Heptabase 的 Journal 使用方法，掌握週回顧與月回顧
You can read English version here.
若是剛加入 Heptabase 的人可以從哪裡開始？我認為 Journal 會是熟悉、認識 Heptabase 的最佳方式。
Journal 可以記錄哪些內容？
我很喜歡做筆記，也經常鼓勵身邊的每個人寫作、記錄自己的想法。
寫下來是為了不停止思考，是為了讓進步變得可見，是在不安定中安定自己。
以下是我每日會在 Journal 記錄的內容：
自我審視：每天我都會圍繞在以下這三個問題來撰寫我的 Journal，讓每一天都能聚焦，也讓自己每天有意識的生活。
- 今日有什麼讓你覺得充滿活力？
- 今日有什麼讓你精疲力盡？
- 今日做了哪些行動與你的目標有關？
靈感庫：就是 Inbox 收件箱，想到什麼就可以直接先丟進 Journal。
若你已經知道這個想法是自己想要涉獵的主題，那麼可以直接新增一張卡片；若還不確定的話，我會建議你直接記錄在 Journal，待某天想繼續發展這個想法時，再直接從 Journal 裡將「純文字的想法」轉成一張「卡片」。
如何運用 Journal 做視覺化回顧？
首先，想說明為什麼我想要將每一天攤開在白板裡，平鋪我的 Journal？
我很喜歡觀察自己想法改變的軌跡，但目前在 Heptabase 的 Journal 裡，若只是純文字輸入不建立成卡片的話，是很難被搜尋到的。若要查找幾天前的紀錄時，也必須一個一個點擊日期檢視。
時間一久，那些純文字就只是留在原地，不小心就被遺忘！但若將 Journal 平鋪擺放，我便能藉由卡片的顏色，按照時間順序快速辨別當日的狀況，做視覺化的回顧。
💡 你可以透過此連結免費使用 Heptabase 七天，讓 Heptabase 成為你記錄、回顧生活的小幫手！
實際操作步驟
通常在一個月結束、做完該月回顧後，我會開始建立下個月的白板，並將下個月的 Journal Cards 放進該月的白板：
步驟一
一個白板等於一個月份
直接在 Map 裡按右鍵，點擊 New Whiteboard 新增一個白板（左圖），並更改白板的名字（右圖），例如：九月 2023。
步驟二
按週排序 Journal Cards
在 Map 裡按右鍵點選 Journal，即可以新增今日的 Journal（左圖）。
連續複製六次並貼上，就會有七張 Journal 卡片，將一週的卡片框選後用 Section 包起來（快捷鍵 Cmd+G），並將 Section 的名稱改為週數（右圖）。
複製三份 Section 往下排序，四份 Section 約等於一個月的 Journal Cards 數量。
Journal，就可以新增今日的 Journal。步驟三
修改細節：把重複的日期更改成正確的日期，微調位置。
將上面的步驟完成後，你就完成了繁雜的前置作業，接著就可以開始每天記錄 Journal，並觀察當月白板裡 Journal 卡片慢慢被填滿的成就感。
為什麼我要預先做這件事情？而不是在每一天或一週結束時，再擺放當天的 Jouranl 進去當月的白板，主要有兩個用意：
- 提醒：看當月的白板就有直接在看日曆的感覺，有輸入文字的地方代表這天已過，而沒有任何文字的卡片，就是還沒有開始的日子。有時候一覽看到前半個月都沒有什麼輸入量時，也會提醒自己下半月需要多花時間累積輸入。
- 抵抗惰性：我知道自己肯定會因為忙碌、惰性而懶得每天整理，一次將它們排列、整理好是比較適合我的方法。
增加卡片顏色進行快速回顧
接下來想分享我如何利用卡片的顏色做週回顧、月回顧：
週回顧
每當一個禮拜結束，我會點進當月白板，從三個視角檢視當週：
- 過去：看看自己這一週做了哪些事情？
- 現在：有沒有哪些想法可以開始發展成卡片？
- 未來：核對自己想要前進的方向，適時調整
第二步，我會開始添加卡片的顏色，並關注自己的情緒：
- 藍色：充滿想法的一天
- 橘色：心情愉快的一天
- 灰色：情緒低落的一天
長期下來就可以發現自己容易被什麼影響？例如我在四月份看到灰色的部份非常多，發現是因為離職焦慮帶來的情緒低落（灰色卡片）。也可以透過顏色的區別，看見自己在哪天、哪些月份特別文思泉湧（藍色卡片）。
月回顧
除了每一天的三個自省問題，在每個月的最後一天會再有一些問題，讓我去回顧整個月的狀況。並做以下兩件事情：
- 再次查看是否有需要發展成卡片的想法？
- 寫該月的回顧卡片，以後直接看卡片就知道自己整個月做些什麼？萌生哪些想法？
若你對以上這樣的內容有興趣或有其他疑問，都歡迎留言告訴我！（備註：我都是使用 Heptabase 網頁版，以上畫面截圖、字體會與電腦版稍有不同）
💡 你可以透過此連結免費使用 Heptabase 七天，讓 Heptabase 成為你記錄、回顧生活的小幫手！
透過回顧看見人生轉捩點
為什麼我們需要回顧？
十年前有一個中文部落格叫做「Turning Points」，由幾位大學生輪流發表自己寫的成長文章，沒有過多華麗的詞藻堆砌，讀起來真實有感。
我將最喜歡的一篇存在筆記軟體，只要遇到低潮時，我就會反覆閱讀，並想到當初儲存這篇文章時的心情，跨時空連結到當初青澀、反社會化的自己。
後來，我發現閱讀自己很久以前寫的文字，也具有這樣的魔幻力量，並逐步看見自己的信念在筆記之間成形。
有時我覺得自己沒有改變，但透過每一次的回望，發現其實已經走了很遠。
看見自己從某一刻開始，變得可以勇敢表達自己的想法；看見探索未知的自己，在尚未成功的日子裡，拾起稍有裂痕的心重新開始。
在生命旅程裡，一點一滴都是持續的成長累積，都是在看見自己。
How to use Heptabase’s Journal? Getting the hang of weekly and monthly reflections.
