Tracy Winchell

Creator of the Future Self Reflection Journaling Method

Digital Thinkers: My friend Kara's Obsidian setup is live!

Hey Reader! Thanks for allowing me into your inbox twice this week. I think you're gonna love what our friend Kara Monroe is doing with Obsidian, Fantastical, and Day One. Whether you use Tana, Obsidian, Roam, or another digital thinking tool, Kara's setup reinforces two things I've learned in 2023 about personal knowledge management and digital thinking systems: I need a single tool from which to add all your stuff. That capture tool needs to make it easy for me to route each note or item...

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6 months ago • 1 min read

Are you trying too hard? Maybe you should stop keeping score.

Hey Reader! When I was a kid growing up in the 1970s, we were all about Evel Knievel on our bicycles. We spray-painted 100 yards of our street in 10-yard increments so we could play tackle football and measure our wheelies. I can remember being so frustrated as I tried to master the skill. Eventually, I became the neighborhood record-holder, with a 100-yard ride on my rear bicycle wheel. That’s when all the work I'd put into wheelies got fun. Beating the competition. Until then, I put way...

6 months ago • 2 min read

[Workshop Announcement] Not Fixed, But Flourishing: Embrace the Unfinished Journey

Hey Reader! By popular demand” is such a schtick. Reminds me of outrageous claims and promises that are so silly they're funny. Remember the Old School Ronco TV commercial that promises “set it and forget it” cooking products? Lots of personal development books promise buying their product will change your life…and they can, if you actually work the processes. Because of you — on Twitter or via the previous newsletter edition from a couple of weeks ago — I get to say: I’m hosting a workshop...

7 months ago • 1 min read

Designing Your 90-Day Future Self: A Step-by-Step Process

Hey Reader! Hope you’ve had a good week. This week I started doing a bit of digital maintenance that I hope makes for a much improved experience for you. I’m a little late with the newsletter I promised from last week, and I thank you for your patience. Last week you considered a question:What would you change about your life in the next 90 days? This edition newsletter is all about becoming that person through day-to-day actions, behaviors, and mindset. If you haven’t already, break...

8 months ago • 2 min read

several assorted-color neon light signage

Define Your Better: The Simple Action You Can Take Today to Become Your Best Self in 90 Days

Hey Reader! It's a gorgeous day here in western Arkansas, and I'm outside listening to a mockingbird chattering atop a tall tree and a robin chirping warnings in a nearby bush. Both are protecting nests. Incidentally, I'm always amazed at how a fierce mockingbird can sound like there are a dozen mean birds -- all at once. Pretty sure this one is trying to imitate a rooster. 🤷🏼‍♀️😉 Both of these nests are protected by the male and female. They work as a unit to provide food, shelter, and...

8 months ago • 2 min read

Transform Self-Doubt into Confidence: The Power of a Simple 90-Day Review

Hey Reader! How does your Today Self compare against the Future Self you imagined 90 days ago? Your identity isn’t necessarily what you do every day. Habit psychology teaches the science of changing self and that what we do shapes your identity. However, habits are only part of the process. Being caught up in a loop of self-doubt keeps you in a nasty loop. No matter what you've done or how much you've changed, it's not enough—at least not in your own mind. I’m so stinking focused on what I...

8 months ago • 1 min read

BASB <=> Purposeful Self-Reflection | CODE for Self-Growth

Hey Reader! As much as you value self-growth, busyness too often intervenes. Rather than respond to the “journal” section of your daily page, you skip past it on the way to “real” thinking. Why? Journaling doesn’t give you a narrow-enough constraint to respond in a sentence or two. You have no idea where to start! You are as dedicated to self-growth as you are about building new thoughts around the knowledge you collect. You know a regular self-reflection practice is the way to self-growth...

10 months ago • 1 min read

Practical Advice for Pet Owners: How to Determine When It's Time to Let Go

Hey Reader! This is a tough topic. It's why it's late. I thought long and hard before hitting the send button. Ultimately, I decided the questions I’ve asked for the past fifteen years have tremendous practical value. I pray that sharing the rawness of my grief conveys that I fully understand how easy it is to write an email and how profoundly difficult it is to follow through. A Tale of Two Dogs Moose Years ago, I had a cantankerous Lhasa Apso. We called him Moose. I came home from work one...

10 months ago • 2 min read

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Take Your Note to Next Day Self on the Road: Adapting the Practice for Tana

Hey Reader! We've had snow here this week! About 3 inches or so, which is rare in along the Arkansas River. It has been beautiful out here in the country and away from fender-bender pile-ups. Let's talk digital thoughts, shall we? Hard to believe it's been 3 years since I started journaling in a Tool for Thought. When Roam Research was still in beta, I struggled to wrap my brain around a tool that not only allowed but encouraged me to catapult a Today Tracy thought into a time or context in...

11 months ago • 1 min read

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