Guide to the TIL Journal in Notion

November 3, 2022February 9, 2023 Brittany Bulut4 Comments

My first attempts to start the Today I Learned (TIL) journal began in 2019.
Learning something new and writing it down seemed easy enough to stick to daily. But I’d struggle for the next two years to do just that.
It wasn’t until 2021 that I could make it a sustainable habit, and my system in Notion was a big part of that.
I would create a journal that made the habit easy to keep, the entries organized, and everything easy to review.
This would be the TIL Journal I still use today. And I offer a free template in Notion for anyone to view, duplicate, and make their own. Here, I’ll quickly walk you through the features of that journal template.

In the “Today I Learned Page,” you have three tools at your disposal:

1. TIL Journal
2. The Library
3. The Notebook

TIL Journal

Entries

This is where you’ll be recording what you learn.

I create at least one new entry every day. You’ll want to make them as short and comprehensive as possible to make reviewing them later easier for yourself.
Here’s an example of what one of my entries looks like:

I keep the question displayed, and the answer within the toggle. It’s more effective to review what I’ve learned later on when I have the option to use active recall rather than passively re-reading.

Entry Properties

The options you’ll see at the top of each entry.
I’ll explain how filling each one in benefits you:

Title Line: Keep track of the your daily streak + the date of entry

Topic: Makes your entry more searchable within the table.

Date: Keeps your table organized chronologically

Find in Library: Adds your entry to “The Library” (more on that below)

Need to Review?: Adds your entry to a view dedicated for subjects you’d like to review later, called “Study View”

Last Reviewed: Keeps your entries in the Study View organized by the date they were last reviewed

Backed Up?: Lets you know which entries you’ve backed up outside Notion, if you choose to do so.

View Options

The different options for viewing your entries.

• ALL entries (Gallery and Table): Both of these show every entry you’ve entered into the journal (so long that they’re dated)

• 1 Month View: Shows only entries you’ve added within the last 30 days.

•📝Study View: Shows the entries you’ve checked in the “Need to Review” box. These are sorted by the date they were last reviewed, so be sure to refresh that “Last Reviewed” date in the entries when you study!

• Missing Date: to find entries missing a date.

• Double-Check Date: to check that the dates are entered correctly.

• To Back Up: Displays all the entries you haven’t yet checked as having been backed up

The Library

This is a linked database which will contain all your TIL Journal entries, organized into your custom genres.

When you click on a topic, you’ll see every entry you’ve written for that topic gathered there, organized chronologically.
No sifting through months’ worth of random entries. It’s all neatly stacked here, like an organized bookshelf.

You’ll see in the image below what shows up when I click on the topic “Dutch Vocabulary” in my own Library.

And if one entry belongs to multiple categories, that’s no problem! You can tag it with as many topics as you want, and it will show up in each page.

The Notebook

In the Notebook, you’ll find 3 pages:

• My Knowledge Gaps, where you can record what you’d like to learn and write about in your journal

• Quick Entry Ideas, where you can record topics you know you can learn fast and easily. This is handy if you’d like to make this journal a daily habit, and will need some quick learning options for days you don’t have much time to write.

• Study Notes, where you can take notes for things you’re not quite ready to add to an entry yet.

And now you’re ready to start your own TIL Journal!

What do you want to learn today, and remember tomorrow?

Daily Learning Journal

Remembering Life with the Today I Learned Journal

Featured Brittany Bulut2 Comments

We like to believe that we’ll naturally remember what’s important to us.

“That brilliant idea that came to me in the middle of the night? No need to take notes. I’ll remember it in the morning.”

“That mistake I made again? Surely I’ll remember and know better next time.”

“And I’ll definitely not forget that inspiring, life-changing TED Talk by tomorrow.”

And we later reach into our trusty memory vault for these precious things, only to find that they’ve vanished—slipped through the cracks and gone with the wind.

One day, I reached a point where I’d had enough of this.
In my Today I Learned Journal, I’d been recording facts about the outside world. But I realized I had even more to hold onto…
My own life.

If you’re new to this blog:
The Today I Learned (TIL) Journal is a project I started to learn something new every day, and record it.
It’s a way to keep my memories safe and easily-accessible. This way, if I’m struck with forgetfulness, I have at least one memory from every day stored safely and organized by category in the journal.
I created a free template of the Today I Learned Journal in Notion. Feel free to use it and make it your own!

“Remembering Life”

I was hesitant to add a “Remembering Life” category to my TIL Journal.
After all, it would feel like cheating to write down any mundane thing I experience as something I “learn.”
So I made a rule (more what you’d call “guideline” than an actual rule).
In order for an entry to be worthy of the journal in this subject, it must be:

• Whatever matters to me
• Whatever I don’t/won’t want to forget.

