outside school and guessing root words
Thank you so much for this. I'm afraid I didn't buy the actual diary, but followed your advice to create my own based on my own needs. So far, it has helped to keep me so much more productive.
Nice journal! Always nice to discover a kindred spirit. Thanks for sharing. You've put a lot of work into this, and I'm sure it'll help anyone that takes the time to use it.
Have been doing a variation on this for a few months in my own notebook and love the mourning routine of 1 grateful, 2 goal, and the evening routine of 1 what awesome things happened and then 2 any improvements.
Love the theme system, don't think I'll need a journal. I found that I carry my goals around with me mentally, because I stuck to my themes and I learned German and began painting. So I see and hear my progress. And if I do feel down now, I just chat some nonsense German or draw a sketch that can be turned into a larger piece. This years theme is determination, and it's also broken down into focus which is something I lack. Chinese is my next language goal and it's already stumped me, but your theme system made me actually WANT to learn something and do something new. So thanks for that. Also für deine ilfe, danke und 谢谢.
@@KelarGridal es geht mir auch gut. Das finde ich sehr cool, dass du Deutsch gelernt hast. Ich lerne auch Deutsch, und es ist total schwierig, aber Ich sehe vielen Deutsche Leute im Internet, und es macht Spaß, auf ihrer sprachen, zu sprechen
This looks amazing! Just remembering to fill in my daily progress in this would already be half points on some of my resolutions, so I wont be buying any, but I love the idea!
I like to watch people being productive while I’m procrastinating
Don't we all?
Same
I like to think about procrastination when I'm procrastinating
I'm the king of procrastination
I think I'll watch this tomorrow.
My favorite part of Grey’s theme system journal is eating the little tab of paper that comes off each page! 🤤 It’s a little reward snack.
….what?
@@daroldcarold3443 it's ok. Grey did say they've been designing these for years.. I bet these corners must be really tasty and have all the imaginable flavors
@@daroldcarold3443 whats wrong
I-
I had to reread that with my eyes
Yes 🤣
Watching Grey talk about productivity makes me feel more productive.
And that just has to be enough for today.
I get that feeling all the time from his podcast Cortex. I'll sometimes listen to it specifically while working on something.
*fills half circle*
Same - until I remember that I'm only watching this because I'm procrastinating >_
@@KingBobXVI It’s research.
3:49 "I am grateful that my Mom wants to learn Magic and that I can teach her."
"I'm grateful for all the work bees do. Thanks, bees!"
murdered by magic for mom prequel...
Thanks for translating that into readable English.
🤣 Never would've known. And for some reason so glad that I know now.
Thanks ZED! -aka lastZED
And for anyone keeping track, the middle section said "I don't want to write anything too personal here so just enjoy this Lorem Ipsum Dolor Set Amet ... " (or however the actual lorem ipsum goes).
thanks! i thought it said "i'm grateful for the work beer do. thanks beer!" and i worried he suddenly forgot how grammar worked
How you know Grey is a real chessplayer: He has a full series of chess books, and uses them exclusively to balance his computer screens, ROFL
What app is he using in that part?
@@_drishtantsingh Obsidian
As a chess player it makes me laugh XD
If you keep the chess books in your general vicinity then you're going to absorb some of their knowledge.
Lmao i do that with algorithms books
I dig how it’s all blank and able to be adapted to whatever system you personally want
And what a crafty idea, to sell ordinary notebook as a 'planner'. Grey is quite a marketer. Unsubbing
@@jondal I mean, it’s not really. Grey and Myke have talked a lot about the design process of the journal and how it’s changed over time.
@@Chris-rn9zx that doesn't change the fact that it's just a notebook.
@@jondal planners are just inherently "ordinary notebooks"
@@jondal true, and grey acknowledges that you don’t have to buy the journal to do this - that any ordinary notebook can do this just as well. It’s not like he’s hiding this fact, he’s quite open about it.
Never have I connected with a person through the internet more strongly than when Grey mentioned he sucks at replying to text messages. Please know you are not alone (in fact, I'm guessing there are dozens of us!).
There are dozens of us. Dozens!!!!
Same!
Don't get me started!
