At the beginning of the year, I wrote The First 13 Weeks which summarized how I usually set up the first 13 weeks of the year. I am using a Recurring Journal that I designed using Page-o-Mat to run my daily tasks and help me reflect on the year as it progresses. We are almost at the end of the second 13 weeks of the year, so I wanted to give an update.

I build my schedule around weeks, which is why I use 13 week periods instead of months or quarters. They do line up pretty well since 4×13 is 52 and 52×7 is 364. In 2023, I treated Jan 1 as special day, and started the recurring part of the journal on Jan 2, which was a Monday.

The first two pages of the journal show Mondays Jan 2, April, 3, July 3, and October 2, which are exactly 13 weeks apart. In the first 13 weeks, I filled out the top-left quadrant of each page, and this “quarter” I am working on the bottom left of each page. But I can see the day exactly 13 weeks ago. I take time to reflect on that day and notice progress. Since the days that are shown together are always the same day of the week, they are usually comparable.

Doing this motivates me to journal because I know that I will be revisiting each day. There is an empty space waiting to be filled, and I don’t want to come back in a few months and see it still empty.

I have been journaling for many years, but most years there are gaps, usually in the late summer. I seem to have the most energy in the beginning and end of the year and drop journalling for a bit around August. This may yet happen in the 3rd 13 weeks. I’ll check in then to see how it’s going.