Working with thought records

A thought record does one simple thing: it takes a thought that feels like a fact and lets you examine it on paper. Mandaboard keeps them newest-first, so you can watch your thinking shift over time.

The quick form

Open Thought Log (⌘4) and add a record. The quick form asks for:

• Situation — what happened? Where, when, with whom.
• Automatic thought — what went through your mind?
• Evidence for — the facts that support the thought.
• Evidence against — the facts that don't fit it.

Fill in what you can. A record with just a situation and a thought is still worth keeping.

Going deeper with Advanced

Open Advanced to add:

• Emotions — rate each feeling from 0 to 100 before you work through it.
• Distortions — tag any of the eleven thinking traps that fit. Each one has a plain-language explanation, so the list teaches as you use it.
• Balanced thought — a fairer, more complete way to see it.
• Re-rating — rate the same emotions again after. Mandaboard shows the average shift, so the change is visible rather than just felt.

Tips

• Keep the situation factual. "Missed the deadline" beats "ruined everything".
• One thought per record. If three things are tangled up, make three records.
• You don't have to make the feeling disappear — you're looking for something fairer, not something forced.