Roughly two decades ago I came across the concept of "YayMe.txt".

This fella described how he keeps a file on his computer, and everyday when something nice happens he'll open up that text file and write down the date with whatever the nice thing was.

It might be that he rode his bike to work that day instead of driving the car. Or a client who sent a nice email to show their appreciation. He just keeps adding to the YayMe.txt file, so that over time it becomes a compendium of good things that have happened in his life. Mostly, things that reflect on himself.

Because we have no trouble reminding ourselves that we are too old, or too fat, or too bald, or too slow, or lack skills, or lack confidence, or whatever. We do this all day every day without even trying. YayMe.txt is a way to try and remember that there are good things in your world, and that for the most part you are one of those good things.

Two decades later I have a file in my notepad titled "YayMe.txt", where I drop screenshots of those emails and posts and whatever else that marks today as a good day. I start a new one each year, because the note file gets very full.

#YayMeDotText
@ewen This is so wonderful and it's incredible that you have kept it going so long. I suggest a similar thing to early career folks at work so they have meaningful things to include in their self-evaluations (while rarely remembering myself). I should adopt this for myself. Thanks for always sharing great perspective and your overall positive (and authentic) vibe.
@shom

🤍

@ewen @shom

Oh man, you reminded me that I kept a text file of a work journal. I had so much busy work in my late twenties and the feeling that I was never doing anything. Once I began to fill up the work journal with every small productive thing I began to feel better.

We do so much and have few if any tangible items to show for our accomplishments. On some weeks the text file was my only tangible that outlined the bank runs, the phone calls, and the hours learning a database program.

@MyWoolyMastadon @shom

A few folks have commented recently that half the value of keeping a "to do list" is seeing all the things you ticked off it :) Paper lists are great for that. Digital lists we tend to delete the done things, and just stare at the not-done things! Oops :)

@ewen @shom

I'd call what I did more of an accomplishment list. Nothing got deleted and it wasn't a tick list of what needed to be done. It only tracked what I did that was productive no matter how small. Twenty minutes to fix the fax, calls to clients, research into advertising graphics, etc.

The top most item was the current day and what was last done.

Yes. A paper journal of some sort is more useful in the long run.

@shom
I used to keep what I called a "To Do List".
It was a Wordperfect document, an outline.
Top level was project. Next level was current task. Next level down was completed tasks, with levels below each for notes, research, "how I did this", etc.
WP had the ability to collapse outline levels selectively (unlike Word 😝), so it could be printed to fit in a pocket planner.
It was really a To Do archive holding everything, including the good things. 😀
@ewen

I have that terrible habit of removing things from the ToDo list instead of ticking them off. They leave my consciousness, and so does the reminder that I completed a task!

But my brain needs to declutter to survive.

@ewen I do a weekly page for work (OneNote since it's shared) and use the TODO check boxes and only bring forward things that didn't get done. If I notice I'm bringing the same thing forward week after week, then I just leave it behind one Monday. It's still there if I need it but it's clearly not important and now it's not cluttering my brain. My poor brain doesn't need more challenges!
@dancingtreefrog
@ewen @shom @dancingtreefrog was just about to say this. Years ago, when I was still trying to use to-do apps (forget which one, I’d tried so many), I recall the sinking feeling I had when I completed some task and clicked it as completed, and it would just disappear. It felt like it was robbing me of the very thing I craved most, the feeling that I’d accomplished something that I could feel good about. Instead, I just saw more things that I still had to do. I don’t use to-do apps anymore.
@dancingtreefrog
I keep notes like that for my personal projects typically with tags instead of hierarchy, all in plain text so I'm not locked in. I really like outline folding like you described and I like it most in Emacs Org-mode, but Word does have that feature now (since office 2007 maybe). You have to use their headings and expand/collapse from the navigation pane
@ewen
@ewen I love this approach! I do this old-school with a "gratitude jar" and post-it notes, then at the end of the year I take them all out and rediscover / reflect on all those awesome things that happened.
@killyourfm

Sometimes we even need to practice gratitude towards ourselves :)

@ewen

I used to keep a "DONE" list, as well as a todo list.

I had a bad habit of moving on to the next problem, and forgetting what I achieved.

I'd review it briefly at the start and end of each day.

@Nick_Stevens_graphics

That is excellent advice. I routinely make that mistake of just deleting stuff from the to-do list, instead of basking in the glory of "oh wow we got some shit some today didn't we!"

