How to Start a Personal Journal

I know it is past the first of the year. You probably already made your New Year's resolutions, and are well on your way to accomplishing them. Good for you! Do you have room for one more item?

How many of you need to start a personal journal (or find the one you started YEARS ago)? 

This is seriously the best habit you can ever start. It helps get rid of clutter in your brain, relaxes you as you reflect on your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and is SO therapeutic! One of my favorite pastimes is to read through old entries and reflect on lessons learned. Or even better, laugh at mistakes!

 

Disclaimer: I am not the perfect journal keeper. I just love journals and notebooks! Currently I have a personal, scripture, and bullet journal, and someday I'm going to add a Gratitude Journal. I go through really good periods when I rarely miss a day, and sometimes I go for months without writing. But that is okay!  Keeping a journal, no matter how consistent you are, is good for you. 

So, have I convinced you yet? I know how hard and intimidating it can feel to get started, so I have put together some tips to help you take off!

1. Decide on how you want to journal- I am a pen and paper kind of gal with tons of journals, but that might not be your thing. An election version on the computer or mobile device may work better for you. It really doesn't matter. Just decide on something!

2. Get your journal ready- Go out and buy a journal you are excited to write in. If it helps, buy special pens just for writing in it. Make it fun! If you are going the electronic route, set it up! Decide how you want to format it, but keep it simple. We don't want you overwhelmed before you even begin! Regardless of what you are going to use, make some goals right now: how often are you going to write an entry, what are you going to write about, time of day to write, etc.

3. Get some journal prompts- I know from personal experience that after a couple entries, you can get discouraged because there is "nothing to write about". So prepare some prompts for those kind of days. I like to write about what has been going on, and then follow up my entry with a prompt, because honestly, who remembers to write about "A mistake you made that you grew from"? I love that it helps me do some soul searching every day! I never think about those kind of things, let alone write about them! 

If you need some help finding really good prompts, Elizabeth@lifeoflovely is amazing! I love her prompts, and she has a whole year of them! 

4. Schedule reminders- this is probably the most important step. Make sure you set reminders of some sort until it is a habit! Sticky notes on the fridge or television, a task on your to-do list, or an alarm on your phone, anything will do! Just make sure that when you see the reminder, stop what you are doing and get that entry written! I am the world's worst at saying "Oh, I will get to it later", but guess what? I never, EVER do it! So don't procrastinate, okay?

5. Now... WRITE- don't be a perfectionist. Play around with it! Add doodles, insert pictures and cards, make lists, do whatever! If you drop the ball, pick it back up on the current day. Don't try to fill in the period of time you missed, or else your journal will go back on the bookshelf or worse, in the trash. 

Get this habit started as soon as possible (a.k.a today 😄). Your confidence will increase, you will feel more at peace, and more relaxed. Pinky promise! 

Are there some tips that I didn't include that have helped you? Comment below!