Here Is How To Start Journaling In A Way That Will Make You Fall In LOVE With It
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If you are looking for how to start journaling in a way that will get you hooked from the start, then you are in the right place!
Journaling can be such a fun way to regulate your emotions and to improve your mental health. I enjoy journaling so much because it has helped me with my ADHD and helps me to remember things I am scared of forgetting.
If you enjoy self-improvement or mental health, then you are going to love journaling. It can be such an amazing way to self-therapize yourself and help talk yourself down in stressful situations.
This post is all about how to start journaling!
Why Is Journaling So Hard To Stick To?
Journaling, like any other habit or commitment, is hard to stay with for a long time.
I know that for me, a new habit can stick for a few weeks, maybe a few months, but then I either forget about it or lose interest.
But realizing the benefits of journaling has been a GAME CHANGER for me.
Journaling takes time to get into, and it can be intimidating because it is similar to therapy in that it causes you to notice things about yourself that you might want to ignore.
Sometimes, our own insecurities can be comforting.
It can be disconcerting to work through issues you have or to think about things that stress us out!
Doing things that are hard are usually the things worth doing.
Don’t ignore your thoughts and feelings because they are hard or scary, and those are the things you should be leaning into.
Here Is Why You Should Start Journaling Anyways
Journaling is one of the best ways to improve yourself and your relationships.
A journal could be the perfect place to plan out your days or goals. I have a post on how to start a productivity journal that will help you really plan for your days.
You need a place for all of your big and scary thoughts to live that is not at the front of your mind.
For people like Taylor Swift, her big scary thoughts get made into music, and her lyrics are a great place to look if you are in need of some prompts because they really encapsulate a lot of experiences you may have had.
Journaling can force you to put your feelings into words and make it easier to work through.
Once you know how you are feeling about a situation, then you can actually start to find ways to progress.
Without knowing your feelings, you will not have the skills to make any progress in life.
How To Start Journaling Ideas
The best way to start journaling depends on your personality!
If you are a person who gets motivated by buying new things, then it could be helpful to buy cute stickers, pens, and a new notebook so that you have one specific place to get all your stuff done.
If you want to know that you will stick to journaling before you buy a new journal, then it might be helpful to start a Google Docs or write in old classroom notebooks.
Start by writing short prompts every morning. It can be helpful to pre-write prompts on pages so that all you have to do is fill it out every day! Here is a post of five-minute journal prompts that can help get you started if you want to bulk-write prompts out for yourself!
Another way to keep up with journaling is to invite your friends to trade prompts and talk about them together.
If you are in therapy, it might be helpful to ask your journalist some prompts they want you to think through, and you can discuss your answers in your next session!
If you are feeling insecure about your writing, know that no one is going to read it. You need to write like you will never reread it, and it is just to get it out.
One of my favorite tips is to write down tons of prompts I find online and put them into a jar to pull out when I need an idea. Then some days, I can write about multiple prompts!
As someone who likes to journal before bed, you might enjoy the one-line method. It is when you write one line summarizing your day or something unique that you experienced that day.
Try writing out what one emotion you felt that day and how it felt in your body. Really think about where you felt the emotion. Was it in your chest? Your belly? Your knees?
Think about how your emotions have affected how you acted that day and how you can act in the future when you feel those emotions!
Prompts To Get You Started
I mentioned it earlier, but I will say it again, I have a long post of 200 Five-Minute journal prompts if you need some ideas.
If you don’t need 200 prompts, then keep on reading for some simple prompts to get your juices flowing:
- What was the main emotion you felt today?
- What caused you the most anxiety today?
- What are three things you want to get done today?
- How can you make someone’s day better?
- Who’s the most important person in your life?
- Who has been the most influential person in your life?
- How are you going to feel in five years?
- How do you WANT to feel today?
- What is your dream job?
- What did you want to be when you were little?
These are just a few ideas that you might enjoy!
Well, There You Go!
This post was all about how to start journaling!
If you are concerned that journaling isn’t for you, just remember that some of the best people all journal!!
Journaling is a great habit that I know will improve your life if you put in a little bit of time.
If you want some more content about journaling, here are some other posts that can help keep you inspired and get you all pumped to journal!
