The Mindful Life Journal — iPad Edition

Thank you so much for your interest in learning more about the iPad edition of The Mindful Life Journal: Seven Minutes a Day for a Better, More Meaningful Life.

Today, we’re going to cover four things:

The Mindful Life Journal is a thoughtful, interactive book that will gently guide you to reflect on your emotions, intentions, and energy.

Through a series of simple, practical prompts and playful illustrated exercises, The Mindful Life Journal: Seven Minutes a Day for a Better, More Meaningful Life will help you feel better in the morning, be more productive during the day, and sleep better at night.

With just a few minutes of effort per day, you’ll begin to spiral up towards a better, more meaningful life.

As the diagram above suggests, the journal is designed to elicit emergent outcomes.

Each prompt in the journal systematically builds on the previous prompt in ways that make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. For instance:

• By bringing your awareness to your emotions and cultivating gratitude, you slow down your inherent reactivity and make yourself feel better.

• By focusing on what’s good for you and what’s good for others, you set yourself up for success.

• By observing your energy, you discover the patterns that will help you navigate your life.

Over time, engaging with this practice is highly likely to produce positive results. If you implement it, I’m confident it will help you create a better, more meaningful life, as it has done for tens of thousands of others.

You can learn more about the ancient Eastern wisdom and the modern Western science that went into creating the practice in the introduction to the journal.

But honestly, you don’t have to know how the journal works to benefit from it. You just have to use it.

Now that I’ve introduced the journal let’s look at how the iPad Edition works.

First things first, to use The Mindful Life Journal — iPad Edition, you need the prerequisites.

The Prerequisites

You need:

1. An iPad Pro or one of the latest editions of the iPad that supports the use of a stylus

2. An Apple Pencil or another stylus

3. A note-taking app such as Goodnotes or Notability

Without these three things, you’re not going to be able to use the iPad Edition of The Mindful Life Journal as intended. And you’re not going to get all seven of the amazing benefits I discuss below.

We can do with the iPad Edition that we can’t do with the paperback edition.

It’s really cool.

Which iPad?

You need an iPad Pro or one of the latest generation of iPads. My iPad mini (5th generation) has been life-changing.

If you have an older iPad, it’s unlikely that it supports the Apple pencil, which means it won’t work with the journal’s iPad Edition.

Which stylus?

The Apple Pencil is amazing. The way it interacts with my iPad Mini is almost magical. I don’t have any experience with any other stylus, so I can’t comment on them.

Which note-taking app?

Goodnotes and Notability seem to be the two leading tools. I happen to like Goodnotes. I bought both and tried both and ended up with Goodnotes.

But, you know… Ford, Chevy, whatever. Pick the one that works for you.

A bonus suggestion

One thing that will make the experience better is a matte screen protector to write on, such as a Paperlike.

I have a Paperlike, and love it. It’s a bit expensive, but it makes writing on the iPad a lot like writing on a piece of paper.

Adding a Paperlike to your iPad is a fantastic way to optimize your experience.

It all starts with a note-taking app

I can’t stress enough that you have to have a note-taking app to use the iPad Edition.

Assuming you’ve got the prerequisites, let’s look at how you can use The Mindful Life Journal on your iPad.

If you’re into video, I’ve put together a two-minute overview of how the iPad Edition works. I show exactly how to navigate the PDF file, zoom in and out, and fill out the journal using the Apple Pencil.

For those not into video, let’s walk through how to use the iPad Edition, step by step.

1. Import the PDF into your note-taking app

When you import The Mindful Life Journal into your note-taking app, such as Goodnotes, it will automatically open up. You can begin to scroll through it.

2. Read the introduction and make notes

As you start to use the iPad Edition, you can read the introduction and highlight sections.

3. Sign the commitment page

After you read the introduction, you can go to the commitment page and sign it right on the iPad so that you give yourself some motivation to use the journal.

What you’re committing to is to use the journal for seven days, which is less than an hour of effort. And you don’t have to do those seven days in a row. The pages are undated, so you can come back to the practice at any time.

4. Start using the daily entry page

The daily entry page is designed to help you ease into mindfulness, one day at a time. It takes just a few minutes to fill out in the morning and a few more minutes at night.

In the morning, you start by taking your emotional temperature when you wake up. Check the feelings you feel or write in your own. No matter how you feel, you can feel better by cultivating gratitude. Once you’re feeling grateful, it’s time to set your intentions for the day. Aim for what is good for you and good for others. You want to design activities into your day that will make your life better and more meaningful.

In the evening, as you recollect your day, become mindful of what gives you energy and what takes your energy away, without judging it. We focus on energy because to achieve your highest intentions, you need energy. After bringing an open, kindhearted curiosity to your energy, it’s time to cultivate gratitude again. Research shows that people who keep gratitude journals sleep better and feel more rested in the morning.

