My name is Shannon Maldonado. I'm the founder of Yawee. I give shop from the lense of artists and handmade objects. I chose Shopify because when I was testing other platforms, it was definitely one of the most user-friendly.
It was important to me to think about where we would be in the future. All of the tools for reading your sales by planning inventory. You're just right there on your dashboard. For anyone starting a small business, the biggest thing I can tell you is it doesn't have to be perfect.
Shopify can help you build upon it. Start your free trial on Shopify.com. Hi, this is Makayla with Honest Talk Radio. Honest Talk Radio is a space where we will be sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly in real raw conversations to try and do our part to reduce the amount of shame, guilt, and judgment so many of us women face.
Our hope is that through these conversations, you will feel supported and encouraged in every aspect of your life. So let's get started. Good morning, everyone, and happy November. It certainly feels like fall where I'm at, which during the fall months, it makes me just want to curl up on the couch in a warm, cozy spot in front of the fire sipping up on a hot cup of coffee.
Anyone else? Well, if you're anything like me, you probably don't have a lot of time in the morning. You've got a to-do list waiting for you or and or you've got children that are wanting your attention. Well, journaling can be a really, really, really great way to start your day.
It's one of my favorite ways to start my day. It gets me in a good mindset, clears my head, and is super, super beneficial. So today, I want to share with you how I format my journaling process to help you get started on your morning journaling routine. So like, comment, share.
If you're watching live, hashtag live. If you're watching the replay, hashtag replay. Super helpful. It keeps me motivated when I know that you guys are watching to keep hopping on here and sharing with you all.
All right, so what do you need to get started on your morning journaling routine? It's pretty simple. All you need is a notebook and your favorite writing utensil. I like pens.
I'm really into pens and I spend a lot of time finding my pens and I keep them for myself because my children like to steal them. Where to do it? Like I said, this type of time of year makes me really want to just curl up in somewhere cozy. I like to sit on my couch in front of the fire and while I'm drinking my cup of coffee and do my 10 to 15 minute journaling.
Now, you might not be a morning person. You might not want to do it in the morning. Doing it at night is equally as beneficial. I think helping at night, jotting things down before you go to bed can help clear your mind so that you're not closing your eyes and instantly thinking about all the things.
So it's a personal preference when you would like to do it. All right, here's my breakdown. Whether you're morning or night, this is what you can do in your journal. I like to spend the first few minutes journaling just rain dumping.
It's where you just get rid of all those free streaming thoughts that are in your head because I don't worry about grammar. I don't worry about spelling. I don't worry about making sense. If someone else were to pick up my journal and they're like, what is she talking about?
It doesn't matter. It's not for them. It's for me. And maybe you can relate.
You have I typically have like 5 million thoughts going through my head at one time. My husband does not understand this. But journaling, brain dumping gives me the opportunity to just get all of that out in no particular order. Next, I like to take a minute and think about my wins for the previous day.
What are some of the things that I accomplished? What are some of the things that I did and I'm proud of? This really helps me get into a better mindset because when you spend time celebrating the wins, it's like, oh yeah, I was I was productive. I was able to get these things done instead of focusing on like, oh, I had 50 things on my on my to-do list and I just didn't make it to all 50.
Well, maybe you did 45 on your to-do list. Like that's awesome. So celebrate your wins, write them down because it really helps train your mind to think positively. Then I follow with a quick with a quick, you know, things of what what I have liked to have done better the day before.
If I had done this, would it have helped me? And so hey, Jen, hey, Lindsey. And so I for example, yesterday I skipped my workout. So this morning in my journal, I wrote down, you know, if I had not skipped my workout, it probably would have helped me because I know that I work best when I'm active.
I can think more clearly, I can focus and to top it all off, I have more energy. So that has motivated me today to make sure that I make time for that. So I'm writing I'm talking about how to start your morning journaling routine. For those of you that are just joining me and recap real quick, the first thing I said was that I brain dump.
My first section of my journal is brain dumping, just getting rid of all those free streaming thoughts. My next section is to celebrate my wins from the day prior. So I like to celebrate what I actually did. And then number three is I write down I take a quick few minutes to write down what I would have liked if to do better because then that helps me regage for this new day.
After that, I write down three to five things that I'm thankful for. Gratitude journaling has helped so many of my clients get into a better mindset as well as myself. Gratitude journaling gives you fresh perspective. It's when things seem hard, the days seem tough, sitting down and giving things can make all the difference in the world.
And don't just generalize here, be specific. For example, today, Jen, you're watching, I'm super thankful that I get to interview another military spouse for my podcast. I love cultivating relationships, learning about people, and sharing their stories on my podcast. And that is something I'm extremely thankful that I get to do.
And then finally, I like to write down what my focus is for the day. Now, this doesn't mean my to do list. This doesn't mean the five million things that I think I need to get done. But what is my intention?
What is my focus? If I do X, Y, and Z today, am I going to feel productive? And am I going to feel good about what I did? So I like to call those things my big rocks.
So I write down what are my big rocks today? For example, one of my big rocks is to do this live. So I wrote that in my journal. The second big rock I have today is to homeschool HABLY to spend a couple hours with my youngest daughter homeschooling.
And because she does a lot of independent work also. So let's recap real quick. I'm sharing with you guys how to create your morning journaling routine. First of all, you don't need much.
You just need your journal, your favorite pen or pencil. Second of all, find a nice quiet spot to do it in. I make sure my family knows that this is a boundary I have. I need 10 to 15 minutes every morning while I'm drinking my coffee.
And they're pretty respectful of that. And then I do mine in the morning. It helps me set off on the right foot for the day. But a lot of people like to do it at night because they like to just dump all those spots that they have at the end of the day.
However, so the things that I add in my journal every single day, a few minute brain dumb session where I literally don't care about grammar or spelling all that. I just dump it, dump it, dump it. Second is to celebrate my wins because it's important to celebrate the things that you have been doing and not just focus always on the things that you haven't. Follow up with a quick note or two about what could have made yesterday a little bit better.
So maybe you can learn from that and implement it today. Three of my things that you're grateful for be specific here. You don't want to generalize because I'm every day, every day is the same. I'm thankful for my help and thankful for my family.
Of course, I'm always thankful for those things. But being specific here is helpful. And then finally writing down in just one sentence or two my focus for the day or your big rocks. So what are your big rocks?
Jen, you said I really need a journal plan. I just don't make the time. Here it is. Here's your journal thing.
10, 15 minutes morning, noon or night and hit these marks. And I think it will really help clear your mind and give you focus. So if you guys have anything you'd like to add to these ideas, I would love love to hear them. And please comment your like and I will be back with another live next time.
All right, have a great day. Thank you for listening to today's show. If you'd like to come on the show and have an honest conversation about connecting, relating, and encouraging women, contact us at hello at honesttalkinternational.com. Also, don't forget to subscribe to this podcast so that you can be in tune with all the great happenings.
Have a great day.