Journaling is one of the biggest changes that I made in 2020 that truly changed my life. Often, I would get depressed and anxious when I had so many thoughts going through my head. They were sporadic and unorganized, leaving me feeling down the majority of the time.
I’ve always been a girl who loves to write, but I had fallen away from it.
I couldn’t tell you why one day I decided to pick up my journal and get to it. It could’ve been that quarantine became too much, it could’ve been that I had so much left to say after a recent breakup, but all that I can tell you now is that I’m SO glad I did!
Being able to jot down my thoughts and feelings WHENEVER I want is such a magical thing. It is a habit that takes so little out of you but gives OH so much back.
If you’re feeling like your life is stagnant, feel depressed, or just need to feel some control in your life, journaling is truly the answer to these issues. However, starting can be hard! We’ve all been there at some point or another.
So where do you start? How do you get through the hard stuff and reap the benefits of this newfound habit? I’ll show you just how, in small, easy steps.
I also have to say that I LOVE the journal that I use. So I’ll link that below…Let’s get started!
1. Choose your WHEN
When it comes to journaling, it’s truly all about creating good habits. I’ll have more articles about changing and creating habits soon, but for now, let’s focus on the habit of journaling!!
For me, I decided to set a time of the day that I dedicated to my journal. I would recommend right when you wake up, or right before you go to bed.
I have a pretty specific morning routine, and it was hard to break that. On the flip side, however, journaling was super easy to incorporate! Instead of working out right when I woke up, I decided to wake up, drink a glass of water, journal, and then get to working out.
If you have a night routine that would fit better, do it then! For example, you drink a glass of tea, do your skincare, journal, then shut the lights out and go to bed.
Create systems for yourself and your habits. From these systems, create a new habit of journaling. Soon enough you will get into an easy groove of it. You won’t even have to think before beginning!
In summary, decide what time of day you’d like to journal, and incorporate it into a system of habits.
2. Start Small
When you start journaling, you don’t need to dive right in by spending 30-60 minutes doing shadow work and looking in your innermost self.
You need to start small!
My recommendation would be to start by writing significant things that happened throughout your day, or the day prior, and end with gratitude. This is one seriously effective way to shift your mindset.
Writing about your day is great, and I would always recommend it when there’s something memorable that happened. On the other hand, it’s also great to spark some ideas in your head. Writing down what happened throughout your day may give you clarity.
For example, I could be writing about my workday and all that happened. This could spark me into thinking about how my coworker did something to throw me off. I could write these happenings down and process them, and hopefully find a way to change my mindset, or think of a way to handle the situation.
From small things, great things happen!
I also think it’s CRUCIAL when you’re starting and wherever you are with journaling to write down gratitude EVERY DAY. Maybe that’s a lot, but we should all try haha!
Writing down your gratitude allows you to have a more positive mindset going into or out of your day. It helps you realize the good amongst the bad.
I’m also a firm believer, that the more grateful you are, the better things that will come your way. If you open that part of you to the universe, or to God, or whatever/whoever you believe in, you will get something in return.
I personally LOVE manifestation. I think it works in wonderful ways. However, if I’m not grateful for all that I have, how will I gain more in my life?
It’s all about appreciating what you have first before you move on. And writing down just 3 things I’m grateful for in a day has made a HUGE impact on my life. And I promise it will for you.
Daily reflection and gratitude are the perfect way to start journaling when you want to save time and don’t know exactly what to write about yet.
3. Find prompts you resonate with!
When I began to wish to dive deeper into the world of journaling, guess where the first place I went was?
If you said Pinterest, you would be correct…Is anyone surprised?
But for real, there are SO many resources online that can provide you with journaling prompts and challenges to keep you motivated and to keep you inspired. There are a variety of options that you can find when you just can’t seem to come up with journal prompts yourself.
If I had to make a recommendation, keep a board on Pinterest dedicated to journaling prompt ideas that you can use or make your own. I have a board dedicated to it that you can follow!
https://www.pinterest.com/jacicheneyy/journaling-prompts/
BUT Pinterest is definitely not the only resource. There happens to be a whole page on my blog dedicated to journaling and journaling prompts. I post prompts or journaling challenges WEEKLY, so definitely check it out!
Anyways, use your resources! It makes journaling so easy…all you have to do is the writing!
4. Shadow Work
Okay, so, what is shadow work anyways?
Shadow work is a form of psychoanalysis of one’s self. It’s looking at the parts of yourself that might not be all that great, and that you might not even identify with. I love when it is described as “looking into your disowned self”. Shadow work is making yourself aware of this aspect of YOU.
Shadow work requires asking yourself hard questions. They might make you uncomfortable, THAT IS OKAY!
I love this quote from www.bemytravelmuse.com where Kristen (an absolute angel) describes, “Shadow work is a practice of healing and self-growth, which means that it requires surrender and acceptance. Instead of attacking everything that you don’t want to think, feel, or address, go into this process with an attitude of compassion for yourself and your experiences.
I couldn’t have said it better.
You have to be ready to dive into shadow work, as it can be emotionally draining! If you feel like you’re at a place where you feel like you’re ready to be vulnerable with yourself, I highly recommend it.
As I said before, there are lots of resources you can look at beforehand to find prompts!
Sometimes, shadow work doesn’t need a prompt. Sometimes you can look deeply into your subconscious by yourself, but I think everyone needs an easy place to start. So get to Pinterest haha!
On the real, shadow work changes lives, it changed mine. So if you’re ready, get on it, babe!
5. Meditation
There’s one last thing that I want to talk about…Meditation!
No, meditation does not require writing, but I recommend putting these two things together.
Meditation is one of the best things I’ve done for myself, it’s guaranteed that you won’t regret implementing it into your own routine. Nothing is better for easing your mind and calming your body.
Each morning, I journal for 20-30 minutes and then do about 10 minutes of meditation. Some podcasts do daily meditations, there are youtube videos and a million other resources for you to begin using! I love aligning the meditation I do with the topic that I could have been journaling about.
Meditation and journaling are beautiful things by themselves, but stacking them upon each other will make you unstoppable. I prefer to add these things to my morning routine, but whenever you feel more comfortable is the best time to do it!
My favorite resource for free meditations is the 10 Percent Happier with Dan Harris podcast or app! Each one leaves me feeling free in my mind. It’s crazy.
I highly, highly recommend it. Try it out! 🙂
6. Do your best!
Just a quick reminder for you beautiful people, nobody…NOOOOBOOOODDDDYYYYY is perfect. I miss days of journaling and sometimes feel super uninspired. I wonder if these habits ACTUALLY make a difference, or I’m just imagining it.
However, if you push through the unmotivated and hard days, you will SEE the results. You have to learn to love the boredom to make a change.
I love saying to myself, “You can miss a day, but never miss a day twice.” Keep saying that to yourself when you’re feeling like missing. Resting is okay, but get back on it tomorrow.
I believe in all of you to implement amazing habits for yourself. Geez, if I can do it, anyone can. So happy journaling, let me know how it goes! And once again, here’s the link to 5 DAYS worth of journaling prompts, just to help you out a little bit 🙂
xo,
jaci lynn
