The 5 Second Journal: The Best Daily Journal and Fastest Way to Slow Down, Power Up, and Get Sh*t Done

Don't panic. This journal IS in stock. I ordered mine in mid-Jan and got it within a week. Mel also posts updates re: stock on her FB and Instagram.This is without a doubt the most EFFECTIVE journal I've ever used. I haven't hit every day on this journal since I've had it but it's nonetheless impacted my daily life.A lot of modern productivity methods (e.g. GTD) measure success by the number of tasks you check off in a day. This fails because modern life presents us with a paralyzing amount of options, then FOMO leads us to chip away daily at Columns A through F. As a result, we make very little headway on one specific column. Over time, this starts to erode our sense of what's important, as we've been giving each column equal attention. If you're like me, you find yourself doing a lot in a day and going to be bed feeling empty.And then, if you're still like me, you burn out. For a loooong time. You wake up wondering where all that time went and what your purpose in life is. When the hamster stops running the wheel, he remembers he's in a cage.Annie Dillard wrote: How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives. This journal can help you redirect your energy to the things that really matter to you. Here are my notes and observations after having it for a week:1. It takes me less than two minutes to fill out in the morning. Even if your brain is fuzzy, it gets the juices flowing because it has you fill in the date and place. Next are blanks that establish your state of mind ("Today I feel..."), putting you IN THE PRESENT MOMENT where you are honest with yourself. It follows up with a plan of action ("To feel more energized I can...."). Right away, you have something you can do - use Mel's 5 Second rule to bust through any resistance. This momentum sets you up to fill out the rest of the journal without overthinking.2. You list a top project for the day, directing your focus to ONE area of your life. This is the gamechanger. Once you write this down, the other stuff automatically feels less pressing and stressful. Why? Because you're not giving the pile of dishes in the sink and the afternoon stafff meeting the same importance as growing your business or writing your book or your relationships.3. Your Top Project for the day is further bolstered by listing why the project is important to you. If your heart's not in the project, you'll see it on the page. Next to this is a section to write down a small action you can take to move forward and a section for gratitude. Now you have something actionable to do right away AND you're feeling good because you've reminded yourself of what's awesome in your life.4. In the corner, there is a section where you schedule when you'll stop working. This puts the pressure on, in a good way. A lot of us, esp. chronic procrastinators, tend to access Flow more readily when we're under the gun, like when we cram for a test or, you know, the first few times you used the Pomodoro technique and it worked. Rather than default to the workday 5 or 6, you might try playing with stop times. By setting a stop time, you're scheduling your free time. My free time has felt richer since starting this.5. The next page has a gridded section for brain dump - great for recording your flashes of brilliance, quotes, lists etc. And beside it, a small planning space that runs from 6am to 8pm where you can fill in a schedule. Note: there is NO CALENDAR in this journal! It works for me because I keep all my scheduled stuff in Google Calendar anyway and pencil in what's relevant. This also means you won't have huge chunks of unusable pages (that might make you feel like a failure!) if you fall off the journal for a few weeks.6. The Confidence Corner issues challenges to get you out of your comfort zone. It suggests activities that could become powerful new habits, like taking a cold shower, organizing your space, calling relatives, going for a walk with a friend, and journaling. All doable; all GOOD FOR YOU. There is a follow-up on the next day that asks you to reflect on whether you did or didn't do the challenge and why. This is like having Mel in your pocket, coaching you.7. The journal itself is nice and sturdy. It lays flat so you can keep it open all day. There are instructions on how to use it at the very front and a few pages of free space in the back for drawing or whatever you need. It's very no-frills and THIS IS GOOD. The simplicity provides just enough structure that it doesn't feel stifling but freeing. If you write in it every day, it will last you a few months. I don't use it daily and it could very well last me a year. You don't have to shoehorn your life into the journal's calendar, it works with you. Love this.Personal changes I've noticed since I started using this journal:- I find myself more focused and less inclined to multitask.- Goal-setting is easier because I'm actively prioritizing my life every day.- What matters to me and what I want to do with my life is becoming clearer every day. Dudes, this is huge. Every day, this journal has me check in with myself and stay aware of what I want to spend my life doing. My intuition is back, baby!- Increased mindfulness and awareness of goals even on days I don't use the journal. And I always pick it up again.- Resistance is still there, but that's what the 5 Second Rule is for. Keep working it.This journal is not for everyone but it might be the one for YOU, especially if all others have failed you. It's helped me break through my stuck-ness and burn out and take charge of my life again. So fellow desperados and dreamers, give it a shot! Re-commit to the great work of your life!

