Finding Focus: The Negativity Effect Is Real—Here’s How Success Journaling Can Help You Fight Back
We have a natural bias towards the negative. It's in our wiring. Humans spent a long time without the comforts and relative safety that exist in our current state, so it makes sense that we look at the shadows, even the ones that exist only in our perceptions or imaginations, and assume the worst.
Success journaling is a counterpoint to doom scrolling through life. It doesn't encourage you to ignore the perils or challenges in the world. It provides an outlet to balance the good things that happen against the negative by offering a clear framework to record and celebrate your wins, while also showcasing a gallery of your accomplishments.
What is The Negativity Effect?
The negativity effect is a cognitive bias that was documented in 2001 by Paul Rozin and Edward B. Rozyman. The hypothesis of their research is that we give more attention or weight to negative experiences in our lives. These researchers also found that negativity was more contagious in its virality and discovered that just a small amount of negativity could contaminate an experience or group of people in a more significant way than a positive experience of a similar scale.
You know what this feels like. Everyone does. You have a successful week at work, and your boss calls you in on Friday afternoon to offer some helpful feedback, albeit with a slightly critical edge. As you leave the meeting, you are absorbed in the criticism. You bring it home with you, and it impacts your evening. You're a little distracted during dinner and while playing with your kids. Your partner notices. YOU notice. It’s a drag, and all because you ignored the praise that was also shared.
It’s not just in those situations either. The world has undergone significant changes in the two and a half decades since this research was conducted. In our digital lives, virality isn't just encouraged; it's a built-in feature to some of the most popular and attention-grabbing media sources on the planet. It used to be that the local news would "tease" an upcoming blizzard or report on a terrible accident or crime during the prime-time evening TV block, promising the "full story at 11" to keep people watching after their favorite shows were done. Now, we swipe and scroll our way into increasingly damaging clips that our brains are wired to pay attention to, creating a feedback loop that both feeds the algorithm and reinforces our perspective that negativity is the primary experience in life.
Capturing All of Your Wins
Recording your success, or wins, provides multiple benefits. First, you have a running collection of how much you've accomplished. Being able to review that from time to time is impactful in the same way as looking back at a more traditional journal can be.
This process also allows you to change your mindset. The bias towards negativity causes you to focus quickly on what didn't work, on how you failed. The truth is, you aren't screwing up as much as you think you are. It's just that your brain isn't paying attention to where you're succeeding.
Success journaling isn’t just for recording those big moments in life, such as when you ace an audit at work, get a promotion, have a new baby, or get married. Make a note of the little things, too. You're building something with this, and it can't just be the big blocks; you need the small ones, too.
At first, this process may feel like you're boasting. You don't need to be humble when sharing your success, especially when it's an audience of one - yourself. This isn't for publication, it's to help you see a more positive through line from day to day.
Format & Review Process
One of my first principles of journaling is to use the simplest tool for the task at hand. You may find a dedicated tool like Day One or Journal best serves your practice, or it might make more sense to create a simple note on your phone and track your successes that way.
Right now, I'm using Day One. I've created a dedicated Success Journal and am doing a new entry for each success that I want to catalog. Your needs may vary, and I may find that having just one entry is enough, perhaps updating to a new entry at a timed interval, such as weekly or monthly.
If you need a boost when you open your tool of choice or perhaps when you're doing an end-of-day review, try this prompt I'm using:
What are some areas where I was successful today?
The trick here is to be brief and specific. A sentence or two at most with the who, what, where, and why serves your needs.
Understanding Success Through Your Challenges
The more often you record a success, the stronger your habit of taking note of the positive becomes. I'm not a scientist, and I can't confirm that doing this will overcome the negative bias inherent in all of us. Still, it will at least force attention to our wins, and thereby give the positive occurrences in our lives a much-needed boost. Where the feed amplifies what’s wrong, your journal amplifies what’s right. It’s up to you to decide what you choose to give your most precious commodity, your time and attention.
The Journaling Guide: Why Paper Still Wins (Sometimes)
I’ve been thinking about how timeless print journals are lately. They’ve served the need for humanity to write down their thoughts for thousands of years. There is an elegance in their design, even in the most rudimentary form, and a simplicity that is unmatched by even the finest digital tools. A journal is an escape, and the act of putting pen to its pages is a cathartic experience, regardless of whether you’re living in the 12th or the 21st century.
