Following in the footsteps of both her grandmothers and her Aunt Nedra (who lived across the street from us in Monticello and is like a second mother to us both)—Jessie became a full-time elementary school teacher after completing her university studies.
She taught grade school from 2004-2011 in northern Utah. In 2006 she returned to Brigham Young University to earn her master's degree in education, which she finished in 2009—all while continuing to teach full-time in the classroom.
An unusually organized and detail-oriented educator, Jessie thrived in her role as classroom teacher and received formal recognition for her noticeable abilities and impressive achievements.
In 2011, Jessie married Scott Allen, a rural renaissance man and budding physical therapist from Fillmore, Utah. Soon after they wed, Jess stopped teaching in Northern Utah so that the couple could relocate to Las Vegas for Scott's doctoral schooling in Physical Therapy.
In 2012, the first of their four children (Addison)—a daughter was born. After Scott had completed his doctorate in physical therapy (PT) at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV), the young family moved to Prosser, Washington, where Scott landed his first job as a licensed PT.
Two more children—sons Jens and Thomas—were born in 2014 and 2016, while the Allen's were living in Washington.
In 2017, the Allen's relocated to Fillmore, Utah, where Scott landed a new PT job in his home county. Then, in 2018, a little sister—Elizabeth—joined their crew as the family caboose.
In 2023, after several years of dreaming, planning, hard work, and careful saving, the family moved seven miles east of Fillmore to Flowell—Scott's hometown—where they had built their dream home, accomplishing much of the work themselves thanks to Scott's wide range of aptitudes and skills.
After the birth of Addison in 2012, Jessie opted not to return to her previous career as a full-time classroom teacher. Instead, she traded it in for another full-time educator's position: a stay-at-home mom.
And boy is she good at this latter role!
As a
stay-at-home dad myself, I am continually in awe of Jess's action, organization, and productivity as a parent—all of which far exceeds and outshines my own parental performance. Indeed, I truly cannot compete with her in this department of life. If Jess is an A-plus parent—and she is—then I register in at about a B-minus at best!
Nevertheless, as Jess herself points out, such endeavors are not a competition. The important thing as parents is that we each sincerely do our imperfect best, which I can honestly say that I do. Nevertheless, when I see all that Jess accomplishes in her household and the lives of her children, I am aware of my many shortcomings and am extremely respectful and admiring of her work.
Part III: Jess's JOURNALING Journey
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| A cover of one of Jessie's bound journal volumes. |
Jess got her journaling start in the late 1980s and early 1990s in much the same way that I did—through our connection to the Franklin Day Planner by virtue of our association with our maternal uncle, Hyrum W. Smith, an originator of the Franklin Planner and a co-founder of FranklinCovey Company. These beginnings were largely scant, token efforts that would precede Jess's far more prolific journaling labors to come in the mid-later 1990s.
Looking back, Jess attributes one particular New Year's Eve as a major turning point in her journaling journey.
The year was 1996 and she recalls spending 3-4 hours catching up on her journals while everyone else was doing something fun to celebrate the incoming new year.
Jess remembers feeling extra determined to begin the new year—1997—by being totally caught up in her journal. From that point on, her habit became increasingly cemented in her character and personality, and she has not stopped writing in a daily diary ever since.
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| Jess's journal volume for 2025. |
Inspired further by our Dad's example of binding his journals into text-bound volumes, she began binding her own personal diary content during the middle 2000s. Since then, she has added another 20 volumes to make 31 in total—with many more to come in the future. Over the years—and particularly once she began having children—Jessie added several additional practices to her retinue of record-keeping routines. From compiling yearly family scrapbooks and photo-albums to creating booklets and folders full of relevant personal and family data, letters, and photos for each child. She is saving much of this valuable content to present to each of her four children as a surprise gift when they eventually leave home.
Suffice it to say, journaling, personal record-keeping, and family history production is more than just a hobby or practice for Jess.
It really has become a way of life for her.
Interestingly enough, however, she does not always love every minute of this life practice. In her own words: "to be honest, I don't enjoy my daily journaling. I do it because I know I should and because I want the benefits of having these records in place. And the end result is always worth the effort, of course."
On the other hand, she commented that: "I do enjoy scrapbooking and other forms of memory-keeping. In fact, I LOVE assembling my scrapbooks and photo albums. I enjoy the process and the end results. Plus, my kids—and other family and friends—really enjoy looking through them when they are finished."
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Jess's annual booklets prepared in advance as a future gift for her
oldest daughter, Addie. She has done the same for her three other kids. |
Jessie credits her father's journaling example, an obsessive-compulsive personality (OCP), and the teachings of her Church as major inspirations that fuel her unusual diligence. While the OCP may fuel some of her focus and productivity, it is the latter of the three that have inspired her the most. As Spencer W. Kimball—President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when Jessie was born—has written:
"I urge all of the people of this Church to give serious attention to their family histories, to encourage their parents and grandparents to write their histories, and let no family go into eternity without having left their memoirs for their grandchildren, and their posterity. This is a duty and a responsibility." (Ensign, May 1978, page 4).
