My Journal^© Frequently Asked Questions

It is a web-based tool which combines the characteristics and functions of an action plan with those of a personal intellectual journal. Its primary purpose is to help individuals achieve their highest potential.

The primary advantage of a web-based tool is that your information can be accessed at any time, any place.  For example, when traveling a user can reflect upon/refine actions to be taken for improvement! In addition, powerful supporting applications can be server-based and fully accessible from devices such as PDAs, cellular phones and other handheld devices.

Individual users can retrieve data base information for other uses. Because the tool supports html inputs, it can support a full spectrum of graphical applications for  presentations (e.g., backup for a sales presentation). See additional discussion below.

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Uses of My Journal^©

Action Plan: We use Action Plans to assist in translating what is learned into continuing results in the workplace/our personal lives. The key is to record some specific actions that will be taken as a result of a learning experience -- and then follow-up. 

The best method for follow-up is to seek the support of others. For example, one may wish to review session commitments with a supervisor to "enlist" support in follow-up (a technique that also can be used for online sessions). With My Journal© we augment such "others" involvement through self-generated email reminders.  

In addition, My Journal© can be used to integrate insights and associated actions stimulated by any form of learning such as professional journals, forums, entertainment and general social interaction. The key is to transcribe insights (initially recorded in any convenient manner) into My Journal© for future reference.*

Intellectual Journal: Keeping a journal of what you learn is a proven method of self-improvement. Traditionally such journals recording thinking sequentially. My Journal© can serve the same function. (For example,  make your journal entries using the ID of "journal" and periodically print the "journal" display.) The keywords feature facilitates cross referencing your journal entries with other learning insights. 

Other uses: There are any number of other applications. For example, think of the uses for IDs such as "Books to read," "Places to go," etc. It also can be used as a powerful indexing and data recovery tool. Here's how: 

Use your IDs for your categories and the drop down lists for sub-elements (these lists and the keywords can be edited to suit you own needs). Then start adding the inputs (including graphics and links, if you desire), ID and keyword coding each submission. Then using the "Thoughts All" view, display, copy and paste the results into your word processing, publisher or Adobe Acrobat program and edit. This now gives you a document ready for printing, electric transmission or publishing over the web.

Finally, My Journal© inserts (example here) are an economical  way to store and efficiently reference information.

*In The Seekers Daniel Boorstin observes that it is not surprising that none of Socrates writings survived (we must thank his student Plato for recording them) because he believed that only what was in the mind (the living word) was the source of knowledge. (p. 36) In other words, for information to be useful (knowledge) it must be accessible to the user. A corollary would be the information overload today. My Journal© is intended to be a tool which facilitates, in a cumulative manner, accessing, reviewing and correlating personal insights .