Looking to start 2024 on a positive note — with a new journal!

I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe we’re just a few days away from 2024. 😱

What to do with the remaining time?

One thing that’s natural to do is to take stock of the year and think about how we fared:

Did the year go as planned, or were there unforeseen events?

How did we deal with the changes?

What went well versus not that well?

Which goal was reached? And which one fell through the cracks?

What are we most proud of?

Where is there more room for improvement?

What do we want to do next? Why is this important to us?

I try to give myself a bit of time in the last few days of December to go over these and similar questions. The answers I come up with don’t have to be detailed; sometimes it’s just a few words in a short sentence. But this is a necessary step before moving on to any big plans for the new year.

If you’ve been reading my articles, you know that I’m a huge fan of the daily practice of self-discipline. It has become a lifestyle for me and I like to approach each goal from this perspective. To make goal-setting as well as everyday work more approachable, I keep a journal so everything is in one place.

I just created another journal for 2024, which is essentially an e-book I print out and use every day. The journal includes:

• Entries for one full week (Monday-Sunday) 
• Each daily entry consists of five sections:
  • a SITREP (situation report)
  • The Discomfort Zone section (ways to build my “discomfort muscle”)
  • The Work (this is my daily schedule)
  • Push it Further section (a prompt on how I can increase my efforts by 5–10%)
  • a Performance Review section (where I give myself a performance score) 
• Templates to take advantage of each day
  • A morning journal template to take advantage of peak performance hours 
  • Pomodoro session templates to complete short sprints of work based on the Pomodoro method

Using this format in the past year has made quite a difference. It’s straightforward, easy to follow, and frankly, it’s fun! Now all I do is print out the entire journal and use it daily to keep me on track, without having to come up with new prompts, questions, and answers each day. So it actually saves me some time too which is pure BLISS.

If you’d like to try on your own, you can download the journal here. 

Wishing you all the best as we close the year and welcome in the new one! 🎉🎉

A new e-book kit on studying is available!

Hello everyone!

I’ve been busy with a few projects so you may not have seen many posts lately. You know the feeling — every December we all rush to finish as much as possible, the year is coming to a close, and time is running out… That’s why I want to be mindful of your time and keep this post as short as possible.

Today I uploaded a new e-book kit for students to kick off the new year. It’s called Study Different in 2024 Kit. When you download it you’ll get 2 e-books with strategies to study more effectively, journal templates, Pomodoro sessions, examples of note-taking techniques, a daily work schedule, tips, and more.

If you’d like to check it out, read more about the e-book here.

I hope everyone is staying warm this winter.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

If you’re a student with exams coming up, check out my new e-book kit Study Different in 2023!

We’re getting closer to December.

It’s that time of year when college students are doing their best to make the most of the time left in their semester before the holidays. There are a few more weeks of classes, followed by exam preparation, and finally, a chance to make good marks and pass each course.

Every year around this time, I receive dozens of questions on how to study smarter.

Do you think 10 hours a day of study time is enough?

What’s a good way to take notes so I’m ready for exam week?

Can I pull a few all-nighters and make up for time lost because I procrastinated?

Because I feel so strongly about this topic, I want to address each question individually, and sometimes I do (here on my blog, other times on Quora). But there are so many of them!

I decided to put together an e-book kit which I called Study Different in 2023. If you’re a student who’s struggling with managing time effectively and are worried about your performance during exams, you may find it useful.

The kit consists of two e-books to make over your study habits:

Study Different in 2023
This e-book is designed to help you find out how your brain works, give you tools so you don’t overwhelm yourself, and show you how to optimize each study session so you can work less while covering more material. It includes the following sections:

• 7 strategies for studying more effectively in less time
• A morning journal template to maximize your peak performance time
• A Pomodoro sessions template for each part of the day: morning, afternoon, and evening
• A sample of effective note-taking to help you prepare for exams

My 2023 Focused Study Journal
This e-book is a sample of one journal entry spread across four pages. It includes the following sections:   

• SITREP (situation report)
• The Discomfort Zone (how to build your discomfort muscle)
• The Work (daily study schedule)
• Push it Further (prompts for increasing your studying efforts incrementally)
• Performance Review (reviewing your work and giving yourself a performance score)

You can find the kit here. It’s available in 2 different formats: Pages and PDF.

🙏 As always, thank you for your support and for following my blog. And keep those questions coming — I look forward to each one!

How do you develop a self-disciplined lifestyle?

Today I added a fourth growth mindset workbook to a new series of workbooks I’ll be publishing in 2021. This workbook is called Develop a Self Disciplined Lifestyle. It is a printable, 35-page workbook divided into 5 chapters. Each chapter includes an explanation of one tip, followed by question prompts and a workbook section for writing down your answers. You’ll also find supplemental material: a list of recommended reading and a weekly gratitude journal template.

The workbook is available is three formats: PDF, MS Word, and Pages.  

Check out this page to learn more.

E-workbook #3 is now available!

I just completed a third growth mindset workbook which is part of a new series of workbooks I’ll be publishing in 2021. This workbook is called 5 Ways to Boost Mental Strength. It is a printable, 31-page workbook divided into 5 chapters. Each chapter includes an explanation of one tip, followed by question prompts and a workbook section for writing down your answers. At the end of the workbook you’ll also find a list of recommended reading on the topic of mental strength.

The workbook is available is three formats: PDF, MS Word, and Pages.  

Check out this page to learn more.

My new e-workbook is out!

Happy to announce that I just completed a growth mindset workbook which I hope will become part of a new series of workbooks I’ll be publishing in 2021. This workbook is called Best Version of Myself. It is a printable, 30-page workbook divided into 5 chapters. Each chapter includes a checklist of tips, explanation of each tip, question prompts, and a workbook section for writing down your answers. 

The workbook is available is three formats: PDF, MS Word, and Pages.

Go to this page to learn more.