We all live amongst so much more than we did in the past. There are so many more distractions, delivered in chunks in feeds that are seemingly unlimited. Whatever you want, you can find. Our smartphones are both an incredible tool and a cursed instrument.
Print journals suffer from none of this. They won’t be pushing notifications or trying to get you to scroll. They do nothing. They have no motivation. Journals sit, collect dust, and wait.
You are the action. It comes from you.
This is why, despite being a longtime Day One User, an app that is perfect for many of my needs, I still use paper in all domains of my life. I keep a nice notebook on my desk at work so I can transfer tasks from visitors at my office door or my email inbox to where I can take action on them. I keep notebooks for creative and project work, and still journal on paper sometimes, too. I wrote all the details in a post that was published earlier this week.
I choose to live in a world where the answer to “digital or analog” is both. You should too.
My feeling about books is similar. I’m a big fan of Kindle, and I often use the app on my iPad to read and do research. Still, I find my way to books made of paper and binding occasionally. It’s far less frequently than it was a decade ago, but there are times when it's the right choice.
Fit matters more than format. Function matters more than flash. If you're going to succeed, the tool has to work for you.
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Inside My Journal Stack: Analog Favorites in a Digital World
While I prefer digital tools for much of my process now, I started journaling with notebooks a few decades ago, and I’m still a fan of analog journaling and regularly use a small collection of print journals. Their purpose is less focused on my daily gratitude practice, which Day One handles expertly, and more of a problem-solving, ideation, time-tracking, and note-taking tool. Here are a few of my favorite notebooks and journals that I have in my collection and use regularly.
Moleskine
When I started journaling, the first notebook that I fell in love with was a Moleskine. That was over twenty years ago, and I still use them. They’re available everywhere, made well, and come in many shapes and sizes with different paper styles (dots, graphs, etc.). Over the years, I’ve used the Moleskine Classic Medium hardcover in black and the soft cover Cahier as well. I even remember an early Internet blog celebrating all things Moleskine, which I used to follow and enjoy. It became so popular that Moleskine eventually acquired it as part of its marketing campaign.
The Subtle Notebook
The Subtle Notebook from Cortex Brand is another favorite of mine. The paper has a lovely feel, and I appreciate that the upper corner of the page is perforated, allowing you to rip the corner off easily; this is convenient for finding the page you’re working on. It’s indicative of the thoughtful design touches that Myke Hurley and CGP Grey have added.
Field Notes
The best everyday carry option for me is Field Notes. It’s beautifully designed and made with so much creativity. I’ve had many of these over the years, and they’re always delightful to use. Coudal Partners and Draplin Design Co. regularly introduce innovative and beautiful designs that remain faithful to the core aesthetic. I still remember when these first came out. The product was, and remains, of such high quality. It helps that their visual design is always on point, and the marketing speaks to my very soul. Watch out, you might get hooked on these.
Ugmonk Analog
I’ve determined that I am a disorganized person. It’s just my nature. I still manage to perform and complete my work, but I sometimes take the long way to get there. I use the Analog system from Ugmonk to stay on track, less as a specific journaling tool and more as a tool to track the journey. I primarily use the Analog cards and the Discbound notebook, which is always open and on my desk next to my keyboard, to track projects and move things from my brain (or from the brains of others standing at my door or via email or text) into the proper places.
What’s Next?
I’m pretty settled with the analog journals that I’m currently using, although I’m always open to trying out new notebooks and seeing how they do. I am actively exploring more print-based tools from a few different makers to help me manage my time, energy, and focus. If you have some suggestions on tools that fit these use cases, let me know.
Apple Announces Journal for iPadOS 26 and MacOS 26 Tahoe
When Apple announced Journal in 2023, I was impressed with how useful and intuitive it is for someone wanting to start a journaling practice on a native application. I also appreciated the app and wondered if (or when) Apple might bring it to other platforms.
Today, at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference in Cupertino, Apple announced good news. Journal will be available on Mac OS Tahoe and iPadOS 26 later this year.
