A recent conversation with Derek Sivers (sive.rs) reminded me of the value of keeping a daily digital journal.
Not only does this provide more clarity and intentionality in the present, it also serves as a “memory bank” that your future self can tap into at any time.
That being said, the last thing I want to do when I’m winding down for the evening is open my laptop, and start writing a detailed entry.
However, recently I’ve found a simple way to use AI to make this effortless, and I don’t even need to be in front of a computer anymore.
Here’s the process I use:
1. Go for a walk and put in my airpods (In addition to their microphone functionality, this also makes it look like you’re talking to someone on the phone – so you’re less likely to appear like you’re talking to yourself.)
2. Open up a note on my phone and press the record (i.e. transcribe) button.
3. Answer the following questions:
a,) What happened today? (a brief summary of the day’s events.)
b.) What were my 3 wins?
c.) What was the most important thing I learned?
d.) Where did I fall short?
e.) What 3 wins do I want tomorrow?
This gives me a rough draft – which is usually just a big “blob” of unformatted text that makes little sense.
4. Then I paste the rough draft into ChatGPT and use this prompt (https://lnkd.in/ekuZWYSM) to edit and clean up the note.
(Note: you only need to enter the prompt once.)
5. Finally, at the end of the week, I open the ChatGPT thread containing my journal entries, copy the ones I recorded that week, and store them chronologically in google drive, so they are easily accessible for my future self.
That’s it.
