My Journaling Confession

It used to be a secret, but now I’m fully out in the open about it.

I’m a serial Journaler. 

My history in Journaling is long.

I remember starting a mini Journal nearly 30 years ago…. The stories 30 years of Journal’s could tell!! 

You may have heard the term Journaling, but are not entirely sure how to do it. Or maybe you’re a serial Journaler, but you’re stuck in a rut, it’s become a chore, something you do, but you’ve lost the Why.

Read on to start a Journaling practice, or to give your existing practice a reset.

What exactly is Journaling?

Simply put, it's the practice of writing down your thoughts, emotions, insights, experiences, or reflections (or anything else that is helpful to you).

You could literally have a blank page and write down what thoughts come into your mind, or what emotions are present, and you’re Journaling. 

So let’s let go of the idea that Journaling is something complex, something we need to buy a special book to do, or something that we can do wrong!

There is no one right way to Journal. It’s about experimenting and seeing what works for you.

What I want to share here is some of my personal insights into Journaling, to hopefully inspire you to take up this empowering and life changing practice.

Let’s start with these three simple questions:

• When to Journal?

• How to Journal?

• What to Journal?

When to Journal?

I currently Journal each evening before I go to sleep. 

But I have also Journaled in the morning, or just at weekends in the afternoon when I have some quiet time. Or I love a good Journal session when travelling, when you’re stuck on a train or plane. It’s the perfect time to reset the mind before you arrive in a new place. 

I’ve journaled during lunch breaks from work. I’ve journaled in coffee shops, on park benches, in inspiring places and not so inspiring places!

Basically whenever the desire (or need) strikes and you can get a bit of quiet time.

I also practise an end of month Journaling as a reflection on how I’ve grown in the past month and what I want to focus on in the next month. For that I use a paper planner by Magic of I, which has these built in (along with new and full moon journal prompts). 

And as for how long a Journal session might take, it could be 1 minute, it could be 2 hours, or anything in between. 

I’d say on an average day it would typically be around 10-15 minutes. But it’s not something I time. I know when I’m really tired and can’t keep my eyes open it might be 1-2 minutes, or other days I might lose track of time and it could be an hour (particularly if I’ve got something to work through). 

How to Journal?

Let’s discuss Stationary!

The majority of the time I’ve used a blank notebook of some kind. At some points I’ve used Journals where they have pages for each day, with sections and/or questions for you to complete. 

I’ve mainly used paper versions, but occasionally I’ve tried using notes on my phone or a doc on my computer.

Pen and paper works best for me, and there’s science behind why writing by hand can help build connections in the brain (subject of a future article!).

In my experience a blank notebook for my Journal is better than a Journal which is preset with sections and/or questions. A blank notebook Journal enables me to decide what I want to reflect on. And what I want to reflect on often changes over the life of my Journal. Plus I have lots of pages for my ramblings and I’m not confined to a box.

But, I have found that Journal’s with preset questions can be really powerful in two scenarios:

• You have a particular challenge you’re working on. And using a prescribed format for that challenge can really help keep you on track. For example, Lovendu does a range of Journals from an Anxiety Journal to an Uplifting Journal. And there’s a host of articles on the best Journals, e.g. The Anti Burn Out Club or Marie Claire to help you find one specific to what you want to work on. 

• You’re new to the process of noticing your thoughts and emotions and reflecting on them. Having the aid of preset Journals, can help start you along that process of understanding thoughts and emotions and what you can do to start to make changes. They can be a powerful tool.

I do have my Magic Of I daily planner with inbuilt Journal prompts at new moons, full moons, at the start of the year, end of year, and start of months. But the one I write in the most is my blank notebook Journal.

Let’s get back to a blank notebook Journal…. 

I’ve found it's best if it feels and looks inspiring. This can be down to texture, thickness of paper, sturdiness of cover, images, or colour. Something you’re drawn to.

It’s about making it special, special to you. It’s about showing you’re worth that little luxury, something dedicated to your Journaling. Your Journal becomes a friend, somewhere you turn to in times of happiness and sadness.

What to Journal?

So assuming you have a blank notebook, what do you Journal about……

At the start of my Journal I wrote a list of Journal Prompts that I find useful. And on a daily basis I choose which ones I want to answer.

‘Journal Prompts’, are just questions to ask yourself. They act as a trigger to get Journaling started. There is no correct answer for a Journal Prompt, it’s not a test, it’s not an exam. 

Some Journal Prompts are designed to help you on a journey, or to help you overcome a challenge or move forward in your life. 

Some are based on scientific research into the impact they have on our brains and on our bodies. Or they can be based on ancient wisdom traditions.  

An example here is Gratitude Journaling, where you might write down 3 things you're Grateful for at the end of each day. 

Science shows this can kick off the production of dopamine and serotonin, the feel good chemicals. 

And in Yoga tradition a gratitude practice comes from the practice of Pratipaksha Bhavana; the practice of responding to negative thoughts by cultivating positive counterparts.

But sometimes it really doesn’t matter what the initial Journal Prompt was, it’s about allowing you to express your thoughts, emotions, experiences, insights and reflections. 

These are my current Journal Prompts:

• What am I grateful for today?

• What have I learned today? What would I do differently tomorrow?

• Where have I embodied by Values today?

• Where have I acted in line with my Purpose today?

• Where have I honoured my Wellness today?

• What am I feeling right now? Then; What is triggering those feelings?

I by no means do all of these in one day! I would pick one, or maybe two to write about.

For me it’s about allowing the time to go deep, not to have a superficial answer to a checklist of questions. 

I might also have some specific questions I ask myself when I’m working on a challenge in my life. For example, I’m working on tapping into my intuition and, like a little non-scientific experiment, noting down the result.  So I ask myself: ‘Where have I followed my intuition and what was the result?’

I also have days where I Free Write, a really powerful practice to get deep into what’s going on in the mind.

Within my Coaching Programmes, a Journal is a key part. Clients use their Journal as a tool to track their learning, their progress, to record results from little experiments they run, to think through challenges, to celebrate their successes.

Closing Thoughts?

I’ve covered some practicalities of journaling, the When, How and What. 

But just to mention here the Why?

There are plenty of studies that talk about the mental health benefits Journaling can bring. This article is a good one by PositivePshychology.

If I had to sum up my experience, then I’d say these three things. 

• Journaling enables me to Grow.

• Journaling is a vital tool to help me out of darker negative thoughts and feelings to find my way back to lightness and to Me.

• My Journal is like a best friend, it listens really well and doesn't judge. 

I feel I could write a book on Journaling, but I’ve restrained myself to these few pages. Hopefully I’ve shed some light on the practice of Journaling and inspired you to grab your pen and start some form of Journaling. 

And one last closing thought that I’ve seen time and again over my 30 years of journaling: 

When I Don’t Want To Journal Is When I Really Need To Journal!!!