Definitely a good idea. I was introduced to the idea of a “Skite file” by Prof Chris Wild and have kept up for nearly two decades.

It’s especially good during annual reviews or contract negotiations.

@ewen

@futuresprog @ewen many years ago I wrote an app called The Happiness App. It was my first attempt at writing a mobile app using the Xamarin framework. Folks it was not well written. The app was effectively a gratitude diary, with a reminder to capture 3 things daily that you are grateful for. During testing I would often write fairly banal things as gap fillers. Sometimes there would be things that were wonderful and it really made me aware of some of the wonderful ephemera in our daily lives that we notice at the time but which are then forgotten. The app had a "favourites" function and each day it would pop up one of those favourites as a notification. One day the app ground to a halt. I was reading all the data instead of paging it and the ipod touch couldn't handle it. I kept meaning to rewrite the app to address the shortcomings and I often thought about the little database containing those favourite entries. Then one day my son needed more space for music so he deleted the app, along with the data, and when I think about it now I still feel a great sense of loss. The Happiness App 2.0 is currently in development.
@zebratale
@futuresprog

... I am remembering a world where "640kb of memory is all you'll ever need"!

Part of the charm of "yayme.txt" is the idea of editing a plain text file under DOS or Linux, and keeping it on the desktop. It's so simple. It's so low tech. It's just a pile of thoughts tapped on a clunky keyboard.

Joy.
@ewen @futuresprog there’s no doubt a file based option is effective as is a physical notebook. FWIW I developed the app in response to reading Richard Wiseman’s book 59 Seconds.

59 Seconds was a very interesting book and I follow a few of those ideas still.

My collection uses a lot of screenshots to snap (with context) various items of praise as they’re not often verbal.

@zebratale

@zebratale @futuresprog

I don't know the book. I am guessing the title is a little misleading as it takes longer than 59 to finish reading it?

:)
@ewen @futuresprog t
"Most people would like to be more creative, more persuasive and more attractive. For years, gurus and 'life coaches' have urged people to improve their lives by changing the way they think and behave, but scientific research has revealed that many of their techniques, from group brainstorming to visualization, are ineffective. Fortunately, psychologist Richard Wiseman is on hand to provide fast-acting, myth-busting scientific answers to a huge range of everyday problems. From job-hunting to relationships, and from parenting to self-esteem, personal and professional success may be less than a minute away ...* Find out why putting a pencil between your teeth instantly makes you feel happier * Discover why even thinking about going to the gym can help you keep in shape * Learn how putting just one thing in your wallet will improve the chance of it being returned if lost"
https://bookhub.co.nz/p/59-seconds-how-psychology-can-improve-your-life-in-less-than-a-minute
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@zebratale @futuresprog

Sounds like a good read.
@ewen yeah I think I loaned out my copy so I’ve just bought an epub version
@futuresprog

I am self employed, so it's hard to fool myself at those KPI meetings even though my boss is an idiot!
@ewen just don’t tell that to techbros, they’ll turn it into a protocol/social media and enshittify it.
@ewen Thank you for sharing this. I really should start this habit and I love the idea of doing one for each year. I'll just create a Yay Me folder in my dropbox and start doing this today because this is so tru. It is easy to negative self talk, it is a lot harder to talk ourselves up and we really should do more of the latter than the former.
@blindbat84

That's a cool way to do it, as a Dropbox folder. The file would have a timestamp and that ensures the chronology is still retained. I like it :)
@ewen It also means I'll never lose it hopefully. One Drive or Google Drive would also work, but I prefer Dropbox functionality myself. I started with Friday because I actually got an appreciation email from my boss, which was actually very needed that day. I've added its text to this file. Thank you again for this.
@ewen I have the same kind of doc but I call it "BragMe.doc" :)

@ewen Something similar:

I recommend people with Todo lists not to delete done tasks but to collect them in a "done" list.

The Todo list is never ending and large, but most people will notice their "Done" lists growing even larger and faster.

Helps against the feeling of being overwhelmed.

@ewen @janeishly I worked with a retired USAF pilot. He told me that when he was in the service, he kept a calendar. Each day, he'd ask himself, "If every day in the USAF was like today, would I stay in?" And every day, he'd write "NO" on the calendar. Then, at the end of each month, he'd ask, "If every month in the USAF was like this month, would I stay in?" And every month, he'd write "YES" on the calendar. I took that as a life lesson. Some people make your life better.