how to journal like a philosopher (to change your life)

The Life Tracker system is a simple notebook method that structures daily thoughts into monthly overviews plus two types of entries to produce mental clarity and long-term self-awareness.

Life Tracker Format

• Monthly page sets the foundation for tracking life areas and goals.
• Daily or regular entries follow a repeatable structure for quick capture (0:00-3:32).

Two Entry Types

• Clarity entries expand thoughts in long form to articulate ideas precisely.
• Action entries turn reflections into concrete next steps and problem-solving (5:05-7:50).

Why It Works

• Journaling counters passive consumption by making users active producers of their own thinking.
• Reviewing past entries reveals how perspectives change, turning notebooks into a six-year record of growth (3:32-5:05).

Speaker: Reysu

00:00 Major Topic — What is the Life Tracker System

00:00 Life Tracker System Overview

• The Life Tracker System is a simple journaling method designed to track and optimize your life. It starts with a monthly page to capture habits, goals, and highlights, followed by entries in the pages after the monthly page.
• The video references a prior installment where the monthly tracker was set up, and this video focuses on what to actually write in the post-monthly entries and how the journaling process supports mental clarity.
• A central theme is making journaling sustainable and practical, using structure to reduce friction rather than forcing perfection.
• The Life Tracker System is positioned as a flexible framework rather than a rigid rulebook.

> > "This Is The Life tracker system a simple journaling method to track and optimize your life there's a monthly page to track your habits goals and highlights followed by your entries in the pages after in the previous video I shared how to set up the monthly tracker but in this video I'm going to talk about what to actually write about in the entries after and how I journal for mental Clarity." (Timestamp: 00:00)

• The system’s origin includes the author’s personal practice: journaling for six years, filling six notebooks, and drawing inspiration from a Japanese book about notetaking and memo-style notes.
• The core value proposition is that journaling clarifies thoughts by forcing linear, structured writing on paper (as opposed to editing on a computer), which helps with better thinking and speaking.

00:57 One Useful Tip for Journalling

• If you’re new or have trouble keeping a habit, prompts are a practical way to start writing. The creator uses prompts that cover yearly states of mind and collects prompts from various books.
• A Notion template with 100 prompts is offered (on sale for $5) to help you respond directly in a digital format if you prefer tracking life digitally.
• Prompts are described as a gateway to insights and memories you might forget, and they reduce writer’s block by giving you a ready starting point.

> > "one thing that's been really helpful for me are journaling prompts I basically have these journaling prompts that I try to answer every single year which captures my state of mind and I also have these journaling prompts that I've collected from different books that I've read it definitely makes it easier to just start writing because all you have to do is just to respond to a journaling prompt and it often leads to unexpected insights and even memories that I thought I forgot so I definitely recommend checking out some journaling prompts" (Timestamp: 00:57)

• Prompts are optional but recommended to ease entry and spark insights.
• A resource is pointed to: a notion template with 100 prompts, marketed to support the channel.

01:57 Why You Should Start Journalling

• Journaling is framed as a practice that structures thoughts and improves clarity of expression. Writing by hand on paper forces you to organize thoughts logically, which encourages better thinking and speaking.
• Journaling serves as a personal archive that helps you reflect, assess progress, and plan action when life feels overwhelming or uncertain (e.g., post-college career planning).
• The act of returning to past journals highlights how perspectives evolve, which reduces mental rigidity and openness to new ideas.
• The broader cultural point is that long-form writing is becoming rarer in a consumer-driven world; journaling helps you shift from passive consumption to active production of ideas.

> > "one of the biggest benefits I experienced after journaling for 6 years was an ability to structure my thoughts and articulate them clearly because I journal on pen and paper it's forced me to learn how to structure my thoughts logically and linearly compared to journaling on the computer I can't really just move paragraphs around or delete paragraphs or entries that easily so I really have to be more mindful when I'm writing in my journal I definitely think it's a really good practice and has helped me be a better thinker and speaker overall." (Timestamp: 01:57)

• The practice is tied to a personal narrative: journaling helped calm uncertainty after college and supported action planning.
• The video emphasizes that journaling is not just about recording experiences, but about becoming a producer of thoughts and ideas rather than a passive consumer.

