Embarking on a daily journaling journey requires a certain amount of goal-orientation and open-mindedness. Although you needn’t have a concrete vision for your work, it is best to have some idea about what you hope to accomplish with it. Many people do not think of themselves as goal-minded. In many ways, journaling can teach you how to make goals you actually care about. It can help you sort through your expectations for the future. Before taking the next steps to understand how to start journaling, you might want to check out our post about why journaling is important.
Journaling Helps You Clarify Your Goals
A goal is an invaluable asset: it is a beacon that illuminates our path to self-realization. Ask yourself,
- What do I want to discover?
- What do I want to do?
- What do I want to change?
These three simple guiding questions allow you to delve into your mind and recover an incredible road map to your life. If you’ve never thought about setting goals, ask yourself, why not? What benefit do you see in creating a goal and following through with it? You’ll soon find that the practice enables you to stay true to the desires and routines you want to manifest for yourself.
How do I find the time to write?
To be honest, here is no such thing as finding time to write. There is only the opportunity to make the time. This is true for any craft. No magic clock is going to make an extra hour appear for you. You have to move the items on your schedule to fit your needs. Delegate tasks wherever you can so you’re not bogged down by chores or other responsibilities. Investigate where your hours are slipping through the cracks on your phone screen. Prioritize your writing. Life is never cut and dry, but there are always items on our timetable that do not bring us lasting joy. Saving an hour of precious time from any and all life-sapping habits will enable you to put that energy straight into your writing instead.
I personally find it beneficial to journal at the beginning of the day if I am setting goals, or making a to-do list. This gives my day purpose and focus. I also enjoy writing out my dreams as part of my practice. Dream journaling not only helps me further enjoy my night-time escapades, but it also allows me to see how those dreams are affected by the stressors and changes in my waking world.
At the end of the day, I like to respond to a prompt, or simply write freely about my life. The evening is the perfect time for reflection. When the last thing you see is your journal, then your mind is cleared of whatever thoughts and emotions have flooded it throughout the day. In the end, the schedule that you create for yourself will dictate how much energy and time you really spend putting pen to paper.
Where do journaling prompts fit in?
When you’re learning how to start journaling remember that is not only about goal setting. It is also about responding to our experience in profound and meaningful ways. Taking time every day to journal may seem like an extraordinary task, especially if we are not inclined to express ourselves through words. Therefore, you should begin slowly. Using journaling prompts is a simple and versatile method for unraveling your thoughts.
Start by using a prompt that relates to your current situation, or one that ignites your imagination. Your answers can always be short and straightforward to start, until you are more comfortable with longer and more complex ones. In the same way that a strategic question in a humanities class can help us think critically, a journal prompt can guide us to more profound parts of our psyche. The difference is that no one is twisting your arm to write the journal entry.
Here a few journal prompt book recommendations to get you started:
The Year of You: 365 Journal Writing Prompts for Creative Self-Discovery
Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration
What do I need to begin journaling daily?
The first thing you need is, of course, a journal. I am not so old-fashioned to say that it needs to be physical; a laptop suffices, and even a phone can work. However, there really is something special about holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other. From years as an English tutor, I have recognized that many of my students are actually better able to express themselves orally. So, if you are this way, you may want to consider investing in a speech-to-text software. Speaking your mind out loud is a beautiful practice for self-expression.
That being said, it is cathartic to write. When you’re first learning how to start journaling you might be afraid of misspelling everything or writing off the lines, but remember that your journal is YOURS ALONE. There is no spellcheck in a notebook because there are no judgments. As long as you can understand what you wrote, you are in good shape.
One quirk I’ve found about my own writing is that unless I have the perfect pen, with flowing black ink and a comfortable handle, I cannot write. You may have similar needs. Maybe you only want a pink pen, or a very sharp pencil. Take no longer than tomorrow to acquire your instruments of choice and hop to it.
Where should I journal?
Finding your writing space is an exciting and exhaustive process. I’d like to say that you should be able to pick up your notebook anywhere and just write, but that’s impossible. You need an area that feels comfortable and calming. I personally find random noises intolerable and so if I’m in a public, I’ll put on music (with no lyrics) to block it out. You will also want scenery that isn’t too bustling, so that your eyes are not drawn away from the paper again and again. Other than that, your seating, your lighting, and all the other aspects of that special place are up to you.
How exactly to start journaling daily
Step One
Once you have your instruments and your workspace, begin by writing what the ideal day looks like for you. Some people swear that they do not like to have structure in their life, but I argue from experience that this is only because we haven’t found a structure that works for us. Some may see a scheduled calendar and feel confined, but really, time management is a practice of great freedom.
