My digital time logs/ journal pages- with visuals!

Since I was a guest on Best Laid Plans recently, I have had several requests to share visuals of my digital time logs/ journal pages that I referenced in the episode.

Before I do this, I have to make sure to pause to give huge credit to Laura Vanderkam. I downloaded the original time tracker template from her website (get it here). She is one of my biggest productivity inspirations (and she has amazing books)!

Laura’s template is really just a basic spreadsheet listing the hours of the day from 0500 to 0430 the next morning (24 hours), where you can jot down what you did in each time block. Very simple, very effective!

I decided to expand on this, though.

Components of my (customized) Digital Journal!

1) Laura’s was plain white; I added color. 🙂 Yellow for “morning” hours, blue for “night” hours.

2) I probably add more detail on my time logs than other people might! I try to add specific bits that will make the entries as meaningful as possible. (See examples below.)

3) I added a Tracking Section at the bottom (also in fun colors). This is not on Laura’s template, but I think it’s an AWESOME addition for people who are into tracking stuff!! The extra boxes are:

• Workout
• Walk
• Screen (I didn’t track this on the sample week provided… I go in waves on this. Sometimes I like to record how many minutes I spent on social media each day.)
• Listen (podcasts, usually)
• Read (what did I read today?)
• Watch (what show/movie, if any)
• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks (I’m not always 100% on this- it’s fine. Just a general idea is good enough. Not using for any scientific purposes 🙂 )
• Accomplish (what are some “to do items” that I checked off today? What productive things did I do today?)
• Happy (my favorite box… list anything random that made me happy! A sunset. A phone call. A funny meme. A conversation. Anything.)
• Gratitude (some crossover from my Happy section sometimes)
• Bummer (list anything that was a bummer/ didn’t go so well today; highly recommend this! Nice to “get it off your chest”.)
• Quote of the Day

4) At the end of the week (usually on the first day of the new week, actually), I pop into my Amazon Photos and quickly skim through the photos I took that week. I copy and paste a few into the spreadsheet that I feel “represent the week” (any highlights). This makes these time logs EXTRA FUN to look back on!! I usually don’t exceed 5 or 6 pics, but they really make the time log come to life.

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And that is it! (Okay, I realize “that is it” makes it sound very minimalistic, and it’s not. BUT, I swear this does not take a long time to do.)

My process:

• Keep Sheet open at all times on my computer; pop in 2-3 times a day and update what I’ve done since the last time I touched the time log.
• Each morning (usually at ~6 a.m. while having my morning tea), fill out the Tracker (bottom) section for the previous day.
• Also in the morning, update any missing time log blanks for the previous evening (I usually leave off at the end of my workday. So I have to fill out the previous ~5:30-10:30 p.m. (the rest is just usually… sleep), which is NOT hard or time consuming.)

I’d estimate I spend about 5 minutes in the morning on this, plus another couple minutes throughout the day.

Weekends can be more hit or miss- I don’t worry about it much. Sometimes I fill out a whole day at once (e.g. fill out all of Saturday on Sunday morning, to best of my memory; I swear it’s easier than it sounds). Or you could do it in real time in the Google Sheets app on your phone, but I honestly don’t do this anymore. If I miss something, so be it. I can usually hit the big highlights at least from memory or fill out the Tracker section. There is no Time Tracker police coming to check it. 🙂

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Okay, ready to see it??? This may be small… you might need to zoom! But here is a FULL WEEK of my time log/ journal (with some personal details edited out). *Disclaimer- this was not really my “best week”. Dog was sick, my workouts were way off, productivity felt low, I had my parents in town…. but, it happened, and it’s a real week. As Laura Vanderkam says, “There is no such thing as a “typical week”, anyway. 🙂

Bottom half (tracking section):

*Weekly Photos, from the top: Charlie’s 1st bath! Charlie at new veterinarian. Me modeling new light up dog walking gear. 🙂 Charlie feeling better after illness, out for walk. Screenshot from Asher’s swim team’s FB post- he was a “swimmer of the meet” from their last meet. Asher warming up at band Solo Ensemble competition.

A few more logistics, for inquiring minds who like details….

• I make one big “Sheet” for each month (titled by month, eg. “2. February 2024 Time Tracking”).
• Then each week gets a sub-sheet/ tab at the bottom, by date. (e.g 2/5/24)

Google Sheets automatically save within your built-in Google Drive (if you have Gmail, you already have a Google Drive account, even if you don’t know it!).

So I have a Time Logs folder in my Google Drive where I file these away:

Within that, I make a folder for each year. I only started this in April 2023, so so far I have a 2023 folder, and a 2024 folder! Here’s how 2023 looks:

And that’s all you ever wanted to know about my neurotic time tracking/ journal method!! 😆😆 (If you think I’m absolutely nuts, please be gentle. Haha.)

Personally, this gives me great joy. Skimming back over these later, it is amazing the things you can remember when you get a little “boost” or “memory jog” from a brief reminder entry. This adds to and enriches my life, I think.

I feel this helps me to not only experience more deeply the things I’m doing in the moment (by pausing and writing about it and reflecting on it, albeit briefly), but will help me experience it and remember it all again in the future.

The photos are an added bonus- my own personal highlight reel, just for me.

And, since it’s all private, you can put whatever you want in here! Feelings, thoughts, frustrations…. no one will ever know if you write “ran to Target, overheard annoying lady talking extremely loudly on the phone while shushing her kids in line“. Lol. But looking back on it, you might actually remember that random Tuesday evening Target run, and the specific feelings of amusement about the weird lady that went along with it. 🙂 It will make that little memory come back to life, instead of just disappearing into the abyss of…. lost memories and life experiences. 🙂

And, it’s just a wonderful place to capture HAPPY THINGS!!!! Those tiny moments and miracles of life that make it worth living- actually remembered instead of just slipping away.

Tell me what you think! Any questions?? Would you ever do this? (I’m sure most people will say NO. haha! That’s okay! What works for me doesn’t have to work for you! But, if this speaks to you, try it! 🙂 )

My only regret??? That I didn’t start this sooner. What I would GIVE to have detailed records of my life from when the boys were little. ❤

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for a very low key (yet perfect) Valentine’s Day last night…. takeout pizza and a hot tub soak with Ivan.