03:32 The Life Tracker Journalling Format

• The format consists of: date, the prompt/topic, and a response that is split into two sections: context (facts and background) and insights (interpretation and actionable takeaways).
• The separation into two memo types reflects a concept from the referenced book: memos are notes for memory (context) and introspection (insights).
• The “context” portion collects objective data (stats, events, structure, or a bullet/paragraph diary). The “insights” portion captures deeper thoughts, patterns, and implications.
• The format is designed to minimize writer’s block, because you can always fill in context first even if deep insights aren’t immediately obvious.

> > "I basically have these journaling prompts that I try to answer every single year ... I also have these journaling prompts that I've collected from different books that I've read" (Timestamp: 00:57)

• The example of an entry might involve bullet points, narrative paragraphs, or even a simple energy or habit graph. The structure makes the journal easier to read later by showing the topic and context before the personal reflections.
• The author notes that while the format is helpful, it is not a rigid rule; you can adapt or mix in stream-of-consciousness journaling when you want, as long as the overall system remains sustainable.

05:05 The Two Types of Journalling Entries

• The two memo types are: context (facts and background) and insights (interpretation and personal learning).
• The origin of the term memo is linked to memory; writing things down helps you remember later. The insights memo is where journaling adds value by generating new thoughts and action plans.
• When journaling, you should explicitly separate your response into context and insights to improve clarity and usefulness of the entry.

> > "there's actually two types of notes or memos the first is when you're just writing down facts and providing context this is actually the origin of the word memo which is from memory or to remember it's just writing things down so there's some more context and helps you remember them later and the second type of memo is when you're actually trying to extract insights or introspect..." (Timestamp: 05:05)

• An example is given where context might include stats about hours worked or a graph; insights would derive patterns or lessons and could include action steps (e.g., read a book on a subject). If there is an action item, a checkbox is drawn at the bottom, mirroring task-list behavior.

05:33 How I Journal for Mental Clarity

• The journaling approach is designed to support mental clarity: by writing out thoughts, you can organize and understand them more clearly rather than letting them swirl without structure.
• The system's design helps you articulate thoughts, reflect on priorities, and form a plan.
• The video emphasizes that the format reduces the cognitive load of journaling and makes it easier to revisit ideas later, especially compared with free-form, unstructured entries.

> > "the context is a objective response to the prompt like what actually happened what were the stats like if it was if I was just reflecting on how much I worked I might just write down like different stats of the hours I worked ... it makes journaling easier because up until this point it's really pretty mindless like there's almost no thought into writing on the date The Prompt and a factual account of the context so it's unlikely that you'll encounter any form of writer block" (Timestamp: 05:33)

• The author stresses the value of including a time stamp to capture the state of mind at the moment of writing (e.g., writing at 2 a.m. vs 10 a.m. yields different content and quality).
• He also advocates bracketed prompts to keep the entry focused and prevent digression into random topics.

07:50 How Often Should You Journal?

• The life tracker system is designed to be flexible; there should be no pressure to journal daily if that undermines the quality of entries.
• The recommended pattern is to maintain the monthly page (habits and goals) and then write long-form responses to prompts when inspired, perhaps weekly or whenever motivation strikes.
• The system supports sustainable journaling by allowing multiple entry cadences rather than enforcing a single rigid habit.

> > "the life tracker system is designed to be flexible to you you shouldn't ever feel the pressure to journal or force yourself to journal ... what works now is that I keep up with the monthly page ... maybe once a week or whenever I feel inspired I'll sit down and write a long form response to a prompt" (Timestamp: 07:50)

• The creator invites viewer engagement and feedback for future videos, emphasizing ongoing iteration of the Life Tracker System.

08: Practical Journal Setup and Notes (Format Details)

• The date stamp and the prompt/topic line are written as a header in each entry.
• The prompt can be a question, a sentence, or a highlight from the monthly page.
• The response is split into two sections: Context and Insights (the two memo types described earlier).
• If there is an action item, it is captured as a checkbox (e.g., read a book on investing or relationships).
• The author notes that this format makes the journal easier to read later because you can quickly understand the topic and context before reviewing thoughts and insights.
• There’s an emphasis on consistency with the format but not rigidity; you can modify it as needed.

09: Tools, Prompts, and Templates Mentioned (Impact on Practice)

• Journaling prompts (personal yearly prompts and prompts gathered from various books).
• Notion template with 100 prompts (accessible via the creator’s site and linked resources).
• Monthly page for tracking habits and goals as a recurring anchor in the Life Tracker System.
• The role of prompts in helping finish a complete journal (the author notes finishing a notebook as a meaningful milestone).
• Emphasis on handwriting still matters for clarity and cognitive organization; journaling on paper is portrayed as more mindful than typing and editing on a computer.

