New Year means a Fresh Start

First Quarter Journaling Tips and Ideas

With the start of the year, comes that feeling of new beginnings and starting over in whatever area of your life you feel needs improving. This also means focusing on the first quarter. Whether you run your own business or work for someone else, the first three months of the year are important. Here are some ideas for what to journal about in the first quarter of the year.

What Do You Want to Get Done During the First Quarter?

To make it simple, start with figuring out what you want to get done before the first quarter ends. So, think about what you want or need to accomplish before April of this year. If you have already been working on your big goals for the year, you probably have a good idea of what needs to be done during the first few months of the year. If you fail to do this type of planning, the quarter will be over, and suddenly you realize you haven’t gotten any closer to whatever your personal or professional goals are.

And remember they don’t have to be big business goals either. Maybe there is a small vacation you want to plan, you want to visit a friend you haven’t seen in a while, or you are trying to save money. These can all be included in your first quarter planning as well.

Working on Your Goals and Small Accomplishments

Once you know what you want to accomplish in the first quarter, you can start creating goals and tasks. A list will help you decide what small things to focus on. Are you trying to save a certain amount of money before the second quarter? If so, figure out what you will do to save that money. Are you getting a second job or will you be cutting your expenses and changing your budget? How much do you need to save weekly or monthly in order to reach your goal?

Making a plan reduces stress.

Once your plan is in place, you can relax and not worry about it. Refer back as needed, but the pressure of uncertainty should be eased.

What Did You Not Get Done Last Year?

The first quarter is also a good time to catch up with what you didn’t complete last year. This can give you an idea of what you need to work on and what areas of your life you are neglecting a little bit. For some people, it is their personal life that gets left behind. For others, it is menial tasks like organizing or filing taxes on time. When you know what you didn’t get done, you know where your focus should be in the first quarter. Journaling works so well for keeping track of this.

There are many different types of journals to choose from. There are tiny ones that fit in your pocket, all the way to a big, one-year journal with lots of room to write. The latter is what I created since I always have things to record, track, to-do lists, or goals I need to stay focused on. If that sounds like you, Write To Remember may be just the ticket for you. It includes pictures and scripture verses as well as writing prompts for those hard-to-focus days. The days are not pre-printed so you can stop and start at will with no feelings of guilt.

Another thing I do is record funny things my kids or grandchildren said or did so I can remember it years later and enjoy the moment all over again. I also record funny things mom says or does since she has dementia. Dementia can be very depressing. Recording the funny times helps me remain thankful.