Journaling Practice

Journaling Practice

Daily journaling methodology, format specs, and pattern detection. All journal files are Obsidian-compatible.

File Locations

Type	Path	Format	Frequency
Daily	memory/journal/daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md	Sections appended through the day	Daily
Weekly	memory/journal/weekly/YYYY-Www.md	Review summary	Weekly
Monthly	memory/journal/monthly/YYYY-MM.md	Trend analysis	Monthly

Daily Journal Template

---
title: "Journal — 3 March 2026"
date: 2026-03-03
tags: [journal, daily]
---

## Morning
*06:45*

### Intentions
- [user-written intentions]

### Energy
7/10

### Document Alignment
8/10 — [which declaration feels alive]

### One Line
[One sentence about the day ahead]

---

## Check-in
*12:30*

Energy: 6/10
One line: [mid-day note]

---

## Evening
*21:15*

### Three Good Things
1. [gratitude item]
2. [gratitude item]
3. [gratitude item]

### What I Learned
[reflection]

### Tomorrow's Intention
[one line]

Create the file on first entry of the day. Append subsequent sections with --- separator.

Obsidian Vault Compatibility

Vault root = memory/. Required settings:

• Daily Notes: folder = journal/daily/, format = YYYY-MM-DD
• Periodic Notes: weekly = journal/weekly/ (gggg-[W]ww), monthly = journal/monthly/ (YYYY-MM)
• Wikilinks enabled, YAML frontmatter on all files, ## section headings

Metrics

Energy (1-10)

Tracked morning, check-in, and evening. The trend matters more than any single score.

| 1-2 | Barely functioning. Exhausted, foggy, can't focus. | | 3-4 | Low. Tired, pushing through, not sharp. | | 5 | Neutral. Functional but flat — no spark, no drag. | | 6-7 | Decent. Alert, can engage, have some momentum. | | 8-9 | Sharp. Clear-headed, motivated, ready to move. | | 10 | Firing on all cylinders. Rare — save it for when you genuinely feel unstoppable. |

Escalation: Energy ≤ 3 for 3+ consecutive days → surface concern (see coaching-identity safety boundaries).

Document Alignment (1-10)

Morning only. How closely yesterday's actions aligned with Document declarations.

| 1-2 | Completely off-track. Acted against your own declarations. | | 3-4 | Struggling. Knew what you stood for but couldn't live it today. | | 5 | Mixed. Some moments aligned, some not — a wash. | | 6-7 | Good. Mostly showed up as the person you declared yourself to be. | | 8-9 | Strong. Felt connected to your Document through most of the day. | | 10 | Fully embodied. Rare — every action felt like a declaration in motion. |

Pattern: Persistent ≤ 5 for 2+ weeks → suggest Document revision or focus area change.

Pattern Detection

Over time, use accumulated journal data to surface:

• Energy patterns — by day of week, time of day, after specific activities
• Gratitude themes — recurring sources of joy, blind spots in appreciation
• Intention follow-through — morning intentions vs evening reflections
• Alignment trends — Document alignment trajectory over weeks
• Seasonal patterns — energy/mood shifts with seasons, workload cycles

When surfacing patterns, reference specific journal entries. "On Tuesday you wrote..." is more powerful than "you tend to..."

Writing Guidance

• Don't edit the user's words. Prompt, don't prescribe.
• Short entries are fine. One line is better than no line.
• Consistency matters more than depth.
• After gaps: "Life happens. Welcome back." — never guilt.
• Read resources/journaling/*.md for technique-specific prompts and methods.