Two of my most frequently given pieces of advice in the Work Brighter-verse are start small and start a journal.
And PurposeCards went and combined them both into one product, those geniuses!
I can’t wait to share it with you!
Literally, I’m posting this in April, and the March and April themes in the Work Brighter Clubhouse have been journaling and starting a new habit. And not because of PurposeCards, just because of perfect timing.
So let’s talk about how PurposeCards can help you start a journaling habit by starting small.
What are PurposeCards?
PurposeCards are a deck of cards that are a journal, literally in a deck of cards. Like there are playing cards or Tarot cards, these are journaling cards.
The cards are just like the size of a regular playing card, a debit card, or anything that you would put in your wallet. And it has all of your journaling prompts—both for the morning and evening—right on the card, along with space to fill them out.
So right on the card, you journal your:
- Mindset check
- To-dos or habits to complete
- Evening reflection
- Gratitude list
Why start your journaling habit with cards instead of a notebook?
These cards literally have all the same prompts that I recommend and put in the Work Brighter journaling bundle inside the Clubhouse.
Just smaller.
And smaller is what you need if you’re just starting a new habit, or if your life is really hectic and you’d otherwise drop the habit completely.
How PurposeCards work
The front of the card is where you set your mindset for the morning.
You can pick an intention for the day, write down your most important tasks. Do a little visualizing or manifesting or what have you about what would make the day successful.
And when I say a little, I mean a little, badum chh!
When you’re done with the card for a while you can put it in your pocket, put it in your wallet, etc. I’ve been using it as the bookmark for my other journal.
(Because yes, while I am using PurposeCards for my morning and evening journaling, your girl’s got a lot of feelings. Especially right now. And they require a big journal.)
Then, you go about your day, la-di-da.
And then at sometime at the end of the day, you want to fill out the back of the card. On this side, you can rate your day, jot down a highlight, identify room for improvement, and show a lil gratitude.
Everything is a super basic, easy prompt that’s great for any journaling beginner to get used to answering.
3 tips for getting started with PurposeCards
1. Pick a journaling spot
First, I want you to decide where you’re going to do your journaling in the morning.
Grab a pen. Grab your PurposeCards deck. And put them there.
Get it all ready for yourself now, so it’ll be easy to do later.
Some good spots for this might be:
- Your nightstand, so you could fill out your card right when you wake up in the morning.
- At your desk, so it’s the first thing you do when you sit down to start working.
- Next to your coffee machine so that you can get your journaling done while you wait for the morning coffee to brew.
Get it all together now. Put everything where you want it.
That way, when you wake up in the morning, it’s one less thing to think about.
2. Be specific
Second of all, be specific. The more specific, the better.
Be specific in your intentions, be specific in your tasks, be specific in your habits.
And more specific gratitude lists make gratitude journaling a lot easier.
I don’t know if you’ve have tried gratitude journaling before, but one of the points is, you’re not supposed to repeat things. But that can be SO hard!
But the more specific you are, the easier that is.
Because then, being grateful that Alex is here all the time to bring me snacks whenever I want, and Alex is here to bring me Diet Coke whenever I want, are two different things to be grateful for. 😉
3. Be flexible and forgiving
And finally be flexible and forgiving with yourself. You know I always need to sneak this reminder into a post. 😀
Especially right now, no habit is going to get built at 100%.
There are going to be days that you miss it completely or days that you journal later than you normally would. There are going to be days where you can’t think of anything to write about.
That is fine.
Something is better than nothing.
All progress is progress.
One of the other things I love about PurposeCards is that each day is a new card. So if you forget for a few days, or if you don’t like what you wrote one day, the next day is a new card or draw.
I feel like there’s a cool metaphor in that too. 🙃
Try them yourself and start journaling daily
So if you’ve wanted to start journaling, especially if a big a blank page every morning feels too overwhelming, these will be great for you.
Or if you’ve tried journaling before, but you couldn’t feel like a whole page of thoughts first thing in the morning, I really think these will be the thing that will finally help.
That will get you to finally build that journaling habit, which again, I totally recommend.