5. Engage with the weekly activities

As you move through the journal, each week — every seven days — you’ll find an activity. The one in the photo above is an outdoor activity.

You hike up a mountain, you put some rocks in your bag, and then symbolically through them off the edge of the hill to release what is not serving you. I did that a few years ago in North Carolina, and it amazes me that I’m still working through those same issues!

6. Scroll back to the beginning

When you get to the end of the journal, you can always get back to the beginning by going to the thumbnail view in Goodnotes and scrolling back to the top of the journal.

7. Re-import the PDF to begin again

One of the best things about the iPad Edition, which I’ll talk more about below, is that you can use it indefinitely. When you finish using one copy, you can just re-import your PDF to start a fresh copy of the journal.

So that’s how to use the iPad Edition.

But do you want to use it? What are the biggest benefits? What should you watch out for?

In other words…

If you like time-tested methods, structured approaches to self-reflection, and spending just a few minutes a day to make real progress, then you’ll love The Mindful Life Journal.

If you like handwriting instead of tapping or typing, taking your practice with you wherever you go, and buying something once so you can use it forever, you’ll love the iPad Edition.

Which leads me to…

1. Physicality

When you use the iPad Edition of The Mindful Life Journal with your Apple Pencil, you get all of the benefits of putting pen to paper.

Not only is writing in a journal cheap (anyone else spent a small fortune on therapists?), it works. In the words of The New York Times:

Once the domain of teenage girls and the literati, journaling has become a hallmark of the so-called self-care movement, right up there with meditation. And for good reason: Scientific studies have shown it to be essentially a panacea for modern life. There are the obvious benefits, like a boost in mindfulness, memory and communication skills. But studies have also found that writing in a journal can lead to better sleep, a stronger immune system, more self-confidence and a higher I.Q. Research out of New Zealand suggests that the practice may even help wounds heal faster.

This is why I was so drawn to creating the iPad Edition in the first place.

2. Economy

Second, the iPad and the Apple Pencil don’t take up much space.

You don’t have to buy a bunch of books. You don’t have to have a bunch of physical journals in which you keep your practice and keep your thoughts.

In the photo above, you can see my iPad mini in the background. In the front is a bag full of all the physical journals I was using at the time. I was using my own journal — The Mindful Life Journal — but I was using a lot of free-form journals for the other parts of my journaling practice.

It’s a lot of books, and they weigh a lot, and it’s a real pain to carry them around with me. And then I started using Goodnotes for everything, and I saved a ton of money and a ton of weight. It’s really been a game-changer for me.

3. Mobility

Third, we can use the iPad and the iPad Edition of The Mindful Life Journal anywhere. It brings a lot of mobility. You can use it at home, at work, on the bus, on the train, at the yoga studio. You can use it wherever you take your iPad with you.

4. Privacy

And part of the reason you can use it anywhere is that there’s no book cover advertising your practice. There’s a lot of privacy that comes with using the iPad edition that isn’t really available for a physical book. Especially the paperback edition where the cover is on there, and you can’t really take it off, unlike say a hardcover book. That’s one of the things I really like about the iPad edition, that it’s very mobile and very private.

5. Searchability

Another great thing about it is that it’s searchable. Depending on the quality of your handwriting and the quality of your note-taking app, you can search for specific words or specific phrases.

You can find all of your entries about what you’re grateful for, or anytime you’ve mentioned your partner’s name. And you can see which situations were energizing and which were deenergizing. I think there would be a lot to learn from discovering those patterns.

So the digital edition allows you to find and discover patterns in a bit of a different way than the physical version, and I think that’s quite exciting.

6. Immediacy

You can start using it immediately — no need to wait for a book to be shipped from Amazon. Download the PDF directly after ordering it, import it into Notability, and get going.

7. Infinity

The final benefit of the iPad edition is that once you buy the iPad edition, you can use it forever, unlike the paperback edition, which lasts for three months.

When you finish the paperback book, you have to buy another copy, assuming you like the practice like @princessxkelseyy in the photo above, and you want to continue it. But you need another journal in which to keep writing.

With the iPad edition, you buy it once, and you can use it forever. You can import the PDF into Notability or Goodnotes as many times as you want. So you always have a fresh copy, and you never need to repurchase it.

I think that’s really exciting.

Now.

Let’s talk about why the journal might not be a great fit for you.

I don’t think The Mindful Life Journal — iPad Edition will be a good fit for you if:

1. You’re looking to be entertained

If you enjoy a lot of variety or get easily bored, then the journal might not be for you.

