October 1–30 2026
Stop starting over. Start building momentum.
A 30 day challenge to make an analog planning system actually stick. Fifteen minutes a day with six live calls and a few hundred people doing it at the same time as you.
Cart closes October 1 at midnight PT
You already have the notebook
Somewhere in a drawer there’s a notebook you started. Heck, maybe a few of them.
You bought it on purpose. You sat down on a Sunday with a coffee or tea and set the whole thing up: the index, future log, the little key for the symbols. It felt good... for a few days at least, it felt REALLY good.
Then a couple days got away from you, then a week, and now you have a notebook taunting you from the desk, drawer, or shelf where you left it.
This isn’t about whether pen and paper works. You already believe that (or at least you want to). Otherwise, you wouldn’t have bought the notebook in the first place.
It was never about discipline
I’ve talked to hundreds of people and read thousands of comments about pen and paper productivity. When I asked what was stopping them from sticking to the system, what came back was some version of the same sentence: I start... and then I stop.
The reasons were remarkably consistent.
It became a second job.
Maintaining the notebook started taking longer than doing the work it was supposed to organize.
One missed week ended it.
Fall behind on Tuesday, and by Friday the notebook is a record of failure instead of a plan. Easier to close it than face it.
Setup ate the whole thing.
Two hours building spreads, ten minutes actually using them.
And underneath most of it... the look.
Look on YouTube or Instagram and you see what a bullet journal is “supposed” to look like. You decided you couldn’t reproduce that, and thought Well, I must not be the kind of person who does this.
None of that is a character problem. Every one of those is a design and process problem.
What’s different this time
You’ve probably had access to good information before. The internet is full of it. Check out my channel or hundreds of others. You may have even read the Bullet Journal Method book.
A start date and an end date.
We work together from October 1st to 30th, not “whenever you get to it.”
One short lesson a day.
Around 5 minutes, a short video and practice. Weekends are lighter: think like a reflection, not homework.
Six live calls with me.
A kickoff on October 1st, a call every Monday to set the week, and a closing call on the 30th. Bring your notebook and ask me anything. We’re live on Zoom, not a faceless webinar.
People doing it the same week you are.
That’s the part free content can’t give you, and it’s what makes the biggest difference. If you’re watching videos on your own, then it’s 100% on you to do the thing—day after day. That’s why it’s so easy to quit. A cohort is a challenge we take on together.
Printable templates.
You get a 30 day tracker, the GAP and WRAP pages, and the time tracker grid. Print them or copy them into your own notebook. It’s the whole analog system in a PDF.
It was never supposed to be “pretty”
“For the longest time, I resisted using a bullet journal because I thought it had to look spectacular.”
Tim
That’s mine. There’s a page from June where I crossed out four things in a row and gave up on the day. Kinda sucks. But those days happen! The difference is if you start again the next day.
The spreads you’ve seen online—hand-lettered headers, watercolor, washi tape, and stickers—are beautiful, but they take a lot of work. They’re also a different practice than the one that gets you through a Wednesday. One is art and action, but this challenge focuses on function and action.
You need a notebook and a pen. That’s your whole equipment list and it’s the reason this works when apps don’t: nothing to install or sync, no subscription, user settings, or recurring charges. You don’t even have to buy a new notebook, you can do this with loose paper, index cards, anything.
The system
What Analog Action actually is
A small set of frameworks that fit in fifteen minutes a day.
How to clearly define what you want in life and work.
This creates a “north star” you can organize the entire system around.
Objectives, Milestones, Goals.
Where you're actually headed.
Goal, Actions, Protection.
The weekly plan, every Monday.
Wins, Results, Alignment, Plan.
The Friday look-back that doesn't turn into a performance review.
A way to track and analyze your time.
Find where you're leaking time, and protect (block) your calendar for the actions and goals that matter most.
What belongs on paper, what belongs on a screen.
Using each tool's strength without going mad.
The plan
Thirty days together
- October 1–4
Getting set up
Pick your 30 day goal, set up your notebook, write your vision. We have four days to set everything up and prepare, so you're not sprinting from day one.