That’s it.
The TIL Journal isn’t just about acquiring and remembering knowledge anymore.
It’s about enriching your life and your memory with what really matters to you.

What Really Matters

Here are some examples of things you might want to include in your own TIL journal:

The Good:
• a hilarious story or joke
• a pleasant moment with a loved one
• a moment you connected with a deep sense of awe, creativity, gratitude, inspiration, etc.
• a moment you were proud of yourself

The Bad
• a mistake
– a moment you realized you messed up, and can admit it.
– could this become a funny story later on?
– could it become a mistake you learn from rather than just be humiliated by it?
• something sad
– like the death of a loved one, and how you responded to it. A moment of deep observation and contemplation. Of remembering the departed and realizing what you will miss about them, and what you’re grateful to have had. Grieving not just emotionally, but thoughtfully.

The Important
• A doctor’s visit, and the advice you received
• A crucial conversation/meeting, and its most important points
• Tracking your journey through a personal struggle
For example, I’ve found it helpful to record my bumps and victories along the road of dealing with my anxiety:
– What triggered a panic attack today?
– What techniques did I use to counter it? Were they helpful or not?
– What did I do despite the terrible fear of doing it? How did I manage it, and how did it go?

The Blurry
• high stress situations
• complicated experiences
• when your ability to concentrate/comprehend/remember is difficult
– “What can I write about my experience today that I might forget or get jumbled up later?”

Simply Nice to Know
You don’t always need to explain your reason for wanting to remember something.
If it matters, it matters.

How to Get Started

There is no rule for how you learn and write something here.
But here’s some questions to ask yourself if you’re feeling stuck on that blank page:

“What did I experience today?”

• “Why did this catch my attention?“
• “What can I learn from this?“
• “How did I respond?“
• “How did I feel in that moment?“
• “How did others act?“
• “What were my thoughts?“
• “What could I have done differently, and why?“
• “Why do I consider this worth remembering? Why is this important to me and my future memory?“

Check Your Lens

While writing these entries, you may find that it’s hard to grasp things you felt you knew.
And in moments that emotions were strong, the details of what happened can still be hazy.

You realize that memory isn’t the only issue here,
but also your attention from that moment.
It’s like taking a video, only to realize later that the lens had been smudged, your video blurred.

This means that we must constantly sharpen a valuable skill:
Pay attention to life
To that precious, present moment.
And pay attention well.

Ask yourself in the moment: “What am I experiencing?”

What do you want to learn today, and remember tomorrow?

Daily Learning Journal

Remembering What I’ve Learned with the TIL Journal

September 26, 2021February 9, 2023 Brittany BulutLeave a comment

Learning something every day has been a beloved habit of mine for the past two years. And although not every single day is worth a revisit, there are many things I’d like to upgrade from “learned once” to “long-term memory”.
Here, I’ll show you a couple things I’ve done to do this with my Today I Learned (TIL) Journal in Notion.

If you’re new to this blog:
The Today I Learned Journal is a project I started to learn something new every day, and record it.
It’s a way to keep my memories safe and easily-accessible. This way, if I’m struck with forgetfulness, I have at least one memory from every day stored safely and organized by category in the journal.
I created a free template of the Today I Learned Journal in Notion. Feel free to use it and make it your own!

How I Remember What I’ve Learned

Active Recall

Write Entries Using the Toggle Tool
This is how I set up most my entries. It’s like using flashcards.
You use the toggle to ask the question, and hide your answer within the toggle. This makes your entries look cleaner and more organized. It also makes it easier to find exactly what you’re looking for if you have a lot of information packed into one page.

Review your Entry by Thinking of the Answer Before Revealing It
This is active recall. Putting in the mental effort to find that answer in your brain, rather than passively reading it. It’s the only way I set up and review my entries, because I’ve found it to be the most effective in improving my memory!

Review Regularly

When you review your entries regularly, you’re giving yourself a better chance to refresh what you’ve learned and actually remember it. This is a vital step (in my experience) to ensure that what you’ve learned makes it to long-term memory. Otherwise, this would be a “write and forget” journal.

Use the “Study View” in Your Today I Learned Journal

If you want to review an entry for later, click on its “Need to Review?” checkbox on the top of the page.

All the entries with this checked box will end up in the “Study View”.

Here, your entries are organized by the date you last reviewed them. So when you revisit an entry, be update the “Last Reviewed” box so it can be sorted to the back of the pile.

Decide on When to Regularly Review Your Entries.
This could be:
• right when you wake up
• before you go to sleep
• while waiting in line or on the bus
• or any moment that you would ordinarily check social media, if you’re looking for a healthier substitute

Gradually, you’ll feel confident in your memory of an entry, and can uncheck the “Need to Review” checkbox, giving you more space in the “Study View” for new entries.

