Starting the Monk Manual
Short version
The Monk Manual is a powerful tool for growth, but it can look overwhelming at first glance. To get started, remember these three things:
No rule says you have to fill in every line or space.
It’s enough to identify one priority and the task/s to work on it.
If you miss a day, don’t worry about it. Make planning a priority tomorrow.
If you’re new to planning, just start with the little notebook that comes with the Monk Manual. Write down what you most want to do and a few actions you could take to start making it happen.
Pick a day to do them, and do them. Reflect on what happened. What worked, and what didn’t? Jot it down in the notebook.
Then repeat: Think about what you most want to do and the next steps you could take. Pick a day to do them, and do them. Reflect on what happened. What worked, and what didn’t? Jot it down in the notebook.
Get the idea?
Let’s say you spend 5 minutes a day with the little notebook. After only a week, you’ll probably have better ideas about what you most want to do and how to do it.
You may naturally start thinking about other categories in the Monk Manual, like what you’re grateful for and have to look forward to or what small change you can make to improve tomorrow.
If you use the notebook to get a “running start,” it’s easier to jump into the Monk Manual. Try writing “what you most want to do” as a few priorities for the upcoming month (or the remainder of this one). Or maybe there’s something you’d like to do that would take a week or so. Make it a weekly priority. Finally, write the next steps as tasks for the upcoming week. Figure out which days you’ll do them. In the daily pages section of the Monk Manual, write the dates, the priorities, and the task/s. Reflect on how it went as the week progresses.
Congratulations! You just started using the Monk Manual.