The 5-Minute Journal Challenge

Send Carla a message!

Feeling too busy to journal? That's exactly why you need it most. In this episode, I share a powerful client breakthrough that happened when she thought she had no time for reflection but tried a simple five-minute journaling method anyway.

As high achievers and ambitious doers, we often resist slowing down—convinced that constant motion equals productivity. But what if the very reason you feel too busy to journal is precisely why you need this practice in your life? I've witnessed time and again how brief, intentional journaling creates space for the clarity we desperately seek but can't find in our packed schedules.

Share this episode with someone who's feeling overwhelmed—sometimes the smallest of steps create a breakthrough.

Enjoy!

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Website: https:/www.carlareeves.com/
Connect on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reevescarla/
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
I'm Carla Reeves, and this is Differently.
Whether you feel stuck insurvival, navigating a change,
or seeking more for your life,may this podcast be your weekly
nudge to take a risk to build alife that is uniquely bold,
authentic and in alignment withyour deepest values.
What if you worried less aboutthe bumps in the road and

(00:23):
instead got equipped for thejourney?
Get ready to rethink what'spossible.
Do you have any suggestions formaking journaling quicker?
I want to journal, but I justkeep running out of time.
That's what a client asked methis week.

(00:44):
Out of time, that's what aclient asked me this week, and
my first reaction was tochallenge her to make the space,
because this is the very thingthat she needs.
But instead I gave her a methodfor quick journaling and it
worked.
It allowed her to ease her mind, to slow down long enough to
make space to do the thing, andI want to share this with you

(01:07):
too.
At the end of the exercisesthat I gave her, there was a
reflection on the last day,which was to kind of go back
over those journals, reflect onwhat you saw.
And at the end of the week, sheresponded to the exercise with
loved, loved, loved, in allcapital letters and what she

(01:28):
noticed was worry, stress, thatshe felt pressed for time, that
she felt chaos and uncertaintyand so many questions.
And what she recognized alsowas that all of the above
thoughts that were spinning inher head do not elevate her mood
at all, that it depresses it.
And as she went on through theweek, she was able to loosen all

(01:52):
the stress in her mind, thenoise and the spinning, to
actually see some of the rootissues that needed to be taken
care of to move things forwardin her life.
And that, my friends, is thepower of writing.
I see it all the time, andtoday I want to give you a
strategy that your overthinkingmind and your ambitious self is

(02:15):
going to love.
As high and hyper achievers anddoers, the thing we resist the
most is slowing down.
We resist the most is slowingdown, and it's the very thing
that we often need to actuallyspeed things up in the
meaningful way that we desire.
What I know for sure, after adecade of coaching with a
journal, is that when we makespace to write, we always feel

(02:39):
better.
We're always glad we did, wedon't ever regret it and we
often wonder why we don't makethe time more often, and it's
because of the mind I get it.
I get it so much.
We're all have big dreams,we're juggling projects, we're
raising families and we'retrying to squeeze productivity

(02:59):
out of every minute.
But here's the thing, and I wantyou to lean in close because
this is important.
What if I told you that thevery reason you feel too busy to
journal is exactly why you needit the most?
And the mind lies to us withthings like I don't have time to
journal.
Journaling is boring, and themore we affirm this, the more it

(03:23):
is true and becomes our reality.
And then we don't actually stopto make the time that actually
is going to be the mostproductive thing we can do.
And here are some of the liesthat keep us stuck, and they're
so convincing is because we'reconstantly in motion, thinking
that once we achieve X, y or Zis when we're going to find

(03:46):
peace.
We think that the pressure andthe rush and the checking the
items off the to-do list isgoing to get us somewhere.
We're afraid that if we slowdown, we're going to lose our
edge or fall behind.
And the truth is that peacecomes when you create an

(04:07):
interruption and if you don'tguess what Life will.
So I want to give you asolution and a strategy today
that your overachiever,overthinking mind is going to
love.
And here's why it especiallyworks for overthinkers and doers
is because it has a clear timeboundary.

(04:27):
It's short enough to feeldoable so you can say goodbye to
resistance, and it's longenough to actually create a
meaningful pause in your day andcreate space for new revelation
.
Imagine that you have adashboard with warning lights
inside of you, just like yourcar.
Are you listening to thoseindicators and consider that

(04:51):
journaling is the vehicle foractually slowing down to listen
and pay attention?
Your thoughts are the indicatorlights and when you journal,
even for just five minutes,you're taking an inventory of
the thoughts that you'reallowing to hang out in your
mind, and they're going to giveyou clarity as to why you feel

(05:11):
and are experiencing the thingsthat you're experiencing, and
also give you the opportunity totake the reins back of your
thoughts and redirect your lifethat you're experiencing and
also give you the opportunity totake the reins back of your
thoughts and redirect your life,and you're giving yourself a
chance to spot these issuesbefore they become emergencies.
Okay, let's get to it.
So, if you're in a place youcan grab a pen and paper.

(05:31):
Now this is going to be yourfive minute, five day writing
challenge.
So set your timer for just fiveminutes and you're going to
explore these questions.
Number one what thoughts havebeen hanging out in your mind
today?
Number two are you fixated onany one thing?
Number three how are thesethoughts or this fixation

(05:56):
impacting your mood, energy andability to take action?
Number four what caused yourmood to change today?
Who or what caused your mood tochange today?
And number five what depletedyour energy and what elevated
your energy?
Depleted your energy and whatelevated your energy?

(06:18):
Okay, those same five questionsevery day for five minutes.
And then here's the bonus, andthis is what my client did after
the five days, go back andreview those journals, notice
patterns, highlight words,notice how those things are
impacting or influencing yourlife, your ability to make

(06:39):
decisions, your ability to moveforward right now and if it's
not moving in the direction youwant, here are three bonus
questions to turn yourselfaround.
Number one what do you want tofeel or experience today or this
week?
Number two how can you shift orelevate your thinking ever so

(07:06):
slightly in that direction?
And number three what alignedaction, what one aligned, simple
action can you take right now,today, that moves you in the
direction of that feeling orexperience?
Remember, you don't have tolove journaling or be a
journaler.
This isn't about journaling.
It's about your life.

(07:26):
Journaling isn't boring,because you bring your life to
it and you get to write your waythrough to what you want to
experience and create more of inyour life.
Writing is just the vehicle.
So take the five minute, fiveday challenge.
Start tomorrow morning, orbetter yet, start right now.

(07:47):
Set that timer and watch whathappens when you give yourself
the gift of a pause.
Thank you for tuning in to thisepisode of Differently.
It's been an honor to sharethis conversation with you.
You know, one of the keys toliving fully is to take action
when you're inspired to do so.

(08:08):
I hope you found that spark ofinspiration today and would you
help us spread the word.
Did someone you know come tomind while you were listening?
If this episode could impactsomeone you know, please share
it and pass it along.
New episodes drop weekly, sotap that subscribe button and
join us next time as we continueto challenge the status quo and

(08:32):
get equipped to live lifedifferently.