Evolve journal review: Can this daily planner and gratitude journal really improve my life in 6 months?
- Josie Shillabeer
- May 19
- 10 min read
Updated: Jul 20
Evolve journal a daily planner and gratitude journal promises a better life in 6 months or your money back. Did it improve my health, wealth, relationships and freedom?
Over the next few years I have a number of dreams, to finish my self-guided online nutrition course, increase my HRV (i.e. reduce stress), move into my first home, get married, have children and travel; all while growing The Health Puzzle and spending time with friends and family.
When Evolve journey approached me about reviewing 'The Evolve Journal' V2.3 a daily planner and gratitude journal, I jumped at the chance. I love the feel of a physical journal, and their daily pages looked quick and easy to complete. In this article you can learn if the Evolve journal really can help to improve my life in 6 months and help me towards fulfilling my dreams.
Ordering my journal
It was super easy to order my journal, aside from having to decide on what colour I was going to choose. There are six colours to choose from: teal, black, cream, peach, green and blue. I opted for the green Evolve journal, a colour associated with growth, nature and wealth.
I have been super impressed with Evolve journey's customer support so far. They have been incredibly fast at replying and very helpful.
First thoughts of the Evolve journal & pen
My Evolve journal arrived within just a few days of making an order. The quality of the journal was better than I expected. Its cover is a lovely shade of green, made very well; it feels like it will easily handle 6 months of regular use. The paper quality is impressive, the thick (100gsm) and smooth pages are lovely to write on and a ballpoint pen does not bleed through the page.
The print quality of the Evolve journal is good, with clear text that is easy to read. While some more colour on the pages would have been nice, a black and white journal is simple and non-distracting.
The addition of a colour matching ribbon to be used as a page marker is a welcome addition, making it easy to find your page.
The only thing so far that lets this product down is the free Evolve gold pen that you can purchase separately for £14.99. It looked expensive in the packaging but it was terrible to use. It is very thin and lightweight, making it feel cheap, and the ink does not flow out easily, meaning I had to go back over my writing. I tried to use the pen to write in my journal to review it but quickly switched to an alternative pen as it was making a mess of my new journal. The pen is refillable, so you can purchase refills on Amazon with Blue or Black ink, in packs of 10 for around £6. While I have not tested these myself, they have an Amazon score of 4.3, and this also enables you to change the pen colour if you prefer writing with blue ink.
Completing the introductory section and discovery course
There are 32 pages at the start of the journal. It recommended that you read before filling in the first journalling page. There is an introduction to the Evolve journal founders Sam and Freddie, an introduction to the importance of journalling and the discovery course. It took me just under two hours to read the first section of the book and be ready to fill in the first journal day. This was an hour longer than Evolve journey state, so expect it to take longer, especially if you are a slower reader.
There were some great quotes in the introductory pages of the journal that I had not heard of before. Reading powerful quotes can be such a great way to make you feel empowered, and these really did not disappoint.
The Evolve journal aims to help you build strong foundations of the four key pillars to happiness:
Health: Physical and mental
Wealth: Not money, but the ability to find satisfaction in the present moment and be content with what you already have.
Relationships: Having a community of people around you that you treat with kindness, respect, and fairness.
Freedom: The ability to choose how and where you live and work.
There are five activities for you to complete, some longer than others, that get you to think about your short-term and long-term goals. For example, a 5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20 and 20-25 year bucket list. I found it easy to complete 5-10 years, but after this I had to dig deep to come up with my long-term bucket list ideas. I really enjoyed the write about your ideal day activities, it defiantly helped me to work out what I want my life to be and feel like.
The last part of the introductory section takes you through each section of the daily journal pages. This is a must before making a start, as the daily journal page sections are difficult to work out how to fill in on first impressions. After reading these instructional pages I now feel confident in how to fill them out quickly and effectively each day. There are 9 sections to fill in, plus the date on each page. They can be filled in at anytime of the day, but below is the recommended schedule from what I took from the instructions.
The night before, it recommends that you complete:
Eat the frog
Task list (tick as you complete them the following day)
In the morning, it recommends that you complete:
Why i'm smiling
Your domino
In the evening, it recommends that you complete:
What i'm pondering
Daily highlight
Advice for future you
It does not matter when you completed:
Habits (tick as you complete them)
Daily questions
Having read the Evolve journal introductory pages and discovery course, I now feel excited and ready to complete the daily pages.
Evolve journal review: Three months
Evolve journal review – Daily pages
What surprised me most about the Evolve journal is just how quick it is to fill in, and yet you get so much out of it. After a few weeks of using the journal I found my personalised Evolve journal routine. Either at the end of my working day or just before bed I opened my journal and began to fill in the page for the following day. By filling in the date, task list, eat the frog, my domino and habit tracker it set me up ready for the following morning. When I awoke or sat at my desk I could look and see what I had pre-planned for the day—I found this helped to reduce decision fatigue. At this time I also completed the 'Why I'm smiling' section, this is a morning gratitude activity and it always gave me a little warm glow—a nice way to start the day.
Throughout the day I would then cross off or tick each task and habit as I completed them. By checking in a few times a day with the journal to review my 'eat the frog', task list and habit tracking reminder it kept everything that was important in the forfront of my mind. When I went to tick of a task, I could see my habit reminder 'to drink more water', and as such found that I was actively drinking more. Before having the Evolve journal I would have the best intentions to implement good habits but my task list always took priority. Now my task list helps to remind me of the habits I want to introduce, keeping me on track not only in terms of productivity but also health and wellbeing.
