How to Start and Stick With Journaling
Keep reading this post to learn:
⋒ The benefits of journaling (according to science)
⋒ Hear how journaling has impacted my life in a meaningful way
⋒ 3 tips you can implement today so you can start and stick with journaling
Back in August, I received a DM from someone telling me that she loved the idea of journaling but always felt like she was doing it wrong. She had started and stopped so many times and she just felt straight-up defeated by it.
Hearing that pained me because journaling is such a powerful and life-giving tool if you allow it to be! I don’t say this lightly, but journaling really has changed my life in many ways.
Before I teach you some tips and strategies for how to start and stick with journaling, I think it’s important to chat about the benefits of journaling – like what is the big deal about journaling?
I’ve been journaling since I was a little girl. When my husband Adam and I were cleaning out some closets in our house as we prepare the nursery for Baby E’s arrival, I found the box of my old journals from high school and talk about an emotional time flipping through them and reading my deepest desires, prayers, and just about my life experiences in general.
I view journaling as my number one mental health hygiene habit. If you don’t know, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder back in February of this year and my therapist and I discovered that journaling is one of the best coping tools for me. It allows me to unjumble my thoughts, which is what helps me to keep them from racing.
My thoughts always feel much bigger and out of control when they’re up in my mind, but when I physically dump them out onto paper, I’m able to see them from a different perspective which helps me operate as the healthiest version of myself. Basically, journaling helps me sort through and process my thoughts and feelings which helps me to pick up on patterns (both positive and negative) and see which thoughts I need to uproot and get rid of so that they don’t keep playing on a loop in my mind.
I say this all the time but it’s fitting here: our thoughts become our words, our words become our actions, and our actions determine how we experience life.
Journaling helps me get and keep my mindset right, which is Key 1 to Hustling Sanely. I’m a big believer that our thoughts or our mindset is the foundation of everything.
Journaling is like showering for me. It’s not something I wake up and ask, “Do I feel like doing this today?” It’s just something that I do because I know that it keeps my mind healthy. Just like we don’t question if we should shower — we just do it, knowing that it’s required to keep us hygienic. Journaling is a non-negotiable in my life because I’ve seen the fruits of doing it consistently. And that’s the thing – in order to reap the rewards of journaling, you have to do it consistently.
It’s the same as working out. You can’t workout once and expect to be healthier. You have to keep showing up day after day and over time, you become the healthiest version of yourself.
I’ve heard a lot of people say that they only journal when they feel overwhelmed or when things are “bad.” I don’t recommend that strategy, because my therapist taught me that we have to practice our coping mechanisms when things are all good and fine so that they are already part of our subconscious. That way, when things are tough and we really need them, they’re already there for us.
Another reason why I love journaling (and this one is a solid reminder that journaling on the “good days” is worth it, too) it helps me be more present in my daily life because I know the prompts in my journal so I’m looking out for those things as I navigate my day.
It’s probably not shocking that I use the Peacefully Productive Journal™ but one of the evening prompts in there is “What was your favorite part about today?” I know I’m going to be responding to that question every night so I’m always paying attention to the little moments throughout my day.
I could seriously go on and on about the benefits of journaling and how I’ve seen them manifest in my own life but I’ll leave you with a few science-backed stats and then we’ll move on to how you can actually start and stick with journaling.
I found this article titled: Top Evidence-Based Benefits of Journaling for Mental Health: The research behind the powerful and accessible self-care practice of journal writing.
It outlines 5 science-backed benefits of journaling:
Benefit #1: Journaling Can Reduce Depression and Anxiety
Benefit #2: Journal Writing Can Help Boost Immune Function
Benefit #3: Journaling Helps Cultivate Gratitude
Benefit #4: Journaling Can Help With Recovery From Trauma
Benefit #5: Keeping a Journal can Improve Memory Function
So if my personal stories of how journaling has helped me weren’t enough for you, hopefully at least one of those 5 benefits stood out to you and sparked your interest as to why having a regular journaling practice is totally worth the time and energy investment. Because that’s what it is – an investment in your mental health.
So how can you actually get rolling with your own journaling practice and keep it going?
3 Tips For How To Start and Stick With Journaling:
01. Get rid of expectations.
There isn’t a wrong way to journal other than to not do it. If you’re getting your thoughts out in some way, you’re doing a great job. Don’t overthink your journaling practice and remember that it’s just that — a practice! Something that evolves and that you get better and more confident with over time. Journaling is a tool to support you, not something to stress you out. I challenge you to release any expectations that you have of yourself for what your journaling should look like. Journaling is not you trying to write a lyrical sentiment every day.
