081021 – Morning Pages

Another quick post. Nothing specific. Added more sections to the daily journal / morning pages.

9:09. Starbucks. Yay!

I can’t begin to tell how excited and happy and content I am to be at a Starbucks. And a predictable place where I have fairly fast wi-fi, decent music, ok coffee, and clean indoors. I dont know why I dont live next to one. I mean in Mumbai, I lived next to 5. But that’s past now. The new place I find in whatever city I choose to live in has to be next to a Starbucks. If I go to Goa, then I am not sure. But if it’s a legit city, I need a house next to a Starbucks. Or a 24X7 co-working.

So that.

Ok. Today, I have started a new thing. Each day, first thing in the morning, I plan to send a list of things that I plan to work on to my team. And then by EOD, I want to update them on how I did during the day. I have already mailed them what I am going to do. These include things that I would do for money and things I would not do for money. Today was day 1. So let’s see how it goes. I will also add it to my streaks.

Continuing on that, I also spotted this Twitter thread by Sanjay Mehta where he talks about his journaling. He says his journal has the following sections…

  1. Date
  2. An emoticon that describes how he’s feeling
  3. A Mindful Index
  4. Quote of the day
  5. Things that he is grafeful for on that day.
  6. Things that would make today great.
  7. A Daily affirmation
  8. 3 amazing things that happened yesterday.
  9. What could have made my previous day better.

I think this is a brilliant method to journal and capture the thoughts in your head. I think I will copy this. While SM does this with pen and paper, I am far from it. I am trying to adopt minimalism. So, for starters, I will capture these here. On morning pages. Here we go…

  1. Emoticon: :). Started the day with a wretched mood when I could not get a cab. Had to take an auto and the metro. Worked out to be honest cos I could find an open Starbucks by the time I reached.
  2. Mindful Index (on a scale of 10): 2. Been very very distracted lately. A lot’s on my mind with respect to work. Let’s see how I fare.
  3. Things that I am grateful.
    1. a, the fact that I can afford expensive coffee.
    2. b, the fact that I am back after an ardous trek to the Base Camp.
    3. c, my parents that give me so much freedom that it’s criminal.
  4. Things that would make my today great
    1. I plan to write my quarterly update to bade log. If I can manage that, I would be happy.
    2. If I can avoid eating crap (even though I am out the entire day), I would be happy.
  5. A daily affirmation. I live in abundance and I have access to all the resources I need to make things happen.
  6. Amazing things that happened yesterday?
    1. Gave gyaan to a friend on podcasting
    2. Got back to work. Had some calls. Realised how much I miss working!
  7. What could have made yesterday better?
    1. If I could work out of an office or a cafe, I would have liked it
    2. If I was little less sleepy, I would be better.
    3. If I could’ve got some workout in, even better!
  8. Quote for the day: “Amor Fati

Ok. This took me a lot of time. But I am glad I did this. Made me think, reflect and really get in my head. So cool! Thanks, Sanjay!

Moving on with the day. Here’s the streaks.

  • OMAD – 0
  • #book2 – 0
  • NOFAP – 0
  • #noCoke – 1
  • #noCoffee – 0. Having one as we speak.
  • #aPicADay – 1. Here.
  • Daily Journal – 1. Started today
  • Money spent – Did not track. Will start from today.
  • Killer Boogie – 0
  • 10K steps a day – 0
  • Surya Namaskar – 0
  • Daily Mail to #teamSG – 1
  • 10 mins of meditation – 0
  • Minimaslism Counter – -3 +1. I am retaining this from last time around.
  • Morning Pages / Meditations – 2