> > "I created a notion template with 100 of my favorite journaling prompts that I've used over the past 6 years and it's sorted by different categories you can get it on my website or this link that I put right here it's on sale for $5 which helps support the channel" (Timestamp: 00:57)

10: Final Reflections and Next Steps

• If you try this format, share your thoughts and questions in the comments; the creator invites ongoing conversation to shape future videos in the Life Tracker Series.
• The video ends with encouragement to move toward ongoing practice and improvement, signaling a community and iterative learning approach.

> > "if you try this out let me know what you think and if you have any other questions or things you want me to talk about more with the life track system let me know in the comments and I'll be sure to talk about that in the next video but that's it for this one" (Timestamp: 07:50)

11: Visuals and Notes About Presentation

• The video refers to the physical journal format (date, bracketed topic, two-section response) and emphasizes readability for future review.
• The book reference (The Power of memos memo Naru) is highlighted as influential in shaping the journaling approach, though the book itself isn’t widely translated; the video communicates its core ideas—memoing for memory and introspection for insight.
• The speaker references a long-term personal practice (six years, six notebooks) and uses his own experience to motivate viewers toward sustainable journaling.

12: Visuals to Recreate (Words to Visualize)

• A monthly tracker page showing habits, goals, and highlights.
• A set of post-monthly entries with a date header, a bracketed prompt line, and a two-column response: Context (facts, stats) and Insights (interpretation, action items).
• A bottom area with checkboxes for action items (read a book on a subject, etc.).
• A separate energy or habit graph for certain entries, as an optional visualization.

13: Resources Mentioned

• The Life Tracker System (video/series) – core journaling framework and monthly tracker.
• The Power of memos memo Naru (Japanese notetaking expert/entrepreneur author) – influence on the two-memo approach (context vs insights).
• Notion template with 100 journaling prompts (on sale for $5).
• Life Tracker Series videos:

- A notebook to save you from infinite scrolling - How I journaled every day for 6 years - What I learned from journaling for 6 years - My pocket journal system - My favorite pens for journaling

• Social: Instagram and Twitter handles listed for the creator.
• The description links include Lifetrack Shop and several related guides.

14: Diagrams, Visuals, and Formats (What to Recreate)

• Monthly tracker page (habits, goals, highlights).
• Post-monthly entry format with a date, a bracketed prompt line, then a two-section response (Context and Insights).
• Optional energy/habit graphs within entries to illustrate trends over time.
• A bottom line with actionable items represented as checkboxes.

15: Notable, Verbatim Lines

"This Is The Life tracker system a simple journaling method to track and optimize your life there's a monthly page to track your habits goals and highlights followed by your entries in the pages after" (Timestamp: 00:00) "one book that has been really influential for me in changing the way I Journal is this Japanese book called The Power of memos memo Naru" (Timestamp: 00:00) "I definitely think it's a really good practice and has helped me be a better thinker and speaker overall" (Timestamp: 01:57) "if you try this out let me know what you think" (Timestamp: 07:50)

16: Summary of Key Mechanisms

• Monthly page as anchor and habit/goals dashboard.
• Post-monthly entries structured as two layers: Context (facts) and Insights (interpretation).
• Prompts to reduce friction and guide writing; bracket prompts to maintain focus.
• Time stamps to capture state of mind and context.
• Flexibility to adapt format while maintaining core principles to sustain a journaling habit.
• Action items in entries via checkboxes to translate reflections into behavior.

17: Quick Start Checklist

• [ ] Decide on a date/time format for entries (include time stamp).
• [ ] Write a bracketed prompt for each entry.
• [ ] Split the response into Context and Insights.
• [ ] Add any action items as checkboxes.
• [ ] Use the monthly page to track habits/goals and highlights.
• [ ] Start with prompts, or replicate the example format for a starter entry.
• [ ] Experiment with cadence (weekly long-form entries, monthly reviews, etc.).

18: Next Steps

• Try the Life Tracker journaling format for a month and report back with reflections, prompts you used, and any insights gained.
• Explore the Notion prompts template if you prefer digital journaling.
• Consider reading The Power of memos memo Naru to deepen your understanding of memo-based note-taking and introspection.