The Journal System That Upgrades Your Brain, Mood & Business

Two months away from my journal reminded me why this simple practice is my highest-ROI biohack.

Sep 25, 2025

Hey everyone,

I doubled down on my journaling habit after a heart opening conversation with the amazing Dr. Tanmeet Sethi (lifelong learner, TED speaker, mental-health advocate).

The benefits she talked about blew my mind:

Better emotional states
Steadier serotonin and dopamine release
More empathy and gratitude
Less anxiety
And—maybe the best part—more ideas.

When I journal—whether it’s my morning “get-to-do” list or a wild brain dump for the blog—I understand myself better. My habits make more sense. I become more present and compassionate. And my work gets sharper.

Below is my exact journaling setup. Steal it, tweak it, make it yours.

Brain Dump

The brain dump is the GOAT.

Set a timer (15 minutes) and write whatever comes to mind. No editing. No judging. Just empty the head onto a blank page and see where it goes.

This unlocks creativity you didn’t know was there, connects ideas that used to feel broken, and clears emotional static so you can reset.

I do a quick brain dump every morning to process my emotions, map out what needs to get done, and jot down fun ideas—like planning a surf trip to California.

Then at the end of the week, I’ll go longer—about 30 minutes—to reflect on goals, dream a little, review experiments, and plot out the next biohacks I want to try. Try it out today, you won’t regret it.

Gratitude Journal

Simple. Powerful.

Gratitude flips your neurochemistry toward calm and possibility.

I do 5–10 lines right after the brain dump—starting small (the shoes on my feet, the shirt on my skin) and sometimes going deep (thanking my ancestors… that’s only if I took too many nootropics 😉).

You finish feeling better. And when you feel better, you do better.

Mental Frameworks

One of my best friends, Victor, taught me this.

We grab coffee at 7 AM, pull out paper, and sketch frameworks—circles, arrows, lines—the map behind the work.

For me: the main sections I want to cover → subsections → article ideas → resources for each.

This turns scattered thoughts into systems you can actually execute—whether for your business, your week, or a family plan.

The “Get-to-Do” List

One random weekday I wrote “get-to-do list” instead of “to-do list,” and it stuck.

It reframes everything.

Most of the world would love the chance to handle our “chores” and stressors. Seeing your tasks as privileges injects meaning, energy, and compassion into every action.

Question for you, over your ridiculously strong espresso: What do you get to do today?

The Idea Bank

This is the vault. I keep my Idea Bank open while I work and capture epiphanies the second they land—so my brain can return to the task.

Later, I flip through, connect dots, and turn the best sparks into posts, projects, products.

Whether you’re getting healthy, launching something, or both—the Idea Bank becomes your personal R&D lab.

Conclusion

Put these together and you’ve got a mental biohack that helps you know yourself, zoom out for perspective, boost feel-good neurotransmitters, generate better ideas, and pour more purpose into your work.

It’s one of the most effective practices I’ve ever adopted—and I’m in it for life.

Action plan: grab a journal you love, slap a few fun stickers on it, and set up these sections: Brain Dump, Gratitude, Mental Frameworks, Get-to-Do, Idea Bank.

Start tomorrow morning. Watch the magic unfold.

Let’s do this—one page at a time.

TL;DR

Journaling is my highest-ROI habit. My system: 15-minute brain dump, 5–10 lines of gratitude, a quick framework sketch for projects, a “get-to-do” reframe, and an always-open Idea Bank.

More calm, more ideas, better work.

How did it go? Where are you compared to what you expected? What could we improve?

I’m grateful to my partners who make the biohacks I actually use daily—here’s what I love most:

Biohack With Jack

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?