I’ve had plenty of readers write me and say that not having cross-platform support is a big sticking point for them to use the otherwise excellent journaling tool that Apple is making.
Well, here’s your chance. Check it out and kick the tires once the new updates are available. Once Journal is out in the wild and truly cross-platform, it might be a good time to give The 10-Day Journaling Challenge a try.
Focuesd #230: Journaling & Intention, with Joe Moyer
I recently had the great pleasure of talking with David Sparks and Mike Schmitz on one of my favorite podcasts, Focused.
From the episode description:
Journaling Guide Joe Moyer joins us to talk getting started with journaling, navigating major life transitions, and the power of a regular reflection practice.
This was a big deal for me. I’ve been listening to Focused since it began and enjoyed the show it was born out of, featuring David and Jason Snell (Free Agents, anyone else remember?). David and Mike were wonderful hosts who helped me share my story, and I am grateful for their time.
If you’re here because you listened to the episode, thanks for stopping by! You can follow the RSS feed, try the 10-day Journaling Challenge, and hit the features tab in the navigation to see what this is all about. I’ve been writing for nearly four years, so there’s plenty to explore.
If you haven’t yet, be sure to listen and subscribe to the podcast. We covered a lot of territory and chatted for well over an hour. Finally, if you aren’t regularly listening to Focused, you should be!
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.
Day One Improves iOS Navigation — And I Love It
It’s been a busy month at Day One. In addition to launching a Windows version, which I wrote about yesterday, they’ve also been working to improve the iOS and iPad apps.
From the announcement:
“Our latest update for iOS brings a major redesign to Day One’s navigation, making it easier to manage journals and revisit past memories.
With a refreshed layout, this update introduces a more intuitive way to access your journals and key features. Whether you’re organizing entries across multiple journals or revisiting past moments, the new navigation ensures everything is right at your fingertips.”
I found the previous navigational elements clunky, and once Journal from Apple rolled out, features like On This Day needed some love. This redesign has improved all of that, and it looks great.
“As part of this update, we’ve introduced two new tabs—Journals and More—to simplify navigation. The Journals tab keeps all your journals in one place for easy access, while the More tab organizes key features like On This Day, Daily Prompt, and Streaks in one convenient hub.”
The term hub perfectly describes what the More tab feels like. I know that if I want anything other than direct access to one of my journals, it’s over there in a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate space.
They’ve made some small cosmetic improvements to the Journal tab that I really appreciate, like adding a small colored notebook icon next to each of my journals and the ability to reorder how the journals appear in the menu bar. That second feature may have always been available, but with the previous design, I felt no desire to explore the menu. It was mostly functional, but not especially appealing.
I haven’t played with the new iPad version yet, although it also looks promising. I’m heading out this weekend to get a new iPad to replace my now six-year-old iPad Air 3. I’ll share my thoughts on the iPadOS updates soon These navigation and layout changes are a positive step in Day One’s evolution, and I’m glad to see them iterate on the good work they’ve put into their app over the years.
PKM Toolkit: End Your Day With This Powerful Personal Review Question
After a lengthy absence from daily personal review, I decided to revisit my four-question Day One review template that I put together a few years ago. In the last few editions of The Journaling Guide, my bi-weekly newsletter, I wrote about how the changes in my life, particularly returning to work, influenced my decision to give it another try. It’s been going well, and I’m pleased to take a few minutes at the end of each day to build this habit.
These are the questions in the prompt:
What happened today that went well?
What happened today that could have gone better?
How did I make a positive impact on those around me?
Is there anything unfinished or that needs to be written down for tomorrow?
Of the five questions, the most valuable one for me right now is the last one, where I ask if anything needs to be written down for tomorrow. This simple question unburdens me of something, and there’s always something I didn’t get to or forgot about. It means one less thing swirling in my head and helps me continue to hone my organizational skills.
I’ve written and talked a lot about gratitude journaling, which I have done daily for years. When asked by someone interested in starting their own journaling habit, my go-to advice is to start by writing a sentence or two about something they feel grateful for and repeat it at an interval that works for them. I haven’t dispensed as much advice about the daily review, mostly because I’ve not been a regular practitioner. However, this experience has me again seeing the value of the process, and particularly of including this question in it. It’s an extremely valuable way to move something from a mental burden to a planned task.