Ah, as someone who doesn't have this issue I feel bad. I would suggest just clicking the "mark as read" if it's a command/suggestion. I know it may be completely unhelpful, but try to say something to make sure we know you understand.
I asked friends, to see if other people did this too. No one responded.
The idea of a partial credit for tracking just blew my anxious perfectionist mind. Thank you so much for that idea alone for my own journaling. Here’s to improving together!
Keeping the journal open-ended is great, I think it's awesome that it was designed with the goal of letting people use it however they want in mind
It's necessary, because the person that co-created it uses it very differently... Minus the theme system part... Which is why it's labeled.
You're right, but I also really appreciate this video showing his use case, otherwise I'd be totally lost, but the journal also leaves space for me to change whatever I want. It's perfect
they also commented that they also want to make a follow up version that could be more for people that are already familiar to the system. Where you only need a part of base journal.
I also struggle with replying to really simple emails or phone calls, and it’s oftentimes very discouraging. It’s nice to hear im not alone and there are still strategies to improve myself.
I have this too, on and off. Turning more on than off. I feel like more and more friends are having the same.
This might be a growing thing?
@@MeesterG social anxiety. Pandemic has caused huge increases in both agoraphobic tendencies and social struggles alike.
There is an epidemic of not replying to messages
I would say that it depends. For me, it could take some time if I think there is a "terror in the", basicly I screwed up something or I expect the message to require a lot of my psychological attention. That personal life. At work I tend to answer when I got the time.
Grey just casually sitting and twirling his pen in what appears to be the most serene spot on the planet.
5:15 "And if, because of this video, you try some parts of this system on a pad of paper and it improves your life, I will be very happy."
I have been doing the fill-in-circles part of this for about 6 weeks. Each week, on Monday, I print out a new sheet and write down my daily goals, keeping many from the previous week, or increasing them some depending on my success in the previous week.
It has been awesome for me. Because of it, I'm healthier and making small daily steps toward my goals. Thank you so much for this video!
A beautiful and pragmatic design. But nevertheless, I see all those little dots on the pages and think: *They Must Be Connected, for Art*
Pointy S's... Pointy S's, everywhere
It's really just a book for playing "Dots and Boxes" ....
it is designed to your needs. CONNECT THE DOTS AS YOU PLEASE
I too see them, and I too think they must be connected.
and if i accidentally draw the connection a little to the side and it passes a dot, then the universe itself will collapse.
The tear away tabs are indeed satisfying. Time well spent.
This is true. I don't even like that method of marking pages, and I enjoy that aspect of it.
I agree they appear satisfying, but what is their purpose? Just to mark which page you're on?
@@CoolHand032 Yeah, you can pull out a couple at the tracking pages, for example, so that you can just stick your finger in and flip right to the tracking. And rip out each daily page as you use it, so that you can flip right to today's notes.
But fighting the urge to tear away all at once, in a fit of gleeful destruction and self-sabotage, would be too much for me...
Much more practical to have it be a ring block or else have a page marker.
Another important aspect I realized after watching, is how unrealistic expectations we set to ourselves sometimes. When I try to track my productivity I get so discouraged when I see I don't even achieve half of the things I set out to do on a given day. Your half-credit idea seems really motivational to keep going!
:') thanks for not forcing us. love how you genuinely want people to be more productive
This might actually help the people who's New year's resolution was to be more productive
Yep, great tool.
.
It doesn't even need to be about "productivity".
It's _anything_ that can help a person be better.
Your resolution book would be just comment, comment, comment, comment
Check our greys video on how seasonal themes are better than new year’s resolutions
I like how grey uses markdown formatting (surrounding words with asterisks to signify emphasis) even when writing by hand
With the amount I use discord the lack of markdown in texting makes communication so much harder. Especially when im communicating with my parents who wont realize what I am trying to say
@@Akari_202 Ever heard of THIS?
@@Anonymous-df8it but that's yelling, *not* emphasis
It's also been a general computer thing for much longer than Markdown or RST or such have been around
@@mementomori2285 Ever heard of _this_ ?
