A lot of people are journaling these days. Writing down your thoughts is proven to help reduce stress and organize your thoughts.

When I retired, I tossed empty journals and planners I had lying around. I thought my life would take a new course on its own. But as a year and then two went by, I found myself drifting. I didn't really know what I wanted out of retirement.
 
Then I started to write my thoughts down. I made sketches. I tried out the whole "vision board" idea. And soon I realized I wanted a place to gather those ideas, but the journals and planners out there didn't inspire me. So I designed my own.

For my first journal and planner, I wanted to make obvious to myself things in my life I was taking for granted. You can call it "being grateful" or "self-aware." For me, it took the form of writing down, "I have a roof over my head," and went on from there.
 
People will tell you to "get a new perspective," "open your eyes," and the like. But attitude and perspective can't be forced. By naming the things I already had in my life, a new outlook washed over me and made me really happy. Instead of focusing on things I didn't have, I became rich overnight with all I did have.

I shared the journal and planner I was making with my brothers and sisters, my daughters, a friend of mine. And they got excited and wanted one!

The ANGELS of HOPE Planner actually developed as an offshoot of the journal pages I had already designed. I really loved the angel graphics I had purchased and began to learn other ways to decorate the pages. Next thing I knew, I was designing a planner! 

As I was journaling, it became clear to me that a lot of the trouble I was having in retirement was organizing my days. I needed a plan. A plan to look forward to, a plan to guide me, and a planner to note down all the things I was doing! 

Have you ever thought after a day goes by, "I didn't get much done today..."? But in fact, you did a lot more than you can recall... so how might you keep track of all your activity and successes?