So, when exactly does Jessie accomplish all of these labor-intensive projects?
After all, it's not like she isn't already busy with a home, husband, four kids, several pets, church- and community-service responsibilities, and a part-time job at her kids' school.
The answer to this question is two-fold.
The first answer is: whenever she can. In other words, as a busy wife and mother, she accomplishes much of the work in those sundry moments when she has a few spare minutes or hours here-or-there.
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| Scrapbook chronicling Jess's month-long service trip to AFRICA in 2010. |
The second answer is that she strives to arise from bed early each morning—at 5:00 a.m.—so that she can have some quiet time to herself to pray, read and study the scriptures, and write in her journal before her husband and kids are awake.
Like many other highly productive and successful people, Jessie has deeply internalized the age-old wisdom of Benjamin Franklin, who counseled:
"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
"He who riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night."
"Dost thou love life?
Then do not squander time;
for that's the stuff life is made of."
Rising early for purposes of planning, solitude, and worship activities is one of the SAL disciplines I personally admire most about my younger sister.
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Hyrum W. and Gail C. Smith
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One of the reasons I admire her so much for this practice is because I myself have never been a morning person. I'd almost rather beat myself over the head with a board than get up at 5:00 in the morning. But boy do I respect those who can do it!
In this regard, Jess really is the poster-child for SAL principles and practice—even more so in many ways than I am. Her discipline for early mornings is a classic example of this!
My Uncle Hyrum and Aunt Gail—of FranklinCovey fame—also used to consistently arise at 5:00 in the morning to enjoy their own "Planning and Solitude" time.
They would refer to the hours between 5:00 and 8:00 in the morning as their "Magic 3 Hours," something that greatly enriched their personal lives, family relationships, and careers.
While this early-morning approach may not work for everyone—it certainly does not work for me—I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who is naturally-oriented to that enviable early-morning spryness.
If, on the other hand, you are not a morning person (like me) you will have to be extra creative and proactive in using the waking hours that you do have and fill them up with those activities and practices that are most important to YOU—such as personal record-keeping.
Allen children art binders and annual binders with yearly letters from Jess
and other, relevant personal record-keeping documents.
Part IV: Benefits & Blessings of JOURNALING
In interviewing Jess for this article, one of the things about which I was most curious was the BENEFITS she has noticed from her many journaling and other record-keeping efforts undertaken over the past several decades.
One such benefit involved a strengthened MEMORY, which manifests itself in a couple of different ways.
FIRST, Jess noted that she has, in general, a "better memory than a lot of folks when it comes to people and events."
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Jess's daughter Elizabeth
with JJ's daughter, Kara.
July 2026 |
SECOND, she remarked that "my journal also helps me remember things I would have otherwise forgotten. Having these records to refer back to restores old memories that were lost and I love going back and reliving these old memories, especially the positive ones." An additional benefit is the blessings these records provide—and will yet provide—to her children.
Said she:
"I think about how blessed I was to be able to go back and read our dad's journals. My kids now have that same opportunity to go back in time and see the world through the eyes of their mom the same way I could go back and see the world through my dad's eyes."
Jess further cites the benefit of not having to remember certain things, because "if it is written down, it's not going to be forgotten or lost along the wayside."
Lastly, she pointed out the fact that "I am leaving something to show for the life I've lived," which she values. This point brings us back full-circle to Anthony Robbins' famous quote about journaling a few articles ago.
Said he: If your life is worth living, it is worth recording.
"If your life is worth living, it is worth recording."
—Anthony Robbins
Magnificent Seven (7) cousins together on trampoline in Flowell, Utah.
Summer 2025
Another thing I was curious about was the extent to which Jessie's kids have begun their own journaling efforts because of her example.
On this point, Jess said the following:
"I have definitely encouraged my kids to do the same. It's actually something I've tried really hard to do, and my oldest (age 13) has gotten a solid start. On the other hand, I've also come to understand that ultimately they have to want it for themselves, so I try not to push too hard when I can see they aren't ready or don't yet have an authentic desire to be as gung-ho about it as I am. In the end, however, I do indeed hope that I will be able to have the same kind of influence on my kids that my dad had on me when it comes to these sorts of habits and practices, because they are so valuable."
I am so grateful to my dad, sister, and others in my immediate and extended family tree who have served as such fine and faithful family historians and personal diarists.
All of us are, to a large extent, products of those with whom we live, work, and otherwise associate. In my case, I have been unusually blessed all of my life to associate, work, and live with noble self-action leaders whose character consistently demonstrates a good will to do what is right and strive to be the best persons of which they are capable.
I pay homage and tribute to them all!
Combined Allen and Jensen Families in Flowell, Utah.
July 19, 2026
JJ and Lina hanging out with Jessie and Scott in Fillmore, Utah
July 2026
—Dr. JJ
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Author's Note: This is the 536th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 318th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
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