If you are new user of Heptabase, starting with the Journal is the best way to become familiar with and learn about Heptabase.
What can be recorded in the Journal?
I love taking notes and often encourage everyone around me to write and record their thoughts.
Writing is a way to keep thinking, to make progress visible, and to find stability in uncertainty.
Here’s what I record in my Journal each day:
Self-reflection: Every day, I center my Journal around these three questions to maintain focus and lead a conscious life:
- What energized you today?
- What left you feeling drained today?
- What actions did you take today related to your goals?
Inspiration Vault: It’s like an inbox. You can jot down any ideas directly into the Journal.
If you already know that the idea is a topic you want to explore, you can create a new card directly. If you’re not sure, I would suggest recording it in the Journal. When you want to develop the idea further someday, you can easily convert the “plain text” from the Journal into a “card”.
How to use the Journal for visual retrospectives?
First, let me explain why I want to spread out each day on a whiteboard and lay out my Journal?
I really enjoy observing the trajectory of my changing thoughts. However, in the Heptabase Journal, if you only input plain text without creating cards, it’s challenging to search for entries. When you want to check records from several days ago, you have to click through the dates one by one.
Over time, those plain text entries remain in place and can be easily forgotten! But by spreading out the Journal, I can quickly discern the day’s conditions in chronological order using the colors of the cards, making for a visual retrospective.
How to do?
Typically, at the end of a month, after completing the monthly review, I start creating a whiteboard for the next month and place the Journal Cards for that month inside it:
Step 1
One whiteboard = one month
Right-click in the Map, click New Whiteboard to create a new whiteboard (left image), and change the whiteboard’s name (right image), for example: September 2023.
Step 2
Sort Journal Cards by weeks.
Right-click in the Map, select Journal to create a new Journal entry for today (left image).
Duplicate and paste it six times to have seven Journal cards. Group them into a Section by selecting them (shortcut Cmd+G). Rename the Section to indicate the week (right image).
Repeat this process three times, and you will have the number of Journal cards for one month.
Journal to create a new Journal entry for todayStep 3
Adjust details: Change repeated dates to the correct dates and fine-tune their positions.
After completing these steps, you’ve done the initial setup.
Now you can start recording your Journal every day and watch as the Journal cards gradually fill up on the monthly whiteboard, giving you a sense of accomplishment.
Why do I do this in advance instead of placing the day’s Journal into the monthly whiteboard at the end of each day or week? There are two main reasons:
Reminder: Looking at the monthly whiteboard is like looking at a calendar. Places where you’ve entered text indicate days that have passed, and cards with no text represent days yet to come.
Sometimes, seeing that the first half of the month has little input reminds me to spend more time inputting knowledge or reading more books by the end of the month.
Resistance to inertia: I know I might be too busy or lazy to organize daily. It’s more suitable for me to arrange them all at once.
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Adding card colors for quick reviews
Next, I’d like to share how I use card colors for weekly and monthly reviews:
Weekly Review
At the end of each week, I go into the monthly whiteboard and review the week from three perspectives:
- Past: What did I do this week?
- Present: Are there any ideas I can start developing into cards?
- Future: Checking the direction I want to move in and making adjustments as needed.
In the second step, I start adding colors to the cards and focus on my emotions:
- Blue Cards: A day filled with ideas.
- Orange Cards: A cheerful day.
- Grey Cards: A day with low spirits.
Over time, I can see what easily affects me.
For example, I noticed a lot of gray cards in April, I realized it’s due to the emotional lows brought on by job-related anxiety (gray cards). By distinguishing colors, I can see which days and months are particularly productive (blue cards).
Monthly Review
In addition to the three self-reflection questions for each day, at the end of each month, I have a few more questions to review the overall month’s condition. I also do two things:
- Check if there are any ideas that need to be developed into cards.
- Write a review card for the month, so I can see what I did during the entire month and any new ideas that emerged.
Seeing Life Turning Points through Reflection
Why do we need reflection?
Ten years ago, there was a Chinese blog called “Turning Points,” where several university students took turns publishing their growth articles. There were no extravagant words, and it felt genuinely heartfelt to read.
I saved my favorite article in a note-taking app. Whenever I hit a low point, I would repeatedly read it and think about the emotions I had when I saved that article. It connected me across time and space to my youthful, anti-social self.
Later, I discovered that reading my own writings from a long time ago also had this magical power. I gradually saw my beliefs taking shape among the notes.
Sometimes, I feel like I haven’t changed, but through each retrospective, I realize I’ve come a long way.
Every small step in life is continuous growth and accumulation. It’s all about seeing yourself.
If you’re interested in this content or have any other questions, please feel free to leave a comment! (Note: I use the web version of Heptabase; the screenshots and fonts may differ slightly from the desktop version.)
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How to visualize your notes in Heptabase 👇