I would totally get this if it had an open spiral design. The closed book flap style doesn't work well when I'm left handed, so I'm always on the lookout for a journal like this, but with a specific binding style.
if all else fails theres 2 options i can think of that might be helpful for you! 1. get a removalble/customizable disc bound journal, its like spiralbound but the pages are removable and able to be put back. 2. get into bookbinding and bind your own journal how YOU want it, from scratch. May i recommend coptic stitch if you go that direction? It's really aesthetically pleasing for an exposed binding, and opens flat like a spiralbound.
Totally understand this comment!
I am left handed it still works well. The pages are the same on both sides. And it lays pretty flat. Note however I don’t write with my hand hooked so this might not be applicable to you.
Ok so in order to keep track of my patients in the hospital, I print a list and put a circle next to their entry. When I have seen them i fill in half the circle and when I complete my note (so I guess I "write" every day) I complete the circle. I love that this system is so similar to CGP Grey's! Sold!! 🙂
If you want to step up the challenge on communication, try setting the goal to _send_ one message that is not about something you need an answer to in a timely manner. So asking your wife what she wants for dinner at 5pm doesn't count, but sending the same message at noon would. Or possibly just sending a friend some comment either about your day or asking about theirs.
Oh I like this.
CGP Grey's communication skills: 2
Fakjbf's communication skills: 10
I envy you.
Tree of Gondor profile pic commenting on a CGP Grey video? 10/10
@@dhess34
Talking about sending messages... hopefully, Rohan will answer.
Like... Each day? Or each week. Or month...
This is really smart, I never thought of giving myself half points so the full one are easier.
The part about becoming more positive because you write one positive thing a day really worked for me. When I was younger I went to group therapy 3 times a week. I knew I'd have to share something each time so I found myself picking one event each day to keep in memory to use as a story to share. Because I didn't want to be the guy who complained all the time I subconsciously kept logging at least one positive event each day (unless something that really bothered me happened). After a few weeks I began seeking out those positive events, which in turn made me more positive, and now the negative events in my life didn't seem as bad.
After looking into e-ink tablets, the one I want has OneNote functionality. I remembered how much I liked this idea so now I'm going to recreate this journal In OneNote with a personal tweak or two. I came back to the video for screenshots. Even though you won't read this, Thanks for the inspiration.
I'm interested in that pen he is using. It looks like it would be ergonomic and satisfying. I feel like Grey put the requisite too much thought into it and I would also like nice things.
I would also appreciate an ID on the pen.
It is a sold out item on the Cortex Brand site. The Mark One.
@@giberton006 Thanks for the info!
It’s a Cortex branded version of a pen called the Mark One by Studio Neat. We will be restocking our version soon
Also, what keyboard is Grey using? Looks like a very nicely colored 75% keyboard, but can we get the brand & model?
the scenery looks beautiful at 0:55
Just bought it after watching "spaceship you" a second time. I feel it is more important than ever to have some form of organization to keep the core spinning
I like to imagine this video was actually a way for Grey to indirectly apologize to all the people he hasn’t replied to yet and show them that he’s aware and working on it 🥺
In all seriousness though, this looks like a really helpful journal system, I’m going to pick one up when I can :)
I bought 4 last year (1 for each of my parents, 1 for my productivity oriented friend, and 1 for myself) Love the design and materials! I found it hard to start journaling out of the blue but this was a great reminder to give it another go. I love your videos CGP, thanks for being a teacher and an inspiration!
...what about the forth one? ;)
Are they full year journals? The fact that there's a quarterly journal subscription option on the website makes it feel like it covers a 3 month period.
@@GahloWake if you fill a page in every day then it's quarterly, but it depends how you use it.
@@rileyn2983 Thanks. =D
@@severinbechtold1873 They said "1 for each of my parents" which brings the total up to two, then "1 for my productivity oriented friend" which brings the total up to three, and finally, "1 for myself", bringing up the total to four
It lacks the one thing that every single other journal/notebook lacks, a pen chimney. It's a safe bet that yours is perfect bound, like everything else is these days. All you have to do is glue the page block about 3/8 of an inch from the spine.
