I started writing a little bit every day in my colourful Pascualina diary when I was 12. Lying in bed for about 15 minutes after I arrived from school, furiously jotting down fresh memories before they vanished.
Writing anything from my deepest secrets, wildest dreams, silliest ideas, most fiery emotions of the moment, fragile pieces of advice to myself, or every wild thought that came crushing through my brain. It was a very calming routine.
Journaling can be cathartic, clarifying, and so empowering. I believe it offers at least some benefit to most people. It is especially effective for young adults who have not yet developed a strong sense of self.
There was a time when I used to cringe whenever I read my old entries. They were embarrassing, but now I admire them. In a way, cherish them.
Over time, I learned to be compassionate with my past self. Those scribblings now remind me of how far I’ve come from the little girl who used to feel like she didn’t belong.
I wish I knew I was using such a powerful tool for personal growth. I wish I had someone to guide me through the process of journaling, if only to make my notes more meaningful. Or even if someone had told me that writing in a journal organizes my thoughts to give instructions to my future self.
I’ve discovered that journaling has drawn out things from me that would be buried deep down inside. It’s helped me gain perspective on what I value the most by becoming more intentional about the things in my life, to see where I’m excelling or where I can improve. As well as recognizing and appreciating every beautiful thing in it.
What do I write about in my journal?
Journaling, simply put, it’s the practice of writing down your thoughts.
Most days, I journal Morning Pages style—a short journal writing exercise where you write freely for fifteen minutes every day.
Within the first pages of Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron encourages you to recover a sense of safety. To stop judging your outcome and start enjoying the process of creation. You will understand how to release writer’s block and achieve the artistically satisfying life you always wanted when you read the book.
It’s funny how some days it feels challenging to open up that blank page to write about what’s going on in my life. If you struggle with the same thing, you might want to try out a different way to start your journal.
Write about what happened in the last 24 hours – reflecting on the things you did, people you interacted with, or the changes that have taken place since your last entry.
Another way to start is by recording what is stressing me out. This might make you feel better because it looks like you’re taking care of the problems that matter to you – even if it is just a couple of words on paper.
Other ways to journal
- Make a list of the things that make you feel grateful, which can improve your mental well-being. Many people use the 5-minute journal.
- Write about someone in your life. Instead of writing a detailed description, concentrate on these three things: the physical sensations that person evokes in you, your emotional state while interacting with that person and the story the situation with that someone creates in your mind.
- Make a task-oriented entry every hour for a day, also called interstitial journaling. Keep it in the present moment. Your aim is to capture what you’re currently doing and schedule your next task. This can make for highly productive days.
- Create a plan or review your week, month or year with questions like:Did I do what I planned last week?
- If yes, what went well?
- What didn’t go so well?
- What did you learn from what happened?
- How are you going to apply what you have learned?
- If no, what stopped you?
- How could you have planned to tackle these things?
My journaling database parts in Notion
In my journal database, I use:
- A mood tracker that shows how my moods shift over time from 1 to 10. My dream is to create productivity boards set up depending on my mood, called “mood boards.”
- A set of prompts in the page templates comes in handy when I don’t want to start from zero.
- Bi-weekly affirmations depending on the moon phase. I like combining the spiritual with my work. In the future, I want to log my Tarot spreads to continue learning from them. Having weird daily rituals is what I thrive on – so this is perfect for my mental well-being.
- A link to a ‘Weeks’ database to calculate the number of entries I’ve written. This lets me know how consistent I am throughout the months and year. My week’s productivity suffers when I’m not consistent. When skipping days, I tend to be less active because I am not looking for new opportunities. My brain is stuck in the same routine and does not search for better approaches.
If you are interested in getting coached to improve or add Journaling as a habit in your life or learn how to journal, I am here to support you.
Have you tried journaling? If so, let me know how that went in the comments below!
