I’ve been getting better at journaling over the past year. I think it has finally become a habit. I’ve tried off and on since I was a teen to be consistent with it but my mind has always kind of been all over the place, so the thoughts are flowing whether there is pen and paper, a phone, or a keyboard nearby, the words end up kind of all over the place. This year I’ve found a way to journal every day in about 5 minutes or so.
I’ve also redefined what my expectations of “journaling” mean to me, which has helped. My new approach is to keep it as simple as possible so I can be consistent with it. In previous attempts to journal, I would let the natural roadblocks of life get into my head and inevitably stop my daily practice. It’s like I was discrediting myself because it wasn’t up to some unrealistic standard that I had in my mind for myself. This time, I decided…f*ck that.
Instead of taking away my credibility from myself, I’m giving more credibility to the actions I do take, and this goes well beyond journaling. Here are the 4 basic things I am doing to make sure I journal each and every day:
BRAIN DUMP
- I start by just writing down what’s on my mind with no filters. Some days this is pretty messy, time-consuming, and generally chaotic thoughts. On the flip side, some days this is only a sentence or two, so I think it balances out.
3 THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR
- This is pretty straightforward but I am oftentimes intentionally writing down the simplest of things that are usually overlooked by all of us.
3 THINGS THAT WOULD MAKE THE DAY GREAT
- I keep this super simple as well because this is separate from my task list. Usually, this is things like, “I want to get to the gym today,” or, “I took the dog to the park to play.”
- It doesn’t make sense to use grandiose things here, because at least for me, the point of journaling is personal, and really for my own mental health. At this point in life, I am trying to appreciate all of the little things.
DAILY AFFIRMATIONS
- Maybe it’s the five or six times that I’ve watched Ted Lasso or the countless Larry June tracks I listen to on repeat, but I think we all need to be more encouraging to ourselves. Whether it’s “making yourself big” like Rebecca, or simply telling yourself, “Good job. Keep going.” like Uncle LJ, affirmations are a simple way to remind yourself that you got this. As Colin from Ted Lasso would say, “I’m a strong and capable man.”
The key to seeing results from journaling is finding what works for you. Like most of my writing, it’s been a back-and-forth battle for a very long time. This time around, I feel like I’ve set myself up for success in a way that I have never before. Getting to the daily journaling still took me a while, but I think that’s just part of the process.
Now that I am on the right path with learning how to journal, one of the next goals is to make writing on this blog consistent again. I’ve got some ideas, I just need to find the strategy that works for me.
I made a YouTube video about how I journal in about 5 minutes every day. You can watch it below. Please let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions! Making YouTube videos is also on my list of things I want to do more of and learn.
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