Journaling 101

Journaling 101: A guide to creating a consistent journaling practice

By Mahogany Wilson

Journaling can be a great self-care practice to incorporate in your self-care routine or healing journey. Journaling has many benefits. It allows you to process your emotions, make sense of your thoughts and even to accurately identify your feelings. And while this sounds good in theory, putting it into practice can prove to be difficult for most. Some of the barriers for having a consistent practice that I have heard are: 

• -lack of time

• -fear of someone else reading

• -not feeling immediate relief

• -not knowing what to write

• -difficulty being consistent

These are legitimate and understandable barriers, but they are not impossible to overcome. Here are a few tips that have personally helped me create a more consistent journaling practice.

Add journaling to something you are already doing and DO NOT wait for the perfect conditions.

It may be easier to incorporate a new habit with one you are already doing fairly consistently. So for example, if you have a morning or bedtime routine that includes something like reading or planning, consider incorporating journaling to this practice. You could also maybe add journaling to your yoga or meditation practice.

And DO NOT wait for the perfect conditions to exist. In an ideal world we would be able to journal in absolute silence or with some relaxing music, nice ambiance, candles lit, lights dim. The reality is, if you are struggling, the thought of even preparing this environment might feel overwhelming and inhibit you from actually getting to journaling at all. I found it more likely for me to whip out my journal while I am binge watching a show and have a thought, while I am waiting for the food to cook, while I’m sitting outside drinking wine, while my kid is doing his homework or playing his game. Journaling does not have to be a 30 minute ordeal in order for it to be effective. Just a few minutes of you writing down your thoughts can go a long way.

Find journaling prompts online or look into purchasing a guided journal.

I hear so often, “I want to journal, but I don’t know what to write”. Having a prompt or a question to spark your thoughts can be extremely helpful. Pinterest and even google have a ton of good journaling prompts to choose from. A guided journal that has prompts, questions, quotes and thought provoking content can be very helpful as well. There are plenty available that you can find to fit your needs. If you need a place to start, try downloading my 5 Day Self Love Journal (for free!) here. 

Only journal when it feels genuine or when you actually have something to talk about.

One of the most important things I did was only journaling when I felt like it or when I actually had something to write. Instead of forcing myself to do it everyday, therefore making it a chore, I was able to create a positive relationship with journaling. It became something I looked forward to and not something that I dreaded. Which means I still do not journal every single day, but when I do journal it is effective and something that I genuinely have a desire to do. This may also mean that some journal entries are a few sentences and some are a few pages. I only do what I can at any given time, not forcing, but allowing it to flow. Sometimes I journal multiple times a day and other times I don’t journal for days at a time. 

Please do not start your journaling journey off by making it a chore. Allow it to be a genuine practice, remove the pressure and it will likely be more satisfying and easier to maintain.

Don’t be afraid to utilize technology.

For some, the traditional pen and paper method may not be desirable, for many reasons. The most important thing is not your method, but your ability to get your thoughts out of your head and somewhere else. You just need to be able to sort out and make sense of your thoughts, so don’t be afraid to utilize technology to do so. This may be literally typing on the computer, typing on your notes, utilizing journaling apps or video journaling. You have to find what works for you as it relates to journaling. I personally prefer the pen and paper method but there have been times where my journal wasn’t accessible to me and I just needed to jot something down really quickly and I utilize the notes app on my phone for moments such as those. 

Set realistic expectations of your journaling experience.

The purpose of journaling is not to solve your problems. We often approach “undesirable” emotions with a goal of wanting to get rid of them. That is not the purpose of journaling, journaling is an opportunity to understand, explore and sit with your emotions. You may not feel immediate relief when journaling, because it is a process that in some ways forces you to sit with emotions. That is not always a comfortable process, meaning the relief may not be instant, but sometimes what we need is to give ourselves permission to sit with our feelings. So as you approach journaling, know that it is not a quick fix to feeling better. It is an opportunity for release, exploration and to feel your feelings, not to get rid of them.

Overall, journaling can be a very helpful, cathartic experience, but there is no “one size fits all” method of journaling. You have to find what works for you. These are some of the things that helped me and others begin to incorporate journaling consistently as a part of our self care practices. I hope these tips prove to be helpful!

Happy Journaling!