Recently a reader asked me about the 2010 Dream Context Tracker (DCT), an experimental form for pursuing nebulous dreams. Although I didn’t reread the original post, I had to admit that the the DCT looks neat.

It helps you define your dream using an “ad-lib” format, then provides a drawing space where you can log your progress over a week. Over time, your dream should become a little clearer by harnessing the resolving power of daily mindfulness.

I never released the old form publicly, but it’s today’s February Product of the Day.

The new form looks very similar to the old form (far right), but it’s been almost completely redrawn. I spent 6 hours refitting it from the old version of Illustrator (which seems to have issues with type layouts). I also updating it to conform with my current beliefs about productivity.

The most obvious change is probably the addition of 15 minute start blocks scattered liberally in the “Doodle Area”. When you decide what to work on, you can pick a starting block and put 15 minutes into the task. There are additional blocks provided in case you decide to keep going. Even 15 minutes of progress is pretty awesome, though. Who doesn’t have 15 minutes? You can stop afterwards, but I find that the tendency is to want to keep going.

There are different kinds of start blocks, varying in size. They’ve been labeled using my “core principle” terminology: EXPLORE, LEARN, and BUILD. The SHARE principle is also placed in the space to just remind you to do it.

Another change has been in the note area, which is now much more free-form. Every item that is an action or a definition is labeled; you can use the label as shorthand to note what you worked on on a particular day.

That’s pretty much it…I lost the note I wrote that told me who requested this, but I’m glad they asked about it. I could see something like this making it into the ETP Almanac.

• Download Dream Context Tracker – US Letter PDF

This is very much a draft release, with colors, layout, and text in flux. If you have any suggestions for changes that might make it more useful, let me know.

Enjoy!