When Nero’s Notes aka Pocket Notebooks became site sponsors they asked me if I would like anything to review. I begged them to send me a Trigg Life Mapper after the Procrastination Coach got one. I had a serious dose of journal envy from day one.

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I’ve already written a little bit about how I’ve used the Trigg Life Mapper this year. It is unusual in that it encourages you to set out goals for the year and reminds you each week to chip away at them. I’m not a fan of resolutions because I feel they set me up for failure. What the Trigg does is more sustainable than a resolution. It enables you to see the little steps you need to take to get closer to your bigger goals.

I waited to review the Trigg properly because I wanted to see if I stuck with it. Was writing in it going to be another resolution broken or was it going to help me move things along?

January

January starts with setting up intentions. I must be honest and say that the idea of a personal manifesto still freaks me out somewhat. What if I change my mind? What if someone else reads it and laughs? What if I don’t get anywhere near aspiring to it? I compromised by writing down some keywords that included: integrity, vulnerability, strength, knowledge and comedy. Three months on I’m still happy with my keywords but I’m not ready to put them into a sentence or two. In January I wrote out my big picture, which still fits in March and I split up an annual forecast into things I wanted to achieve for my self, my relationships, my passions and my work.

At first, I found it difficult working with my main bullet journal (which I use to list work tasks) with the Trigg. Each day the Trigg has a matrix where you can list 3 things that need doing as important and urgent, these were more often than not already in my bujo (fashionable way of saying bullet journal I use because it makes me look hip with the kids). I got better at using the two notebooks together through the month.

February

At the end of January I strongly felt the need to reflect back on the month. There is space to do that further on in the Trigg, at 6 and 12 months but not at the end of every month. I try very hard not to do anything work related at the weekend so the half page designated for reflection at the end of every week was getting totally ignored.

I started to write down a quick audit of the month on this site instead. I’m looking back on the Trigg entries now and I can see there is loads I had planned that I didn’t get around to doing. I’d like some way of checking back on myself, or a blank page between months for notes. In February I pretty much gave up on the matrix too. I’m self employed as a sole trader and don’t often have people to delegate too. If I delay something, it never gets done and plans were being forgotten. The Trigg was still useful because I used it to write down major appointments and sometimes what the weather was like but there are many blank pages in the month. I don’t often notice the little quotes at the bottom of the pages so they are wasted on me too.

March

I came back to the Trigg properly in March. I love the chance to choose priorities at the start of every week, that is definitely making me more productive.  I decided to use the matrix in a way that works for me, instead of trying to fit in with how it should be used. So, in March I started to use the ‘delegate’ box to write a haiku that summed up how I felt. Being restricted to 17 syllables helps me to choose words carefully and to work out what is on my mind. In April I’ll start using the reflection area for last week at the start of a new week and I’m thinking about ways to improve the matrix so it works better for me.

At the start of each week the Trigg gives you space to write out key goals in each area (self, relationships, passions and work). I’ve found this really helpful and I’m doing more to keep in touch with friends and look after myself than ever before. I have a little problem with planning passions as they cross over into the other categories but simply writing down that I want to see a film that week means I remember to buy a ticket and don’t miss things.

Conclusion after 3 months of life mapping

The Trigg Life Mapper is a lovely journal. The paper is nice, the diary layout is useful and the method of splitting up large goals into life areas, then again into weekly actions really works for me. It is useful to have a space for just 3 things that must be done, as that helps me prioritise. Now I’ve realised I can tailor the matrix so that it works better for me I just need to play around with it.

The Trigg Life Mapper
Always open on my desk
Productive, mindful

The end of the week has a space to reflect. I need to use that more!