The swipe to MTGA made me genuinely cackle. Now my cats are all spooked! 🤣
THE LANDSCAPE BEHIND YOUR HOUSE IS INCREDIBLE
I don't think that's his house. He lives in London, and London does not look like that 😅
the design is really gorgeous!! hopefully this will make my 2022 actually productive
One could only hope.
@@RGC_animation
If you „hope“ you already lost.
Take responsibility for your life and get your ass up. You don‘t need hope for that.
Morgan Freeman Voice: "But it didn't make Beth's 2022 actually productive ..."
Grey, I want you to know you’re a role model to me. Not in a fanatical weirdo way, but in the sense that your journey from a directionless 20-something to the organized and successful researcher and presenter has inspired my ADHD self to make similar improvements in my own life. Thanks for making great videos and always presenting productivity in a way that feels less like corporate buzzwords and more like cheat codes to life. Keep rockin it, man!
I went from procrastinating everything to mostly doing everything in a couple months with strong ADHD and high-functioning (which actually means "weak" (sort of)) autism. It can be done!
When you take the time to write out anything, you go out of your way to already take those steps to wanting to better yourself in any which way. It's just you, the pen and a blank page...write out what speaks to you the most
Thanks Grey! The explanation was really useful for kicking my creative/planning juices into gear. Sometimes I am rendered paralyzed by a blank sheet (digital or physical) piece of paper or a brand new notebook. For some reason I love buying them, but don't USE them! I also have a bad tendency to only see big goals, but not the steps it takes to reach it. Like I only see a mountain of solid stone, I don't notice that it is... say... made of small pebbles. Sorry I ramble... Thank you!!
Grey's mom wanting to learn Magic is.... very wholsome. I hope it's true. It warms my heart. I would have loved for my parents to be interested in a hobby of mine so much they got involved themself :)
It is absolutely true. He talks about it on his podcast Cortex. He spent like two months back at his parents for a long break and he got his Mom into magic. As he put it, they're very similar people so he figured if he loves magic, his mom would too
Stopped working to watch this video. Thanks CGP for helping me stay productive!
YOU PLAY MAGIC TOO! YOU ARE MY HERO
Ah that tear... Makes you want to get through the day more and more.
Neat! The partial credit system might be the one bit that would make this workable for me.
I'm on my third or fourth journal so far and finally have a setup for the daily box pages that's been working pretty well for me. It took about three months of messing around with what I wanted to write about in those boxes daily before it clicked.
why do you tease us so much! Tell us how you use your journal so we can all learn :) (except off course if you feel like you want to keep it private)
I feel like one of the things I need to track is using the daily page.... I'm new to journaling and find that the most difficult, but love the daily tracker partial/full credits!
I’d love a PDF version of this that I could write on using my iPad!
You could just made one yourself. (It does not need to be a 1 to 1 copy. You could change it a bit for your purpose.)
I find it kind of funny that someone in this universe uses military time
@@kyle4717 You mean everyone in Europe? (And way more people, just know EU for sure)
@@mrkirby8622 sorry to be one of those people but Europe isn't the EU, the EU is a group of countries in Europe with common political polices (laws) and Europe is a continent
@@kyle4717 I find it funny that someone in this universe cared so much about one of the two ways of displaying the same damn thing.
I keep it much simpler.
Passion makes me productive.
The thing that makes me productive is the tenth cup of cheaply made instant coffee one hour after waking up
Thank you for recommending the journal so perfectly and yet making it obvious that this specific journal doesn't improve you and it's just a tool. You don't have to buy my product isn't something you hear everyday :D
Nothing improves you.
Everything is a tool that you can choose to use to better yourself or make things worse.
I find replying to emails to be a real pain, but friendships are important and are worth a little pain. Great work on the journal, I love the concept and design.
I'm working out my own personal journal/planner system right now, and the partial credit for things I'm tracking is just what I need. Thanks for sharing your system so clearly!
I would get one myself, unfortunately I'm a broke college student, so I'm happy grey suggested to try this with a regular notebook. I'm using a composition notebook that was like 50¢ at an office supply store, and I hope it works out well.
I'll definitely be trying to use this system and to see if I progress or if it just doesn't work out.
You might want to get a journal stencil for making circles and boxes, of many different sizes, but in an overall size that fits inside the cover of your notebook. Check out the (so many) choices on Amazon!