At the end of my working day or just before bed, I would review my daily page. Did I achieve all of my tasks? Did I eat my frog? Did I complete all of my habits? This was a powerful activity, only taking a few minutes, that I would not have done without this journal. It was powerful because it got me to check in every day before planning out the following day’s page to see what I had achieved or not completed. I could be proud of what I had ticked off; it was a real pat on the back when I looked down at the journal and I had completed my ‘eat the frog’ or actually drink lots of water.
For the things I had not completed, I took the time to reflect on why I had not completed them. For me, this was often because I had set an unrealistic number of tasks for me to complete or I had become too obsessed with one particular activity and not taken enough breaks. Rather than doing the same thing all over again the following day, as I had not taken the time out to reflect and make myself aware of this, I could actually sit back and come up with a plan to make sure it did not happen again. For example, if I were not drinking enough water or taking enough breaks, then I would set an alarm at certain times of the day to make sure that I did.
Since having the Evolve journal, I have become much better at taking breaks during the day, drinking more water and handpicking tasks that are not only the most important, but are actually achievable in a single day. Without the journal, I would have nothing but good intentions. The Evolve journal has enabled me to put my good intentions into practice.
At the end of my working day or before bed, I would fill in the last sections of the daily page: advice for future you, what am I pondering, question of the day and daily highlight. Some days these did not resonate with me so much, but other days they were really valuable tools.
I found the advice for future you section useful when I had got to the end of the day and had advice for myself, e.g. when you drink more water; you have more energy or set simpler tasks around your period.
The what am I pondering section was good as it felt like a loved one asking, “Are you OK?”, “What is bothering you?”. By stopping to think about what was bothering me while I was journalling rather than once I had closed my eyes and was trying to drift off to sleep, it gave me a chance to see if I could do anything about it or reassure myself beforehand.
The question of the day was thought-provoking and helped to shape my plans and thoughts.
Thinking about my daily highlight was a lot more valuable than I had expected. I am trying to decide if I want to move to Cornwall with my boyfriend to live—for a more outdoor lifestyle—or stay in Somerset, closer to family. When filling in my daily highlight, I can clearly see a log of what is important to me—my highlight is always around family.
As I have adopted the habit of completing my journal around the start and end of my working day, I have noticed that I can end up skipping the weekends and holidays. If it is important to you to complete your Evolve journal every day (especially if your domino is not work based) then I recommend creating the habit of filling it in as soon as you wake up and get into bed in the evenings.
Evolve journal review - Monthly reflections
At the end of each month, there is a reflection page with a definition of the word of the month, a quote and half a blank page to write on. I was unsure of how to complete these activities at first but found my way with them. I chose to read the end of month reflection page at the start of the month and then complete it during the month at the point it resonated with me. When I forced myself to complete it just because I reached the end of the month, I never did a good job. By choosing a moment I was in the right mood, I found a cosy spot and enjoyed putting pen to paper, reflecting, thinking and writing about what the passages meant to me.
The daily questions and monthly reflections were great at making me think more about the life that I want, and the Evolve journal daily pages really helped me to put plans into place to actually achieve it.
Evolve journal review three month round-up
The last three months of using the Evolve journal have been invaluable. I no longer have good intentions; I have them, plan for them and complete them. I am not as far along with my domino as I would have liked, but I am a lot further along with it than if I were not filling in my daily pages.
My domino, habits and ideal life are at the forefront of my mind frequently throughout the day. This means that I am making considered choices about what to do with my time, money and intentions. Without the Evolve journal, I would not have been so focused on curating the life I want and taking steps towards it. I would still be writing a giant to-do list and choosing the tasks I fancied that day, rather than taking the time out to select the ones that could have the biggest impact.
Now that I have used the Evolve journal for three months, I have been able to reflect on the barriers to completing my domino (aka my online nutrition course). My biggest problem is not having enough time because I have been choosing to complete other tasks. If I want to progress with my domino over the next three months, I need to reduce the number of projects I commit to and be OK with leaving tasks undone. This is exactly what I plan to do over the next three months, and I look forward to the challenge.
Evolve journal review: Six months
Evolve journal review after six months currently under review. Check back in to find out how I have been getting on with the Evolve journal. Join our monthly email list to be notified when this review is officially published in 6 months’ time and stay up-to-date with all of our latest content.
Evolve Accountability Academy + Free Evolve Journal
Evolve founders Freddie and Sam Titcombe have recently created the Evolve Accountability Academy an online community for those who want support, guidance and motivation to complete their dreams.
When you join the academy, you will receive a free Evolve journal (plus, a free journal every six months) and a 1:1 onboarding session (to meet the team, discuss your goals and ask questions). Enjoy weekly check-ins by completing the form and sending it directly to Freddie and Sam for personalised feedback. If you need motivation, make use of co-working sessions designed to help you carve out time for the things that matter. Plus, online courses, live expert sessions, monthly challenges, forums and more.
If you are ready to take the steps to make your dreams a reality, then click on the link below to enrol onto the Evolve Accountability Academy today.
How to use our discount code to get 15% off your Evolve journal
Click on the button below to visit the Evolve journey website.
Choose your preferred Evolve journal colour and add to the basket.
Apply our exclusive Evovle journal discount code THP15.
Order your journal and await delivery.
Click on the button below and use discount code THP15 to get 15% off Evolve journey
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