So You Want to Start Journaling?! Let’s Get You Started in 3 Simple Steps
So you want to start journaling …
^ That’s me because I. LOVE. Journaling.
I’ll limit my words here so you can get to writing yours. Let’s go!
Make Journaling Simple!
You know those micro-realizations that hit you when you’re doing the dishes or taking a shower or having the same, predictable disagreement with Sharon in accounting? That. Stuff. Matters. Write it down!
A bit of background: I started journaling in high school when my friends were being mean to me. Yep, the tale as old as time. I was hurt and confused, so I started writing down the one-liners I wished I had the guts to say to them out loud. Poetic, right? Nah. Most of those lines weren’t great - and they didn’t need to be! I just needed to get words on paper so I could think critically and clearly about what was really going on.
Lo and behold, a writer was born. And it turns out that this approach has been a powerfully eye-opening technique in the long run. Years later, when I’m in a conversation with someone who will not hear me, I reassure myself that I will listen to me. I will mark my own words, and I will use what I choose to write down as a way to clearly determine what to do next on my own terms.
Try this:
The next time you find yourself stewing over someone else’s behavior, take a minute to yourself, grab a pen, and tell the page what’s up. Or grab your phone and tell your Notes app who can go to H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks. More on this in the next tip …
2. Journal on the Fly, Then Revisit
Write as many things down as you can when you first think of them.
I’ll tell you right now - my thoughts are not all bangers, and yours won’t be either. So it’s important to revisit what you write so you can see what still resonates, what needs a little editing, and what doesn’t even deserve a second thought.
Here’s what I do: I use the Evernote app, and I jot down whatever thought seems worth remembering at the moment. This happens most often at stoplights because clarity has no respect for convenience and usually arrives while I’m driving. So please, journal safely! Then I give it anywhere from a few days to a few weeks before I take the time to go back through what I’ve written. I edit, and I jot down the ideas I want to hang onto separately. We can get into more specifics in a later post, but just get comfortable with impromptu journaling for now.
Try this:
Make it easy on yourself! Download Evernote, One Note, the Notes app, or quite literally any tool where you can write and store text. Or, keep a small notepad with you if you prefer to jot things down by hand. Write it all down, let it marinate for a bit, and then come back to it with fresh eyes.
3. The journaling prompt that works every darn time
I am grateful …
I LOVE this one! It is so simple, and you can take it in so many different directions! Follow me here.
You know the usual route for this one. Show genuine gratitude for the things in your life that are easy to overlook whenever you can. Shawn Achor says so, and he has some serious science to back it up.
But this prompt can - and should - be flipped on its head. It is far more likely that I will need to write when I am experiencing an emotion other than happiness and the shiny, traditional version of gratitude we’ve been taught.
Instead, when I give gratitude for how frustrated, angry, or lost I feel, I tell myself what I most need to hear. Believe it or not, we can acknowledge how we truly feel without getting stuck. This prompt reframes our experiences in a way that allows us to accept where we are, move through our struggles, and take action to do what needs to be done. For now, you do not have to solve it all. All you have to do is tell yourself the truth.
Try this:
Start with a fresh page, jot down “I am grateful” at the top, and write down whatever is honest for you right now.
Also this: This concept comes from author Melody Beattie in “Make Miracles in Forty Days.” To understand the full context, to hear her heart-wrenching stories of loss and grief, and to read quite literally a life-changing book, head to her website.
To recap:
Keep it simple by writing down whatever you’re thinking. Make it easy by keeping a place to write readily available. Express gratitude for all of it - the “good” and the “bad” alike.
I’m so excited for you, and I’d LOVE to hear from you about how your journaling practice unfolds. Tell me what insight was most valuable for you, and send me any of your own journaling tips!