@@theabristlebroom4378 Thanks for the tip!
As a former college student that was strapped for cash myself I hear you ! Yes, save your money for other things. There's time to indulge in this stuff when you are out of school.
In the mean time you could consider creating your own pages on Word or Excel and printing them up for a cheap binder.
@@mattfrank9120 this exactly. Thankfully, grey showed all the pages and what they look like, and it would be easy to make something similar using something different.
Aw, grey promoting his merch is so wholesome.
I never knew what those tear off things at the corners were for!
When Grey posts any new video my whole day gets brighter :)
I'm so glad you posted this because I got one shortly before the end of December and this is helping me to keep it in mind/keep using it
are you living in the future?
whats it like
@@wrenk lmao I thought I wrote December
I just got mine a few days ago! I'm loving it already!
So it's been 14 months since this video released.... HOW'D YOU DO? :)
Feature request: a version where the writing pages only have one large box. I can always split that into 4 if I want, but I used this last year and the thing I wanted the most frequently was more space to write a single entry on a single page.
Love it though. The care Myke and the gang put in really shows and it's much appreciated.
HELL YEAH!! 🎉🤸♂️ I've got my theme for the year all set and going, since november.
A long time ago in a Q&A you said to "build a self-reflection process into your life" (or something similar), and said that you did weekly, quarterly, and yearly checks with yourself to see how your life was going. What does that entail? Are there specific questions you ask yourself that guide your decision-making and mindset for the following week/quarter/year?
Grey talks a lot more about his productivity efforts in a podcast he does with Myke. I would recommend starting with episode 101: Productivity, although it is worth listening from the beginning to hear them talk about their productivity journeys
@@dobystone I listened to the episode, I definitely took a lot from it, but I don't remember them talking about specific patterns of self-reflection. Grey talked about how he started by just writing things down in a journal and looking back at the journal every once in a while, but that's something I already do, and I feel like there's probably some smarter way of reflecting that has a direct impact on my life than just looking at previous thoughts.
@@chrisberry7640 I think you've got the gist of it. In other episodes he talks about how he and Myke both take their notebooks and look at those "note" pages where they've jotted down feelings and daily struggles and then search for a sort of 'problem' theme. What's the thing they aren't focusing on that is causing these "symptoms" to manifest?
So yes, there is a smart way of reviewing your previous thoughts. Look for reoccurring issues or challenges and see if there is a root theme that could help you be mindful on a daily basis.
Hope that helps a little bit.
If you want to check out a different CZcamsr's view Struthless has great videos on that sort of check-in questions
Most of that book wouldn't help me much, but the progress circle thingys are something I'll have to look into. Thank you Grey, you've helped me with my crippling laziness. Ever since I got lazy my life was ruined, but now there's a new hope.
Luckily you can diy progress/habit trackers pretty easily :)
Even though I don't necessarily need the journal, because I can copy stuff on my ReMarkable2, I bought one, just for the sake of supporting you (and feeling better about copying it). This it honestly
t h e most perfect time in my entire life for something like this, Grey, so thank you so much.
When I'm finished copying, I might give this as a gift for a friend, who I know will like this. Who knows, maybe they'll become a fan of yours too! Happy new year, everyone.
1:26 ah yes, a fellow 24 hour clock user
Serious question: at what point these daily trackers or even better, being so much focused on "self improving" becomes actually draining/damaging . I am genuinely curious, is there any research into this? I wouldn't be surprised if they told me that although in the general population this is a positive and much needed help, there might be people who actually would benefit from worrying less about their current "performance". Just some thoughts really.
From my extensive research I have found that anyone who already journals all the time doesn’t need it, and anyone who doubts they can make it a habit needs it.
I don't think your comment exactly meant this, but for me I know when I create systems for myself, I need to play a balancing act between complex enough to actually work and not so complex it overwhelms me and I stress over the system as much as I stress about actual life stuff as well.
