How To Start A Regular Journalling Practice
Discover the mood-boosting benefits of this accessible, adaptable self-care tool.
When it comes to self-care tools, journalling is one of the most accessible. If you have access to a pen and a piece of paper, you’re just moments away from discovering the mood-boosting benefits of a regular journalling practice.
Perhaps you’re working through some difficult thoughts and feelings. Perhaps you’d like to get to know yourself a little better. Perhaps you simply want to document an exciting time in your life. Whatever your goal, journalling is a simple yet powerful exercise that, when carried out regularly, can be transformative.
What is journalling?
Journalling is the art of capturing (on paper or otherwise) your innermost thoughts, feelings and emotions. It’s a log of the inner workings of your mind, a space to offload and attempt to make sense of all the stuff floating freely around your head. It gives you the opportunity to express yourself honestly, without judgement, in a way that might not feel possible in other areas of your life.
In dumping your thoughts, feelings and fears onto paper there’s hope that, if only for a brief moment, your mind can come to a place of stillness. Much like meditation, journalling can provide some much-needed respite for an overloaded brain.
What are the benefits of journalling?
Whether you’re a complete beginner, an infrequent dabbler, or a master of the art of keeping a journal, there are a plethora of benefits to forming (or re-forming) a regular journalling practice. Here are just ten of the most commonly lauded benefits of keeping a journal:
10 Benefits Of A Regular Journalling Practice:
A greater understanding of yourself.
A better relationship with yourself.
Improved self-esteem.
Increased focus in daily tasks.
Finding new perspectives.
Boosted creativity.
Improved problem-solving skills.
As mentioned, the benefits of journalling are many and varied! In forming a regular journalling practice of your own you may well experience these particular benefits, as well as others that were totally unexpected, or completely unique to you.
How do I start journalling?
The quickest and simplest way to start journalling is to start journalling. The greatest benefits will come when you stop thinking too much about it. Connect with whatever it is that’s on your mind and express it in whichever way comes naturally to you.
It might be that you feel comfortable simply opening up a new notebook and freely writing out the contents of your head. If so, go at it! And if not, never fear! In the way that the benefits of journalling are seemingly endless, the potential methods are similarly unlimited, and there are plenty of alternative options.
8 Alternative Journalling Styles:
Sketch journal - draw a brief sketch each day that encapsulates your mood, feelings and thoughts.
Self-reflection journal - using a pack of self-reflection cards, draw a single card each day and use it to explore more deeply.
Poetry journal - write a poem each day, long or short, to express what’s on your mind.
List journal - make a daily list of everything that’s swimming round your mind, going into more detail on certain items if needed.
Audio journal - speak your thoughts into your phone in the form of a voice note.
Letter journal - write a daily letter to yourself or to someone else, expressing whatever you’d like to say to that person, without actually sending it.
Notes app journal - create a folder in your phone’s notes app and type out your thoughts in a new note each day.
Weekend journal - if daily journalling isn’t for you, try a weekend journalling practice in which you reflect on the week just gone and set intentions for the week ahead.
Further Reading: Sunday Reflections: A Weekly Journalling Tool
Whichever method you end up choosing, the main thing is that you feel that you can be completely honest and authentic with yourself when journalling, without fear of being judged or “found out”. If keeping a physical journal feels unsafe for whatever reason, you could try writing your journal digitally (for example, in your phone’s notes app).
Find a journalling method that feels comfortable and freeing, allowing you to reap the benefits of a regular journalling practice without causing any extra anxiety or discomfort.
4 Steps To Cultivating A Regular, Enjoyable Journalling Practice:
Step 1: Choose an initial journalling style
Before you begin your journalling practice, take a moment to think about the method that might work best for you. You may feel that simply writing everything down in a notebook will be the most beneficial. If not, consider the above unconventional and alternative journalling styles to see if any of those might fit. Remember, your journal is all about you; it doesn’t need to make sense or be palatable to anyone else. Whichever style you choose, make it something that will encourage free self-expression, without fear of being judged or not being “perfect”.
Note the word “initial”; you may be completely sure that a certain style will be the one, but in time realise that it’s not for you. Don’t let this demotivate you! We are constantly in flux and it might be that different styles suit you on different days, months or years. If you feel that a particular style of journalling is no longer serving you, don’t give up! Just flip the page and try something else.
Step 2: Set your intentions for your journalling practice
As with any goal, if you’re aiming to commit to a regular journalling practice, it can be helpful to set your intentions. In setting intentions for yourself, you’re focusing on why you want to achieve the goal of keeping a journal. The more specific you can be the better.
You could dedicate some space at the start of your journal to considering these intentions. Think about the potential benefits as well as your answers to the below questions:
Why am I starting a regular journalling practice?
What am I expecting from my journalling practice?
How do I want to feel as a result of my journalling practice?
In logging your intentions, you have a solid list of personal benefits to return to (and update if necessary!) if ever there comes a time when you’re doubting the point of or struggling to keep up with your regular journalling practice.
Step 3: Assign a specific time each day to your journalling practice
Habits form when we consistently keep up with a behaviour. Just as we can use affirmations to hack into our neural pathways, regularly performing a routine (such as journalling) eventually leads to this routine becoming habit and running on autopilot. The best way to consistently keep up with regular journalling is to devote a specific time of day to your practice.
This might be right as you wake up with your first cup of coffee, or in the few minutes before you fall asleep. It might be mid-morning, during your lunch break or when you get home from work. Whenever it is that you choose to journal, pick a time that feels safe and comfortable, and do what you can to consistently honour this moment of self-care. It might also be worth inserting your practice into an already well-established routine. This way you can make the most of previously well-trodden pathways as you work to establish a new one.
Step 4: Be gentle and patient with yourself
With the above in mind, remember too to be patient with yourself. Journalling is a tool designed to boost your self-care and mental health, not to add more stress and guilt, or to become yet another daily chore. Sooner or later you’ll forget to journal, or you won’t have the energy, or your daily routine will unexpectedly change in a way that leaves no time for your regular practice. While consistency is certainly important, it’s not the end of the world if you miss a day or two, or a week, or even a month. Simply remind yourself of your intentions and pick up where you left off.
If you are continually struggling to commit to your journalling practice, assess why this might be. Does the style of journalling you originally chose not suit you anymore? Has the time of day you’d hoped would be perfect for journalling turned out to be impractical? Is there something in your life that you want to avoid writing about? Be honest and be curious. You could even use your next journal entry to explore why you’re struggling to commit to your regular journalling practice and see where that takes you.
At the end of the day, journalling is for your benefit, and your benefit alone. It should, on the whole, be a helpful and positive feature in your life. If journalling simply isn’t working for you, but you’re still lacking a space to offload or are living through a period of poor mental health, please consider visiting the mental health resources page for more information on getting the support you deserve.