If you have any ideas or questions on how to make the most of the TIL Journal, feel free to share in the comments!

What do you want to learn today, and remember tomorrow?

Daily Learning Journal

How I Keep the Today I Learned Journal a Consistent Habit

Featured Brittany BulutLeave a comment

I have a long history of failed habit attempts. Yet with my Today I Learned Journal, it’s been a consistent habit for over two years now, without missing a single day. The difference between my failed habits and this one? I give myself easy options.

Why Make it Easier?

Setting high standards for daily habits (like “I will study for three hours every day”) is admirable. But no matter how well you plan your life around this goal, life will inevitably screw it up one day.
There will be busy days: Things come up, plans change without warning, and time runs out.
And stressful days: Emergencies to tend to, disasters to live through, and more important things take priority.
There will be tired days: You get sick, lose sleep, and you have no mental, emotional, or physical energy to work with.
And there are the lazy days: When even thinking about the habit is a repulsive, procrastinated effort.
If you don’t consider such days, your complicated, time-consuming habits will have to miss a day. And if you’re someone who thrives on keeping streaks—if missing a single day destroys your motivation—this can mean the death of the habit altogether.

Your life shouldn't be limited by your habits. 
Your habits should be flexible enough to work with you, no matter how crazy life gets.

If I had made it a requirement to study complicated subjects every day, this journal would have joined the habit graveyard with all my other 2021 New Year Resolution attempts. It would have become overwhelming. A dreaded chore, rather than the beloved hobby it is now.

Five Ways to Make Your Entry Easier

1. Keep daily goals small

If your goal is something like “improve vocabulary,” that’s too vague. How much vocabulary is enough to learn for one day? Where do you start? How do you know when enough is enough for one day?
Instead, you can break it down into one clear, easy step: “learn just one new word today.”

When you simplify your day’s learning goal, you keep the habit approachable and easier to maintain.
And when your limits are clear, you can reach that satisfaction of having completed a task rather than wondering “Was this enough?”

Not every day has to be a baby step. But giving yourself the option to keep things small and simple is what keeps the habit going.

2. Ask a friend

There will be days that online searches are intimidating. Too many choices for what to learn and where to learn them.
But you don’t have to research online to learn something new. Sometimes a simple conversation can suffice.
There are plenty of people out there who love talking about what they know.You probably have a friend or family member who would be more than happy to answer any questions you have. Ask them to explain it to you. What do they know that you don’t?

3. Reflect your personal experience

There are some things that only you can teach yourself. And it doesn’t require any tools beyond your ability to think.
Your own perspective is worth understanding. What was your experience today? What mistakes can you learn from? What did you learn about your own life that you want to remember? And if you’re having trouble reflecting, try journaling for a page or two.

Sometimes it's not until we write that we learn what we're thinking.

Being aware and willing to learn from your own experiences is a valuable skill to practice. My post Today I Learned Journal: Remembering Life shows how you can bring your life into this habit of daily learning.

4. Keep a list of entry ideas

In your Today I Learned journal, designate a page for questions you want answered. Write down things you want to learn, and break them down into bite-sized pieces. What’s something that can take only a few minutes of your time?

My favorite way to keep vocabulary-building easy:
I keep a pencil with me as I read a book. When I come across a word I don’t know, I’ll lightly circle it.
And on a day that I’m stuck trying to figure out what there is to learn, I’ll have these unknown words circled and ready for me.
All it takes is a quick look in the dictionary.

5. Keep a list of reliable learning sources

When you find a place that has easy knowledge, save it!
Bookmark web pages. Write down knowledge-packed books. Keep in mind friends or family members who enjoy telling people what and how to do things. Make a playlist on Youtube with short videos that look like easy learning opportunities. Know where you can go for easy information. Even if what you manage to learn and write down doesn’t cover the whole topic, it’s better to walk away having learned something rather than nothing.

Here are some of my examples of easy learning entry sources:

For English vocabulary:
• WordHippo
• Merriam-Webster Dictionary

For learning new words in a foreign language:
• Reverso Context
• Glosbe

Youtube channels for quick learning:
• TED-Ed
• Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
• School of Life

Final Thoughts

I give myself no limit to easy-entry days. Sometimes a week will go by of “only” learning a new word a day.
But it’s because of these baby step days that I’ve managed to keep this practice consistent.
The aim of this journal is steady growth, in whatever pace is right for you.
Keeping it digital is just one more thing that’s helped me to keep this habit easy. If you’d like to start your own, you can check out my free template of the Today I Learned Journal in Notion, where you can duplicate it and make it your own.
If you have your own ideas for how to make daily learning easier, feel free to share in the comments below!

What do you want to learn today, and remember tomorrow?