Which one is it? Writing. Whoa, hold your horses! Before you say: “That’s not a tiny habit!” hear me out. I’m not talking about pages here. Not even paragraphs.
I’m talking about a 1-sentence journal.
There’s a saying by Confucius:
“You cannot open a book without learning something.” – Confucius
Two years ago, I thought, well, if that is true (and I find it hard to argue with Confucius), then this is just as much:
You cannot write a sentence without learning something.
It doesn’t always have to be an essay. Sometimes, a single sentence will do. Answering the same question every day with just one sentence has been one of the best habits I’ve ever added to my morning routine.
Here’s how it works:
- Pick a question that really makes you think.
- Write it on a piece of paper.
- Every day at the same time, write down your answer to the question in one sentence.
Here’s a new one I came up with today:
You’ll find that over time, you automatically answer the question for each day in your head. That’s how you know you’re ready to come up with a new question.
You could keep a 1-sentence journal in the morning, right after waking up, or at night, right before going to bed.
Some ideas for morning questions:
- Do you feel ready to tackle the day? Why? Why not?
- What was the first thing you thought of after waking up?
- What’s one thing you’re grateful for?
- What’s the most important thing you want to achieve today?
- Did you sleep enough?
- What are you most excited about today?
Evening questions are just as good:
- Why did you get out of bed this morning?
- What’s the best thing that happened today?
- When did you feel happy or content today?
- Which hour of the day was your favorite?
- What did you learn today?
- Did you do your best today?
- How could you make tomorrow an even better day than today?
- What thing are you most excited about for tomorrow?
A beautiful side effect of a 1-sentence journal is that if you happen to like writing, one sentence eventually turns to 100 words, which turn to 250 words, which turn to a page, then two, then three.
For the past 2.5 years, I’ve written 250 words almost every day. My life has changed a lot.
Maybe today, yours will too. I sure hope so.