I’ve been using the Theme System Journal for over a year now. I can’t recall the exact date I started, but I know it’s been helping me align my life with what truly matters to me. Over the past year (2024), I chose The Year of Fitness and Continue Reading as my theme (Yes, my theme sounds clunky and kind of greedy -two big goals in one-, but it worked for me), and I’m really happy with the progress I’ve made. I feel a lot less anxious these days.
Of those two goals, fitness was where I saw the most success. Because last year, I faced a bunch of obstacles in life, and there was a point where I nearly gave up on my fitness goal. Journaling helped me hang in there and not throw in the towel.
The reading part was a bit harder, but the same thing goes — I was really passionate about reading in 2023 and wanted to keep that going this year. But my newly re-ignited love for programming kept me so busy I barely made time for books. Even so, the theme pulled me through. I’ve managed to read 21 books this year—actually more than last year, so that’s something to celebrate.
For 2025, I’m once again mixing two areas of focus: The Year of Better Writing and Planning.
For the first part, ever since I restarted my blog late last year, I’ve been searching for my “voice” in writing. I want to express myself well, and the only real way to do that is to write a lot more. But I didn’t write as much as I wanted to this year. So, that’s my first focus.
As for the planning side, my thinking goes something like this: I’ve already filled up most of my schedule. If I want to do more, I have to be more strategic and plan better—maybe squeeze more productivity out of the same 24 hours. That’s why it’s my second big focus.
Truth be told, I haven’t been using everything the Theme System Journal offers. I mostly stuck to the yearly theme and didn’t really do the weekly trackers or the daily journaling part. But because 2025 is about planning, I’ve decided I’m going all in.
I like to start my yearly theme a bit early, so I am happy to report —— for the past two weeks, I’ve been traveling for the holidays while testing out the new system. Normally, travel completely ruins my productivity, but this time, I stayed on top of things. I’ve already done more than last year, even though I’m technically on vacation. It feels good to have a system that supports me rather than stress me out.
I’ve started using weekly trackers, and I’m shocked by how helpful they are for keeping me headed in the right direction—without the usual anxiety that comes from perfectionism or rigid goals.
I’ve learned two tips that help me a lot: 1. Make your goals slightly out of reach. That way, you’re kind of “expected” to fail sometimes, so you won’t be obsessed with a perfect record. 2. Dedicate one hour specifically to knocking out tasks that are on your tracker but aren’t yet habits. It’s an easy way to make incremental progress.
Lastly, daily journaling has been a nice surprise. It aligns perfectly with my goal of writing more. When I first started, I didn’t overthink it. I just wrote about whatever. Over time, it grew into a space where I can reflect and be a bit creative. Sometimes, it turns into something I’m happy about. Like this one.
Happy Holidays!