- Week one
Build the practice
Your first GAP. Daily tasks. Where the time goes. Your first WRAP.
- Week two
Protect the time
How to adjust if week one didn't go to plan. Time blocking, building habits, and understanding maintenance work versus momentum work.
- Week three
Build momentum
Stacking successful weeks. Assigning work in the Momentum Matrix. Knowing what to cut and what to focus on. You're on a roll now, and we want to keep it going!
- Week four
Make it permanent
Planning past the challenge for a successful close to the year. Auditing thirty days of your own pages. Knowing what keeps the system alive in November and beyond.
What you’ll have on October 30
Not just “more productive.” You’ll have:
- Thirty days of pages in your own handwriting
- A completed habit tracker
- A written vision page you'll still recognize in a year
- Four weekly plans and four weekly reviews behind you
- A record of where your time actually went for a month
- A plan for the rest of 2026 based on your life, not a life you're trying to copy from someone else
From the comments
What people keep saying
“I've tried journaling off and on for the last 3 years. The advice you gave is giving me hope that I'll finally keep up with it.”
“It perfectly described exactly what I'm going through with my current struggles, and allowed me to not feel like I'm just a failure.”
“I have been trying unsuccessfully for a number of years to get organized. Now everything goes into the notebook. It feels so much better, quicker and more natural.”
“I'm a woman who is NOT artsy at all and has ADHD, so I was looking for a SIMPLE set up. I don't need all the bells and whistles.”
“Simple things work. No wanna be artistry. Like a simple knife which works fine.”
Who this is for
This is for you if:
- You've started using a notebook before and stopped
- You'd rather be consistent than have impressive spreads for social
- You've felt the disconnect between what's on paper and what's on screen
- You're ready to show up and do the work that will lead to more focused, calm work
This isn’t for you if:
- You want a template to download and never open
- You want a notebook that's more pretty than functional
- You want a tool that doesn't require you to do the work
- You think that if you just watch enough YouTube videos, it will finally click
Join cohort one
One price. Everything in it.
The full 30 day challenge, six live calls, all printables, and permanent access to everything in it.
- Cohort runs October 1–30
- Daily lessons sent via email
- Printable resources to keep you on track
- Connect with other members in the comments and live calls
- 6 live calls: Kickoff + 4 Weekly Calls + Closing Celebration!
The next cohort
Join the waitlist
Cohort one is underway. Get first access when the next one opens.
Questions
Before you decide
What if I miss a day?
You will! Everybody does. The challenge is built to help you catch up. Twenty weekday lessons with light weekends, and week three has a lesson specifically about getting back in after you’ve dropped off. Missing a day was never the thing that ended it before. Feeling like you’d blown it was.
Do I need a special notebook or planner?
No. Use the one in your drawer, even the half-finished one. Any notebook and any pen. If you’d like the printables in a specific format, those come with it.
I have ADHD. Will this work?
A lot of people I’ve talked to have said some version of this, and what I can say is that this system is simpler than most, which usually helps, and the daily commitment is small. I’m not going to tell you it’s designed as an ADHD intervention, because it isn’t. It’s a short daily practice with external accountability, and for a lot of people those are the two things that make anything stick.
How much time per day?
10-15 minutes for the practice. 5ish minutes for the daily lesson. Weekends are shorter.
What if I can't make the live calls?
All six are recorded. Come to what you can.
I already bought Analog Action. What do I get?
Everything in the cohort, for $47. The self-guided version isn’t going away, you keep what you paid for. Email matt@mattragland.com and I’ll send you a special coupon.
What happens after October 30?
You keep everything: the lessons, the recordings, the printables. There’s also an ongoing community I’ll tell you about in the last week, but you won’t need it to finish.
When's the next cohort?
It starts January 4th, 2027, and the price will be higher. If it’s a timing thing for October, I get it. But this one could be the thing that launches you into 2027, so don’t wait because of price.
Thirty days from now you’ll have a month of pages, or you’ll have the same drawer.
Cart closes October 1 at midnight PT · Full refund through October 4