For all of the hardships the coronavirus pandemic has created, there is seemingly an equal amount of good that has arisen during these challenging times.

For instance, 3×5 Life is a new product that is the brainchild of Downingtown native and West Chester resident Bryan McFarland. 3×5 Life are easily transportable cards, measuring three inches by five inches, where you can write down not only your tasks for the day but also the things you’re grateful for.

“When the pandemic hit, I saw a lot of people around me struggling and suffering with some level of anxiety,” said McFarland, who runs JDM Inc., a Glenmoore-based company that is a manufacturers’ representative agency specializing in sourcing high quality components for the medical, defense, and commercial industries. “That’s when I doubled down on myself, making sure to exercise more, eat right, and focus on being grateful for all the wonderful things I did have in life. I started to wonder, though, if there was anything I could do to help others. With my day job, 40 to 60 percent of my time is spent scheduling and attending sales meetings. So, I found myself with a little more quiet time to reflect and create. This is how 3×5 Life came to be.”

In early May, McFarland devised a product that would alleviate the common frustration of having countless journals and apps for gratitude, reflection, or tasks to be completed.

“I was making something that should be so simplistic overly complicated,” he said. “When I finally stepped back and boiled down the most important aspects of my lists and different journaling practices, I discovered it could all fit on a 3×5 index card.”

A major limitation of the journals and apps is that, once you write in them, they are out of sight and out of mind for the rest of the day. One of the goals of 3×5 Life is to create an analog product that people can interact with all day.

“When you pull out your card to view your tasks, you cannot help but to see your gratitude list on the other side,” said McFarland. “Our hope is that with our cards, in the chaos of the day, you will experience these micro moments of positivity that help to keep you grounded.”

We all want to have greater clarity and presence in our life. Research has shown that gratitude can increase happiness, improve health, and create more optimism.

“When you reflect on the positive things that happened during your day before you go to bed,” McFarland said, “you fall asleep faster and have a more restful sleep.”

3×5 Life has quickly found an audience, having already struck a chord with sales managers, who are buying the product to help motivate their teams.

Click here to learn more about 3×5 Life.

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