I highly recommend the recent book "Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals." He gets into exactly what you are talking about. Notice in this video Grey is barely focused on "to dos" for his work, and mostly focused on self care and making his life meaningful. Basically, this is the key. If you do what Grey is doing you're not going to become overly focused on work. If you use traditional planner systems, that is a very real danger. But it all depends on your outlook. The key is what Grey said early on: accept that you're not going to get to everything, then do important things. Things that are important to YOU.
I think usually trackers that focus on self improving could not always become damaging or draining since you could put in goals that focus on others such as spending more time with friends and family and going to activities that help you make friends and putting a goal to do community volunteering time or putting in breaks and relaxation time.
I had to pause the video at 4:00 to figure out if that was footage of RDR2 or real life. If that's not a testament to the evolution of video game graphics I don't know what is.
I feel better knowing other people are more productive than I and are willing to do the work to be more productive.
I did buy a little planner at the end of last year and I might try to implement some of these ideas. Thanks, Grey!
2:06 Nice to finally see the writing process that explains the upload schedule. ;)
You can get a better idea by listening to cortex.
well, i'm poor soo i didn't pay the 25 euros required to get your book, but i do appreciate you delivering the contents of it for free
i'm greatfull for the openeness with wich you share your work
I came back to this vidéo after watching 7 tips to be miserable and started squibling in my book
Thank you.
Where were you at at 1:00 specifically? That looks like my kind of paradise!
Probably North Carolina where his parents live. His last video was driving his dad's Tesla through the smoky mountains.
I really like the theme pages. I recently started bullet journaling and I think that would make a great addition. I might just have to make it a spring of novelty
I'm pleasantly surprised to see that Grey writes in Markdown. Thank you for the video!
a spiral-bound version would be awesome!!
one of my teachers a few years ago made my class make a gratitude list every day, and i can say that it does lift my mood
part of me wants one... but the other parts knows I'm going to damn-well forget about it after the 1st day :^
If there was a program-version that I could having hovering on my desktop on my pc that I can use in the morning/evening, I'd use the hell out of it :^ but only because I'm digital vs analog with notes and such
Android has "loop habit tracker". It doesn't do partial (though it supports numbers, so you can do Target 1, and enter a half.)
Grey got me hooked on journaling in Notion (though he doesn't use it)
Pixels is cool
I have a google form set up, which I then have linked to a spreadsheet, that I can do stats on, etc. - Primarily it's for tracking my mental health, but I have questions like "did you do exercise today? yes/no/I-tried", or "roughly how many portions of fruit/veg did you get?", or "how much time did you spend on fun projects?", which serve as a reminder to look after myself, but also end up looking a whole lot like a habit tracker. I have almost all my questions set up as multiple-choice, which makes it a lot easier to just fill in regardless of how I'm feeling, aside from the last two (one for listing what I Did to help mental health, and another for just offloading whatever is on my mind / writing about my day / etc.). I figure something like that you could pretty easily adapt to your own situation, and given it's just a webpage, effectively, you can fill it in on the go. Alternatively, you could try setting something up in excel, or go for something entirely different. There'll be a lot of helpful solutions for you! :)
@@felikso Can you please share a link to your setup as it sounds really interesting to use?
This is perfect, ordered mine back in December when I caught up on Cortex, and now I have this video to follow when it arrives :)
That tear is just... *chef's kiss* beautiful
Finally a journaling process that’s actually helpful for me.
As someone who got into keeping a planner this past year, the serotonin you feel at the end of the day when you get to color in a circle or check off a box is incredibly motivating. If you have a list of things every day that needs to get done, I would recommend this approach of getting to color in shapes and looking back on how many shapes you got to color in on previous days!
I had already been using trackers, but I didn't think about also using my journal for written stuff (the gratitude things, goals, etc...), so I'm going to try incorporate that and see how it goes :D
there is a video on the matter of gratitude made by Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell. it's called 'an antidote to dissatisfaction' and it has scientific data on how that actually works and helps. super recommend watching it
this sounds wonderfully helpful
but also way more effort than i can handle
I love the fade out on the video! Very calming. The Journal looks well designed with care. I'm starting it today.
*Looks like a nice Journal that deals with professional activity*
Indeed
Yo
Yo
hello there
Yes
I would also love to learn more about that pen! It's beautiful!
yes
looks like the THE CORTEX MARK ONE PEN from the shop in the link
I love the rip tabs on the corner! What a clever thoughtful detail!
