From Survival Mode to Structured Planning: Building a Quarterly Review Road Map
I’ve been at my new job for about six months. As anyone who’s ever started anything new, it was a process of intense learning and adjustment. Thanks mostly to when I started, during cold and flu season, everyone in my family (and on the management team I lead) has been sick more than I can count. It was pure survival mode for most of the winter, with little time for creativity or writing and even less time for keeping organized and doing any personal review.
Oh, sweet relief, spring is here, despite the random snowstorm that dumped four inches as I write this, and with that comes another quarter. Life is happening at a slightly more manageable pace, and it’s time for me to recommit to being more organized and having time and space for reflection and planning.
My experience with quarterly reviews has been mixed. I’ve either tried to do too much and failed because it was too heavy a lift, or I’ve gone super casual, written a few things down, and basically forgotten all about it until the next quarter rolled around. With this in mind, I’ve created a new quarterly review process. This new simple is built to keep me on track with three different elements. Because of my love for journaling, I’ve decided on Day One as the primary tool for this workflow.
The Process
The first step is to complete the review. I’ve broken it into three entries, and they include:
A journal entry looking back: Pure reflection on how the quarter went, what I learned, how I felt, where I was successful and where I wasn’t, and the relationships that had an impact.
A journal entry looking forward: Part hopes and dreams, part reflection on what I learned, what happened, and how it applies to what I want to do.
A journal entry roadmap: I am, by trade, an operations person, so this is where the planning happens. What actions will I take to get where I want to be? Each area I’ve written about gets a headline, and after some thoughtful planning, I write actionable steps to help me get there.
Then, there’s a deadline:
The three journal entries that comprise the quarterly review must be done by the seventh day of the first month after the quarter hits. Another thing I’ve been reminded of being back in my day job is that periods, particularly in finance, don’t “close” right away. There’s accounting to be done, numbers to run, and things need to catch up. The seven days give the quarter and me time to breathe. This deadline will also usually catch a weekend, when I have more time to do this successfully.
Finally, there’s an ongoing weekly call to action to review my progress:
To accomplish this, I have a once-a-week reminder and calendar event to review the quarterly road map. At the bottom of this journal entry, I’ve added an area to leave comments or feedback on how I’m doing. This will empower me when it’s time to do my next quarterly review with insights into the process, what worked and didn’t, and how I did overall. In addition to having this on my personal calendar with a reminder, I also have it on my work calendar as a blocked 30-minute time at lunch. I’m setting myself up to honor my commitments, which are often the ones we are most likely to ignore when things get challenging.
I did this new review for the first time over the last week and like the process. It took me less than two hours, and my check-in took me about fifteen minutes when I did it. I operate well with structure like deadlines and check-ins, and this feels like a good way to approach something I’ve struggled with keeping up with by forcing myself to be accountable to the calendar and to myself because, at the end of the quarter, I’ll see which weeks I was able to complete my call to action review and which weeks I couldn’t.
I’m building this quarterly review process because I’m tired of figuring things out by reading the tea leaves. I think a system like this will help me succeed in planning my next steps, permit me the time, space, and data to review what happened in the previous period and help me make better decisions about where to go from here. It also suites my schedule and desire to do a journaling based review. I’m planning an update next quarter and will share with you how it goes.
MacSparky Journals to 5,000
Speaking of hitting journaling milestones, my friend David Sparks hit a big one. 5,000 digital journal entries. Well done!
New Features Coming to Apple Journal in iOS 18
At WWDC last month, Apple announced some new features coming to Journal with iOS 18 this fall. They include:
State of Mind Integration
State of Mind was released last year and is most easily accessed via the Mindfulness app on the Apple Watch. It can also be accessed through Health on iPad and iPhone.
I’ve been waiting for them to add this feature since they released it last fall. It just makes sense to integrate with a journaling app.
Insights
Insights will provide a calendar and stats like your current and longest streak, as well as general stats like how many entries you’ve done in a given year and how many words you’ve written. Based on the screenshots, Journal will also keep track of places you visit frequently and share that information.
I like to nerd out on insights like this, although I’m also a bit weary of streaks and urge people not to become too fixated on them. Streaks do have a place in helping you keep your journaling habit going.
Search
It’s hard to believe that Journal didn’t have this before. Search is kind of table stakes for making an app like this useful. I’m glad it’s being added.
Small Improvements Matter
I’ve recommended Journal to friends and family who are iPhone users and want an integrated tool for which they don’t have to pay extra. While not as advanced as third-party apps like Day One, features like the ones coming this fall will make Journal a better app and easier to keep recommending to people looking for a simple iPhone first journaling app.
Apple Launches Journal for iPhone
With the release of iOS 17.2 earlier this week, Apple launched Journal. I spent some time with the new app last night, and my initial thoughts are positive. I will share more after I’ve had a chance to kick the tires.
Today, Day One, my journaling tool of choice, announced support for Journaling Suggestions. This is a keystone feature for Apple’s Journal, so it makes sense that Day One would add it as well.
Today we’re excited to announce a new way to deepen your journaling practice: Journaling Suggestions. Journaling Suggestions in Day One provide personalized journaling recommendations inspired by your photos, locations, activities, and more, bringing a whole new level of introspection and discovery to your daily reflections.
Everything I’ve read from the folks at Day One about Apple’s entry into this space has been totally classy. Last summer, I shared Day One’s founder Paul Mayne’s thoughts on Journal when it was announced.
Rather than seeing this as competition, we embrace Apple’s entry into digital journaling as a testament to its growing importance. This evolution is not just beneficial for Day One but also for our valued users.
I believe that journaling can improve people’s lives, and having an app included on a phone that’s in about a billion and a half pockets worldwide means more people will start a practice. That’s a really good thing.
Paul Mayne, Creator of Day One, on Apple’s Journal App
Day One Creator Paul Mayne shared his thoughts on Journal, Apple’s new iOS app coming later this year.
From the Day One blog:
Rather than seeing this as competition, we embrace Apple’s entry into digital journaling as a testament to its growing importance. This evolution is not just beneficial for Day One, but also for our valued users.
I’m thankful that Day One and other apps will be able to access the Suggestions API. I remain curious what exactly that will look like, but it’s always fun to see how app developers take these API’s and run with them in ways that best suit their users.
You can read Paul's whole post and what I wrote about Journal earlier this week. Apple releasing this app will get more people into journaling, and that's a win. Most people I've encountered who journal are better for it, and those who don't could find so much value in starting a practice.
Apple Unveils Journal at WWDC 2023, Coming to iPhone Later this Year
During Monday's WWDC conference, Apple announced Journal, a new app coming to iPhone later this year.
From the iOS 17 feature page at Apple.com:
Using on-device machine learning, your iPhone creates personalized suggestions of moments for you to remember and write about based on your photos, music, workouts, and more.
Other highlights include:
Reflection and writing prompts
The ability to mark important or meaningful entries for review later
Scheduled notifications at the beginning and end of the day as well as reminders to record your thoughts about important events
Apple's typical and appreciated approach to security, including end-to-end encryption, on-device processing, and locked journals
On Upgrade, co-host Jason Snell mentioned that other developers should be able to use the Suggestions API, giving tools like my favorite journaling app, Day One, an opportunity to integrate these features.
I’ll share more as Apple continues to release details.