Notes on the V.O.M.I.T System

The V.O.M.I.T. System by @struthless is a method of journaling. It combines multiple exercices for different needs and goals to make journaling clear.

The idea is that journaling is like vomiting, it makes you feel better after.

Obviously, each letter stands for one reason for journaling: Vent, Obligations, Mindset, Ideate and Trajectory

Vent

« Write what makes you angry.»

- Po Bronson

Journaling to Vent is a good way to start a «journaling session».

Think of something that makes you mad.

The idea is not to try and write a rant, it's more of a way to start off writing. It's to get you started.

This exercice also has a mind dump effect. It's where the action of putting ideas and thoughts outside of your minde aka paper or (meh) computer takes you from chaotic to fixed (momentarily).

@struthless calles it an> « if you want a kitten ask for a horse » indexing effect.

« I don't know what I think until I write it.»

- Someone

Put the mess on paper. Paper is finite. Paper is matter you kinda shape. There is this phenomena where matter transforms you as you transform it (Tim Ingold).

Turn the light on in a dark room to look for your keys.

Obligation

Stop your obligations from being « rogue intrusive thoughts that just bug us». And also get those obligations DONE.

We are mind-dumping our responsibilities aka to-do list. Our brain should be used to solve problems, not to store them.

To free up the BRAIN, put those obligations on paper !

Note: check out Thiago Forte's concept of second brain taking your thoughts and putting them somewhere else.

Note 2: READ Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain.

Actionnable:

  1. Obligation Dump

    → Anything that could remotely be considered an obligation. Everything from the mundane to the grandiose

  2. Organize

    → split into broad categories aka Buckets

  3. Prioritise

    → Guiding Question: one principle or question to run things by to easily discriminate the importance of the task. ex:

    « what one thing on this list, if done, would make everything else easier ? »

    Tim Ferris

  4. Bare Minimum & Killing It

Write the to-do list. You can divide into

→ a Bare Minimum list, for when you are not at your best, or if life is curve-balling you, and

→ a Killing It list, for when you have energy to spare.

The Bare Minimum is also guilt-diffusing and builds courage and motivation because it's easy to do. Baby steps !!!→

Mindset

2 meanings of mindset:

  • the operating system that your brain computer runs.
    • tech metaphor that I don't like, though I can't tell why just yet...
  • something you can train

train your mindset: 6 journaling techniques

Reframing

how is this the best thing that has ever happened to me ?

Gets you thinking.

Possibility

Check out « Because ...» statements. It's a way of gathering evidence that we are whatever the thing that we say we want to be ???

DUnno what that means

oh wait, :

tangible bank of evidence.

Identity statement: « I am healthy »

BECAUSE:

list 3 things from your day that support that statement

  • I went for a walk
  • I ate vegetables
  • I went to bed early

etc.. if more

Effects:

  • positive because you see the evidence. That's the thing that causes change
  • makes you create evidence and foster actions and habits that benefit you.
  • it's a great reality check. You cannot grow taller biologically when you are old.

Inversion

The idea is to practice a reaction to a problem in everyday life: look for solution, but also the opposite of a solution.

The goal is to take open-ended problems and turn them into really simple things to do.

When stuck on a question, ask the opposite. Inverting it to make the answer(s) clearer.

ex : How can I write more ? well, how can I write less ?

Perspective

« you know that whole phenomenon that other people's problems are easier to solve than your own like you know when your friend has this conundrum and they're like what do I do what do I do and everyone's like obviously you do this you just do this man but they still deliberate and it's not as clear as it is to everybody else and it makes sense obviously you know they're the ones who actually have to live it they're the ones with all the Nuance whereas the people giving the advice have the luxury of not getting caught in the details and perspective and that is what we can practice giving ourselves perspective »

Journaling prompt:

If you were a friend who was giving YOU advice on this situation right now (and you really really wanted YOU to succeed), what advice would you give ?

« We are practicticing looking outside ourselves in order to help ourselves.»

Discipline

meta-tool: not a prompt, but the act of journaling. See I replaced Social Media with Micro-Journalling for 1 Year - @struthless

«switching from something that pacifies your brain to something that gets you to actively reflect on what your brain's doing»

Gratitude

Prompt: What are three things you are gratiful for today ?

EXTRA:

  1. Something mun date,
  2. something that happened by chance,
  3. something that you made happen.

Ideate

Ideate: The skill of having ideas. It's not innate, it's a muscle you can work for it to become easier and maybe «better»

I. Try and come up with 30 answers to the problem you are solving, in 5 minutes.

« if you want a kitten ask for a horse »

DON'T EDIT THE LIST UNTIL IT'S OVER

Quantity over quality.

II. How would ******* solve this problem ?

III. Open the loop

If you open the loop, our brain wants to close the loop.

Write down the question somewhere, and your brain will want to close the loop.

Write the question down before going to bed, sleep, and answer the question when you wake up.

open > sleep > close

Litterally, SLEEP ON IT

Trajectory

two different techniques, one for the macro and one for the micro

Direction

Over a time periode, write down the goal:

Goal: ****

and you ask whether you're moving away or toward the goal.

actions that prevent it & actions that enable it.

Write the evidence for both !

ANd then make a plan inspired by both lists.

DAY-TO-DAY

Make the hidden metrics visible

The Metric Society: On the Quantification of the Social - Steffen Mau

  1. What excited me today ?
  2. What drained me of energy ?
  3. What did I learn ?

Journaling those questions over a long periode of time would yield overarching tendencies that could be enlighting.

Here is a web page hosted by someone else with screen shots from the video.

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