Five Minutes in the Morning: A Focus Journal

A gift to myself prefect for a busy mum who doesn’t get much time to myself, I really enjoy doing the tasks.

I am really happy with this journal. I had tried keeping my own but I was finding it hard to keep the writing going and to the point, so I had been looking for a journal which would help guide my writing. I had looked at several different options before choosing this one and I am really glad I did. The topic for the journal is focus and I really think it will help to do that. I haven't started it yet as it has only just arrived, but flicking through there seems to be a real range of exercises, mostly writing, but also through other forms as well. There is a coloured page to explain the exercise, often with a quote and then a page to for the exercise. It seems to have a good order to it to help develop focus and self reflection as the book goes on. There are 6 chapters of exercises: clearing the way, focus on what matters, focus on abundance, focus on problem solving and focus on productivity. The book is a good size and I think the exercises can be kept to five minutes. The book is beautifully presented, with a nice thick soft front cover and plenty of colour and pictures throughout. The writing is clear and easy to follow. Overall, I am really excited to get going with this and hope it will easily become part of my morning routine.

A good quality journal, but perhaps a little on the pricey side. It is definitely better as a paper copy than a kindle version for this kind of product (you could use your own blank journal and just write your answers in there!). I bought mine from Amazon Warehouse, so although unused there was water damage on the front cover and some of the pages, but I didn't let this bother me too much.I found the introduction and the reflection pages helpful, as I thought it described my bad habits perfectly and it suggests some simple enough tasks to break them (if you put the work in). Only just beginning, I have found a task takes longer than five minutes and I either carry on or carry it over to the next morning . The journal is split into different sections to help guide you along in your mindfulness journey, but you can open to a random page and complete any activity in any order!I also bought the five minutes in the evening journal to mix and match depending on my day. I must say, I think I prefer the evening journal, just for own needs to unwind on a night and also because some of the ideas in this journal don't quite appeal as much. Just my opinion.

I loved this book so much that I bought another for my colleague. Such an intentional gift. I followed this through all year and felt really proud. It’s now a keepsake I’ll keep to review later in life. Good quality too.

Very good

I love my journal! I needed something to help kick start my writing, that would lead to helping me with my social media posts for my business, but also a place to freely record my thoughts and let the words flow. I started with the inspiration page (p88), I heard a poem and instantly fell in love with it, as it resonated with me. I had to add it to my journal. I then began at the start!!

There was nothing wrong with this book so I’ve tried to give it a fair rating, as I don’t think it’s right to mark things down just because they weren’t to your taste. I’m trying to practice more mindfulness (which I struggle with anyway) which is why I bought this book. It’s a really good idea and concept. Unfortunately when it arrived a quick flick through some of the exercises made me quickly realise it wasn’t for me. For example ‘write a love letter to yourself’. No thanks. I get that it’s about practising loving yourself instead of berating yourself, so the concept isn’t lost on me, it’s just not me - I was cringing just reading it. There was no point keeping it when it was full of exercises I didn’t want to do.

This is very much a "guided journal" which is a great way to get into journalling as you get pointers, questions with thoughts and topics to ponder throughout and it's not a diary so you don't have to make an entry every day, which can be daunting if you've never done it before.Although named "five minutes in the morning", I do think some of the topics require more thought and I've found myself spending longer making an entry. There are also exercises throughout the journal which require completion of small tasks rather than making a written entry, which can be fun in their own right and feels very interactive.I'm really enjoying using the journal as it's inspiring and does make you think so it's a fun way to practice mindfulness. It's a pretty-looking journal too which is a bonus - soft back in a lovely shade of chalky duck egg.