Purchased the journal last month so that I'd have it for the start of the year. Very happy with it! I was able to easily adapt it into my system.
I have a journal and was re-watching this slowly, taking notes so I can figure out how to start. Just noticed at 3:05 that Grey has 6 books about chess openings that he is using to stack up equipment. So funny.
Cortex itself has really improved my life. I don't use the journal, because I have my own very specific to me journal design. It has elements gleaned from multiple sources, including cortex.
I write down positive affirmations, things I'm grateful for, and my top 5 must do or top priority tasks for the day, among other boxes. I have my own rating system for the day at the bottom too. It all looks very pretty :p But the theme system journal definitely is part of what pushed me to put this together for myself.
I also do use a yearly theme system to inform my more specific goals/decisions, so thank you for that. It's a really helpful idea. This year I'm calling the "Year of Character", which is a mix of learning new skills that have been on my list for a while, and focusing on positivity and aspects of my personality that I greatly value and want to expand upon. (There are actionable steps for this, I promise.)
Anyway, just wanted to say I appreciate this productivity stuff very much.
What’s Cortex?
Excellent idea, concurrent thinking - I basically do all these steps on my own accord, before I even knew you had made a journal for it.
I like to have a daily TODO list, note x3 daily highlights, and take detailed notes for any meetings or talks I attend.
Then because I am a major nerd, I wrote a Software Requirements Specification (SRS) for my life - which I call the life project.
I'm also thankful for all the work beer do. Thanks beer!
4:26 CGP Grey writes half in English, half in Latin. The Latin loosely translates to "I tell against the gift: The gift may be loved, it may seek (adipiscing ebt), but I give (cusiual) time as great labor and great gifts". Who knew Latin could be useful outside school and guessing root words
Just wanted to say, I hope you enjoyed your holidays in Switzerland! I love your work and are always excited and inspired by it! :D
Scrolling the comments for anyone mentioning that these shots look very Swiss, and then I see your username ...
I'm almost certain a specific location can be determined from the view of the peaks.
@@4rk But let's not do this, especially in case it's a place CGP Grey might return to.
Thank you so much for this. I'm afraid I didn't buy the actual diary, but followed your advice to create my own based on my own needs. So far, it has helped to keep me so much more productive.
Nice journal! Always nice to discover a kindred spirit.
Thanks for sharing. You've put a lot of work into this, and I'm sure it'll help anyone that takes the time to use it.
This whole video has the vibe of:
“Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so”
- Galileo Galilei
So, I know I could do it by my self, but as a thank you for "Spaceship You" I'll take 5.
Hoping you can continue doing videos for as long as you like
Have been doing a variation on this for a few months in my own notebook and love the mourning routine of 1 grateful, 2 goal, and the evening routine of 1 what awesome things happened and then 2 any improvements.
Thanks for this video! I literally just bought one last week and it arrived this morning so the timing couldn't be more perfect!
Love the theme system, don't think I'll need a journal. I found that I carry my goals around with me mentally, because I stuck to my themes and I learned German and began painting. So I see and hear my progress. And if I do feel down now, I just chat some nonsense German or draw a sketch that can be turned into a larger piece.
This years theme is determination, and it's also broken down into focus which is something I lack. Chinese is my next language goal and it's already stumped me, but your theme system made me actually WANT to learn something and do something new. So thanks for that. Also für deine ilfe, danke und 谢谢.
Wie geht es dir?
@@thevictor180 mir gehts gut. Und sie?
@@KelarGridal es geht mir auch gut. Das finde ich sehr cool, dass du Deutsch gelernt hast. Ich lerne auch Deutsch, und es ist total schwierig, aber Ich sehe vielen Deutsche Leute im Internet, und es macht Spaß, auf ihrer sprachen, zu sprechen
This looks amazing! Just remembering to fill in my daily progress in this would already be half points on some of my resolutions, so I wont be buying any, but I love the idea!
I think everyone worldwide needs this notebook 🗺
Seems like EXACTLY what I need/wanted. Ordered one immediately. Thanks!