Think about all the things you like to do and now watch how the day flies past and you haven’t had a moment to actually do them. If instead, you express in print the way you want to spend your time, you will find that you are dedicated to making that a reality. Having a general outline for the day and sticking to it will improve your ability to maintain good habits. It will also improve your feelings of success and autonomy.
Step Two
The next step is to set specific and reasonable time aside for writing. Dedicate 2 minutes, 10 minutes, or 1 hour to simply sit still and allow your ideas to lay down on the page in front of you. And again, it doesn’t matter what your specific writing goals are, the point is that you are committing your time to yourself in this personal and practical way. If you miss a day, just move on and write the next day. Don’t think in terms of failure or writer’s block. Just think about your present moment and what you can do now to further your practice.
Step Three
Start writing! The freedom to write what we think, and what we want for the future is a joy and a pleasure. Any pressure we feel about writing is simply self-inflicted. It can be remedied by, you guessed it, writing about it. I think every successful writer in the world can tell you the importance of writing about those fears and failures that come up again and again. After all, one of the most precious aspects of the human spirit is the desire to improve. That improvement must centre on the complete knowing that there is nowhere to get to and no one to become. We are perfect as we are and writing can be a tool to help us better understand this fact.
Step Four
After releasing your anxieties when you’re figuring out how to start journaling, now you can reflect and decide what it is you hope to achieve. This is an ongoing process, and you will set the tone for your writing each time you pick up your pen. I mentioned that journaling is for goal setting and self-reflection, however, it also improves creativity. You can write about a problem you are having and brainstorm solutions for it. Or, you can organize your ideas for an art piece, a novel, an invention, an organization etc. You may also express your feelings towards loved ones, come to terms with your animosities, explore the depths of depression, show anxiety who’s the boss, or revel in your own delight and gratitude for being alive.
Step Five
The extensive caverns of your mind are no longer a maze, no longer a mystery. Relax and revel in the insights you have arrived at. Words are the threads that guide us through the labyrinth. Our ability to use language to invoke new understanding and new creativity is what separates us from our ancestors. Our ancestors’ ability to develop routine, however, is something we can learn from them. In the same way that your great-great-great grandfather had to wake at dawn to feed the animals, then tend to the land, then play with his children, then read or write letters, you too must find a rhythm in your day that clarifies and stabilizes your entire life.
What kind of journaling routine should I have?
Have you ever dieted? Or known someone who has? Then you know why it doesn’t work. Dieting is short-term and deeply dissatisfying. If you’re trying to create a routine that is punishing, then treat writing like a new diet that you have to force into your day. If instead you want a practice that feeds your soul and fits your way of being, then you want the proverbial lifestyle change instead. You want the long-term and miraculously life-giving new habits of creating a meaningful routine.
A meaningful routine fuels you and rejuvenates you. It doesn’t make you feel bad if you forget to do something on your list, or if you simply run out of time. It empowers you to just pick up where you left off and move on. My routine is very simple, I wake up early and write in the mornings. Then if I have work to do, I complete it during the day.
Find A Balance That Works For You
Learning how to start journaling requires that you get in tune with your own habits. I like to exercise outside in the afternoon because it’s the warmest part of the day and I live in Canada. Then I spend time with my grandmother, whom I live with. We eat together and do puzzles or play games. Then we watch a movie in the quiet hours of the evening. If I have anything left to do, I complete it after that. Then I am free to face-time with my partner, scroll through Instagram, read, and watch a couple of YouTube videos before bed.
You’ll notice I am not banishing myself from social media. I include my online time in my schedule so that I’m not down on myself when I inevitably use it. Social media is a part of my life, so I add it to the schedule. However, I am mindful of how long I spend online and I challenge myself not to start scrolling until the sun is down and my work is complete. Free yourself from the sense of failure by including your vice in your schedule. But be disciplined: you’ll get a hit of dopamine from sticking to your guns just the same as you would from clicking that ‘like’ button.
What’s next?
What you want to write about is entirely up to you. Remember, be easy on yourself. There is nothing you need to change. There is no one you need to be. Your journal is your door to the inner sanctum of your mind. Don’t lock that door with self-defeating thoughts or painful memories. Allow the door to swing open and take a baby step forward each day. Allow your mind to rest with everything going on in your world and thank yourself for the openness you have towards change. Thank yourself everyday for the time you set aside for your aspirations. Thank yourself for doing that which truly and forever brings you peace and joy.