If you’re interested in a daily review process, try these questions and commit to a two-week trial. Find yourself a notebook or journal, or start a note or document on your phone or computer. Take five or ten minutes at the end of the day to reflect on how things went.
The Day One Podcast Returns
Despite being an active daily user of Day One, I was unaware they had a podcast. It’s been on hiatus since 2021, and that’s likely part of why I hadn’t heard about it.
The show has recently launched a new season with a new episode featuring Paul Mayne, the creator of Day One. It’s worth listening to if you’re curious about some of their choices with the app, the additional resources they’ve gotten since joining Automattic, where AI fits into the roadmap, and other details on what motivates the developers to keep going.
Basic AF #47: The Journaling Guide with Joe Moyer
I was pleased to return to the Basic AF Show and discuss journaling. This is my second guest spot with my friends Tom and Jeff (the first one here), and once again, they made me feel welcomed and valued. From the episode page:
_ Ever wondered if journaling could make a difference in your life? This week’s guest, Joe Moyer, believes it can. Joe shares his personal journey with journaling and practical advice on how to build a habit—even if you only have five minutes a day. We cover gratitude journaling, the benefits of recording daily thoughts, and how to avoid the “perfect journal” trap. He also provides tips for those who are new to journaling, with simple techniques to get started._
This was a fun conversation, and I hope you’ll listen. I think everyone, particularly young men, needs to hear some of what was said on the show and pay particular attention to the productive struggle, where we talk about being kind to ourselves, working through complicated feelings and emotions, and growing.
The Ugmonk Pen
I’ve never been a fancy pen guy. I always used a Pilot G2 or a Uni-ball 207 for my writing, but lately, I’ve found them to be a little lacking.
I wanted a pen that felt more significant but had a similar gel ink output, so I began casually looking. When I got an email last month from Jeff Sheldon announcing The Ugmonk Pen, made in collaboration with Leuchtturm1917, it was an easy buy for me.
I also picked up the walnut pen tray, which is a thing of functional beauty and is where my Apple Pencil often lives as well.
The pen and tray combo arrived just in time for some heavy use, not for writing or journaling but for a bunch of lengthy insurance-related documents that, due to poor design, needed to be printed out and handwritten. It took hours to do it all, and it was made more pleasurable and easier with the Ugmonk Pen. I’ve since used it for some print journaling and to-do list building, and it’s really delightful to write with.
I believe that the message matters most, and the tools we use, particularly in journaling, should serve that cause. This pen does that for me, and I’m pleased to have finally spent a little bit more money for something of much greater and lasting quality.
This reflection originally appeared in The Journaling Guide. Delivered every two weeks and packed with real-life stories of history's greatest journalers, reflections from my own experiences studying how journaling helps improve our lives, and actionable insights for you, it's like having a close friend guide you on your journaling practice.
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600 Days of Gratitude Journaling
Yesterday, Day One let me know that I had written my 600th consecutive entry in my daily gratitude journal. I'm proud of this achievement and hope it inspires some of you to start your journaling practice.
Like many apps, Day One likes to celebrate streaks to stay motivated and keep going on a goal. Streaks have a place in helping us build the version of ourselves we most want to be, although I have mixed feelings about them.
I'm sending more thoughts on the pros and cons of streaks to newsletter subscribers next week. You can subscribe below, and I'll send you my quick guide Seven Thought-Provoking Prompts for Your Journaling Practice, when you confirm your email.
If you haven't checked in on the newsletter lately, you’ll note that I’m refocusing it on journaling and working towards sending something to subscribers every two weeks. I'll have more on that soon.
The Journaling Guide on Threads
I’ve been on Threads since it launched. My focus has been on sharing prompts, tools, and tips to help people with something I’m really passionate about, starting and growing a journaling practice. I know some of you like to journal. If that’s you, please give me a follow and say hi!
Don’t worry, I’m not abandoning this site to spend all of my time on social. Threads is (thus far) a positive community that I enjoy. It’s also a place where I can workshop new ideas and connect with readers of this site and other creators.