That’s it’s “literally the same thing day after day” is a common negative comment I see written about The Mindful Life Journal.

For example, in this review on Amazon, Jake writes that the journal is repetitive, it’s not challenging, and it doesn’t bring him to a place of contemplation.

The journal didn’t seem to build a place of mindfulness for him.

While I can sort of understand his perspective, I think Jake misunderstands what mindfulness is.

So if you want a lot of variety and a lot of entertainment and don’t want to bring your awareness back to the same things over and over again, please don’t buy the journal.

It’s not for you.

It’s not going to work for you.

You’re not going to like it.

Now that I have that off my chest…

The second reason the journal might not be for you is if:

2. You want lots of space to write

If you’re really into journaling and like lots of space to write, then The Mindful Life Journal is probably not for you.

The second kind of negative feedback I see written about the journal falls into this category. For example, in her review on Amazon, DJTC says, “it is not meant for someone who wants to freestyle their journaling.”

I completely agree. That is not what it’s for.

There isn’t a lot of space. There are only two lines for each item in the journal.

That’s not a bug, it’s a feature.

They’re only two lines to write stuff down because it’s just about the simple act of becoming aware of what is skillful to be aware of, that’s it.

That’s enough.

Awareness, even for a few seconds, is… I don’t want to say that it is sufficient, but it is excellent.

A few seconds can make a substantial difference.

And if you’re able to maintain this practice for a few weeks, that’s when the benefits will really start to kick in.

Studies show that practicing mindfulness, even for just a few weeks, can help you become healthier by improving your sleep, reducing your stress, and boosting your immune system. It can help you become wealthier by helping you create better relationships, making you more resilient to negative feedback, and making you a more confident and creative leader. It can make you wiser by improving your decision-making abilities, boosting your self-compassion, and helping you act more in line with your values.

So if you’re looking for a freeform journaling practice or something that gives you a lot of space to unpack things, then The Mindful Life Journal is not for you.

That’s not what it’s for. That’s not now the tool is intended to be used. If that’s what you’re looking for, there are other products out there that can help you.

And the third reason you shouldn’t buy the iPad edition is if:

3. You don’t have the prerequisites

You need to have a note-taking app on your iPad and an Apple Pencil. That’s what the iPad Edition is designed for. That’s what I know works.

Anything else is iffy.

Which brings me to my last topic of conversation…

If you sign the commitment and try the journal for seven days — it doesn’t have to be seven days in a row; the journal is undated — and if it doesn’t work for you, I will give you your money back.

That is what I call my endless guarantee.

I want to create things that work.

I know that not every tool will work for everybody. Which is why I’ve put in a lot of effort into this presentation to help you self-identify as someone who is going to like using the journal. Or to self-identify as someone who is not going to enjoy the journal.

Why?

Because if it’s not benefiting you, I don’t want your money.

It’s really as simple as that.

But.

My guarantee doesn’t come for free.

The catch is that you have to commit to giving the journal a fair trial. You have to put in an honest effort.

This isn’t a physical product. I’m not warrantying the craftsmanship of a car. What I’m warrantying is the craftsmanship of the curriculum.

What I’m saying is: “I believe that if you use this tool, it will benefit you. I believe it so much, I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.”

What I’m not saying is: “If you don’t know how to use a digital journal on your iPad, or you don’t have an iPad, and you want to use it on some other device, or you just want to kick the tires, I will take away all your risk.”

That’s not what the Endless Guarantee is about.

That’s not the agreement we’re making.

The agreement we’re making is that you’re going to put in some effort. Specifically:

• Seven days

• A few minutes a day

• About an hour of effort overall

I honestly don’t think it’s too much do ask.

Do you?

I’ve put in my effort. I’ve done my homework. I’ve published a product that’s making a positive difference in people’s lives.

Now it’s your turn.

As Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver said, “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”

The labyrinth is fully known. The path has been walked by countless beings before. All that’s left is the effort.

So if you’re willing to give the method a fair trial. If you’re willing to bring your awareness back to your emotions, intentions, and energy again and again and again. If you’re willing to do it in the context of the structure that I’ve created for you. Then give it a try. See if it works for you.

I’ve got your back.

If you put the curriculum into practice and it doesn’t work for you, I’ll give you your money back.

That’s my promise.

With that… I hope you’ll give the journal a try. I hope you have a really great day.

I’m going to end with a form of Metta meditation, and that is to wish loving-kindness for myself, for others, for all beings.

May you be peaceful.
May you be happy.
May you live with ease.

With a deep bow of gratitude,

Justin R. Adams
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

P.S. Take care, be well, and buy the iPad edition of The Mindful Life Journal! Start living a better, more meaningful life today!