If you’re brand new to journaling, maybe writing one single sentence every morning is what you start with. Every morning you write “I feel _________.”
Then maybe the following week, you start to expand a little and you write, “I feel _________. The things that triggered this feeling were _________, _________, and ____________.”
Focus less on what is coming out and more on making it a priority to get things out so you can process them. Stop judging yourself and lean into being proud that you are deciding to make journaling a regular practice in your life to benefit your mental health. You’re journaling for you – not to try and win a Pulitzer Prize.
02. Create a journaling routine.
You know what I always say, if you don’t intentionally create space for it on your calendar, it isn’t going to happen. Life is full and fast for everyone. If we don’t carve out time for certain priorities in our days and weeks, the chances of us doing them really is slimmer. So figure out a routine that works for you when it comes to journaling. Decide where you want to journal and keep your journaling supplies handy there, decide when you want to do it, and create a habit trigger to help hold you accountable.
Here’s what I’ve found works for me:
I like to journal in the morning and at night. I find that journaling in the morning helps me focus during the day because I don’t have racing thoughts running around and I find that journaling at night helps me sleep better because of the same thing – I don’t have racing thoughts running around and keeping me wired.
In the morning, I wake up, grab my journal off of my nightstand in my bedroom, and carry it into the kitchen while I take my morning supplements. After I do that (my trigger to start my morning routine), I go into my office, sit in my Papasan chair, and journal. I have a pen right there by my chair so I don’t even have to think about it. I just grab the pen and go.
Then when I’m done with my morning routine, I take my journal back to my bedroom and put it on my nightstand (which also has a pen) so that it’s waiting for me there when I get in bed. After I get my essential oils diffusing in my room (my habit trigger), I get into bed and grab my journal to decompress from the day.
I don’t ever have to wonder, “When am I going to journal today?” I’ve created habits that equip me to just grab my journal and go which means I get to spend my energy actually journaling rather than wondering if/when I’m gonna get to it.
03. Find a journal that meets your needs.
Some people like to get a blank lined notebook and just go to town – if that works for you, amazing, do that! I prefer a more guided-journal approach which is why I use the journal that I created – the Peacefully Productive Journal™.
I found that I was spending a lot of time every day “setting up” my blank journal because I’m typically not the type of person who likes to just open to a lined page and start scribbling. I like my journaling practice to have a flow to it. So instead of recreating the same journal layout every day in my blank journal, I made a journal last year and it’s been so incredible for my own journal practice.
Here’s what I do for my own journaling practice:
In the mornings:
I start by doing the guided morning page in my journal answering these prompts:
~ I’m grateful for
~ Hours of sleep I got last night
~ How I feel mentally
~ How I feel physically
~ Something I’m doing today to move closer toward one of my goals
~ An affirmation to support me today
Then, I go to the next page which is the daily free-write page called “On My Heart.” 9 times out of 10, I fill this out in the mornings because I find that the mornings are when my mind is racing the most. I either write out a prayer or use the lined page to declutter any thoughts that feel big and/or intrusive. Sometimes I even write out a prompt to respond to if one pops into my mind.
In the evenings:
I fill out the guided evening prompts:
~ How I feel mentally
~ How I feel physically
~ My favorite part about today was:
~ Something I’m proud of today:
~ Something I learned from today:
~ Anything I read, watched, or listened to that I don’t want to forget
I find that having consistent prompts every morning and evening is what helps me to pick up on patterns, whether healthy or unhealthy, in my life. But I also like having that daily free-write space available to me, too.
So decide whether you need to find a guided journal that you enjoy or if you prefer a blank notebook. And don’t be afraid to switch it up, either. Maybe one season you are craving that guided structure and another season you might find yourself gravitating toward a blank notebook. You’re not locked into one once you decide what works best for you right now.
If you do want to try out the Peacefully Productive Journal™, you can use the code JOURNAL10 to save 10% on either the paper version or the digital version!
And while you’re snagging a journal, you might as well add a 2023 Peacefully Productive Planner® to your cart because the 2 tools complement each other so well! The journal helps me get clear on my dreams and goals and the planner helps me create action plans to make them happen…it’s really a beautiful thing!
Looking for a guided journal to help you stick with journaling?
Use the code JOURNAL10 to save 10% on the Peacefully Productive Journal™
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