Author:: [[Tiago Forte]] DateFinished:: URL:: https://fortelabs.co/blog/inner-limits/ Rating:: Tags:: #📩 #🟥 # Inner Limits: Why You’re Not Getting More Out of Journaling  ## Highlights #### A Step By Step Journal Review Step 1: Write and Scan ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dch1929662exdqmgyqt51j)) I follow Julia Cameron’s journaling recommendations in [*The Artist’s Way*](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780143129257). Cameron’s suggestion is to write “morning pages” (which you can do at any time of day), a process of writing three pages in a stream-of-consciousness style. That means writing three pages without any filters ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dchrcbhy377a4770m03jb2)) Step 2: Read and Record ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dcjvpd4q1vjjs2yn5r1q27)) Once I have a scanned copy of my journal entry, I read it out loud. This is a crucial part of getting the most out of your writing! I do this every time I journal. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dckykc2rny71zxk1xjm2x0)) **How to do It** 1. I use Otter.ai to record my audio and produce an automatic transcript, and make note of the tags it creates. 2. Simultaneously, I record myself reading aloud using Loom. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dcm13m17k5dc062tvg8s9f)) Reading out loud is a way to gain perspective. When you read aloud, you build a stronger connection with what is written and can gain the clarity you didn’t have when you first wrote. You see and understand the material in a new way to increase your cognition of the written material. Video and audio recorder tools allow for objectivity. There’s a space created that enables us to observe the ideas and thoughts we have ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dcmx11qy2yr4tf5enwfhsp)) Step 3: Store Your Entry in Your Second Brain ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dcn0amd7aynhdz7rca6j9z)) allows me to reap the benefits of the work I did once, many times over. Emotions, thoughts, and ideas over time become a searchable database of my life, which allows me to see patterns in thoughts and behavior. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dcx611dp9aa0x9sthcwec1)) Step 4: Progressive Summarization ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dcx83na02zvfq557b1m7wn)) **Bold your raw text.** I do a quick pass, and whatever words stand out, they get selected. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dcye622x6ejynck2w96thb)) **Highlight.** I’m looking for links for article ideas or content pieces that are seeds beginning to sprout. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dcyghdmca2bqh260f8z89r)) **Ask questions to trigger the unconscious mind.** Next, I ask and start wondering about meaning. That’s where the intuition part comes to play. I capture that last part as a thought in the last column and next step. Here is where I start to ask questions. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dcyp503k2fthj9q1vqgct4)) Step 5: Insight Integration ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dd0gtzw1b5n9aw6we1sshb)) **Ask questions to reveal the answers** • If you can ask a better question, you can change the focus of your outcome. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dd2jk6tkjyvg2zsxk43atf)) **Use “helping questions” when you look over your recorded entry** • Asking questions is an art, but there’s still a foundation we can use. Questions can be like our own personal helpers ready to serve us in our lives. Rudyard Kipling once wrote, “I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are **What** and **Why** and **When** And **How** and **Where** and **Who**.” Ask the same questions Rudyard did or come up with your own. In the end this process is intuitive and built with practice. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dd2pg178xjsfwbtee3mvhe)) **Think about the areas you are focusing on** • For my own life, I have seen a few themes show up, like my relationships, business ideas, and dreams and aspirations. I have a clear idea of what areas matter most to me. Whether I need to pursue projects, take on challenges, or ask for opportunities, having a clear picture of my areas as I look at my insights, I see what’s important to me. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01g3dd2t2ckxxdt1vmf3qeht3e))