I'm definitely a big "to do" list person, as well as a "get your ideas together" and a fan of Mel Robbin's YouTube channel, so when she mentioned this journal I had to check it out. I have tried a ton of prompted journals and none of them took for longer than a few weeks. But I do keep a planner and stick to it religiously, so I figured maybe this was a good mix of the two that I could actually keep up with and get something from.After several months, I can say this is the LONGEST I have ever used a prompted planned in my life, and I genuinely, truthfully feel that this has changed my habits and my outlook on each day. It's so strange- just writing out every morning a few things that I will focus on and why I'm choosing those things has made all the difference in the world. I even like the gratitude prompt, and I'm not a big "gratitude" person in general (even after doing an intensive year-long daily practice).I find the planner works best for me when I use it every other day- I fill out the tracker on the left side and then use the right side for writing overarching to-do lists and then come back 48 hours later, and see what I have accomplished and reflect. It's been pretty remarkable.My only problem with the planner is this- WHY are the prompts on the left side of the page, the one with the spiral binding making it very difficult (even when the book is folded back) to write for right-handed people? I mean, the left side of the page is the one page that is the heart of this journal, and the right sided page is the one that's kind of "if you have a little more time, then you can fill this out" area. I don't understand why the journal doesn't have the prompts and writing area on the right side and then the extra space for jotting notes and schedule on the left side. Most of us are buying the planner for the daily prompts, not the scrap paper.No shade to left handed people at all. I'm just curious as to why the journal was laid out the way it was. Maybe in the future they can offer two version of the journal- this version, and then a version with the pages reversed. I would just love to be able to flip it open and GO and write without having to fuss with the covers to get it at a place where I am writing without the giant spiral binding in my way.Rant over- I totally recommend this journal 100%. I would love to see some formatting changes in future editions (as well as slightly thicker paper- it's maybe a little bit lighter than printer paper, but that allows for more pages in the planner, which I appreciate) but I am so convinced of it's value to me, personally, and the way I think and work that I will continue to purchase it and work with it.

This life-changing journal has helped me and transformed my life on so many levels in the past three years & I’m getting a new one to fill it with more amazing stories, ideas, brain dump & more!!Mel I love you and can’t thank you enough for what you do 💙💙

I'm using this journal to help me focus on my professional productivity and goals. The format is simple and effective.Pros:Sometimes I feel journals have excessive and (to me) useless promorts. In this journal, the layout is simple with effective prompts that help me focus my priorities and improve from day to day.The journal has a high quality feel with a substantial lays-flat spiral binding and hard cover. Very sturdy.Cons:The layout of the journal has the prompts on the left side, with room for notes on the right hand side. For me personally, I use the left side far more often; the very large, sturdy binding is underneath my right hand while I write, making it noticeably difficult to access the left page, making my hand-writting sloppy and weird.

This is a great journal/planner. It's the perfect combination of both, giving me plenty of room to write down everything I’ve done, and plan to get done in a day while keeping goals up front and center and gratitude at the heart.Some reviewers have complained that the left page is difficult to write on for right handed people. The brilliant thing about the spiraling is that it's large enough so that you can open it up and fold the cover and pages back completely, giving you full access to both sides. (see photo).I love it and hope Mel Robbins continues to make these for years to come!

this is a good journal - good prompts