How to Start a Journal Practice: A Guide

Sharing is caring!

Journaling: The Lost Art

I was always one for keeping a diary. Ever since I was 10 years old I had a regular journal practice. That is, up until I got married and started my family. It seems there was always something more important to do. Either that or I only had enough energy after my to do list to veg out on the sofa watching Seinfeld reruns.

I still loved the idea of starting up my journal practice again and I would search the dollar store for all their cute notebooks on a semi-regular basis. But as soon as I would start, I would lose motivation and let the journal collect dust once again.

The Renaissance

And then came 2024. Something inside of me just decided it was done with letting my to do list run my life. Maybe it was the fact the kids were grown enough to look after themselves. It might have been the fact my health could not take the neglect anymore. Or perhaps I had just finally reached my quota for taking care of other people and discovered I forgot to take care of me. Whatever it was it was going to be a year of being “selfish”. I was finally going to put my self at the top (or at least in the top three) of my to-do list on a regular basis.

Getting Back In the Rhythm

Step one of taking care of myself was to start a journal practice. It was a necessary step in order to figure out exactly where I wanted this year to go. What did I need? What did I want? Where did I see my future going? Honestly, I had no idea. It is almost like my brain had literally blocked all my wants and desires in order to raise a family. How messed up is that?!

Beginning my journal practice is what actually led me here. As I began separating the me the person from the me the mom/wife/daughter, etc. I realized I needed to get creative again and one way to do that was to start writing for other people to read – not just the imaginary journal fairy. I also thought I actually had things to share that might be useful to other people like me -women who neglected themselves for too long and were fed up with always coming last. So that takes us to today.

The Benefits of a Journal Practice

As you can tell, journaling is a great step toward self care. Just allowing yourself to focus on you for 10 minutes a day is, honestly, more than most women tend to do. Am I right?

Here are a few more benefits to get you inspired to start your own journal practice:

• Self-awareness 
• Prioritizing your self care
• Increased gratitude
• Learning to have an appreciation for the little things
• Clarity
• Better mental health, reduced stress and overwhelm.
• Mindfulness
• Clearer goal setting
• More confidence
• More inspiration

Now that we have heard all the benefits (again), lets get to how to start your journal practice. After all, that’s why you are here.

How to Start Your Own Journal Practice

The Basics

To begin journaling you need something to record your thoughts. For me, it is the endless supply of inexpensive blank notebooks from the dollar store with quirky sayings on the front like “Born to be Wild…until 9pm or so.” Also, a supply of pens in a rainbow of colors just in case the mood hits me to be creative. (I usually forget about them until half way through my rant but you never know when something might call for a hit of pink).

But that’s me. For you, it might be your laptop if you tend to lean more toward the digital sort. Perhaps, writing isn’t your thing and you just want to talk your thoughts out – record them – and that’s a journal. Are you artistically inclined? Art journals and scrapbooks might be the way for you to interpret your feelings and keep record of them.

All you are looking for here is a way to get the stuff in your head out and recorded so you can go back to it later for reflection.

Types of Journals

There are many types of journals you could use.

Mental Health Journal –

This I would say is what I resembles my current journaling method most. Journaling just to get some clarity and peace of mind (and an occasional rant). Basically it is just a way to get your thoughts out of your head to help you alleviate stress and anxiety. You could also use prompts to help you break down some barriers to past traumas – called shadow work. Its basically therapy with yourself. That being said, I consider real life therapy an important part of a complete mental health regimen.

Guided Journal –

These are journals with prompts in them for you to write about. This is a great way to journal if you are unsure of what to write about. You can also use prompts found online like these ones I made for June.

Gratitude Journal –

Its really quite simple. List things you are grateful for each day and night.

Bullet Journal –

I don’t know about you, but I can often be caught drooling over the gorgeous bullet journal layouts on Pinterest. Bullet journaling is basically a way of quickly recording your day, week, year, in the form of lists, and graphic organizers. If you want to learn more, go to the source.

Morning Pages – 

The book, “That Artist Way”, covers this journal type. The book is on my TBR list but what I know is you are just meant to let the ideas flow freely onto a piece of paper. It is most helpful to do this in the morning when you are most creative.

Art Journals and Scrapbooks –

As I mentioned above, if you have an artistic streak getting creative with your journal time might be for you.

Digital Journals –

Get yourself a simple word processor and go. One word of caution: don’t let the wide world of cat videos distract you. If you tend to be the type (ahem – me) perhaps pen and paper is better for you.

Recorded Audio –

Now with smart phones, there is no need for cassette tapes to do this (although if you want to go vintage, right on!). The app even comes preloaded on most phones. Just press record.

Finding your Why

Well, I kinda spilled the beans already on my why but you should have a general idea of why you want to begin a journal practice. This will help you get motivated and stay that way.

Here’s a list of reasons why you may want to start a journaling, just to get the ball rolling…

• Clarity. It is funny how much more clear things are once you start writing.
• Mental health. Writing out what is bugging you is a great way to move forward. Also, using prompts can help you see things in a different way.
• Setting goals. My first journal entry of every month is simply a list of goals I have for the month.
• Creativity. Whether you are just writing or getting crafty with it, journaling is a great way to light your creative spark.

Learning the Rule of No Rules

Rule #1

Allow for mistakes. Don’t know how to spell “conscientious” without spellcheck (like me). Who cares?

Rule #2

Throw neatness out the window. By the time I am mid-flow my hand writing might as well be in a foreign language to anyone else but me. I just pretend it is on purpose to make sure no one else can read my thoughts.

Rule #3

Let freedom reign. Sure, you might not be getting and top marks for punctuation but letting the thoughts out without any mind to sentence structure is the best way to get to the core of what you are trying to say. Stream of consciousness is what it is called, I think.

Rule #4

Be honest. No sense lying to yourself. No one is going to read it. Want to say what you really think of your mother-in-law? Have at it. It’s better for you to get it off your chest than to accidently let it slip at Sunday dinner.

Last Rule

Enjoy the process. Don’t make it another obligation. Find a way of journaling that makes you want to get back to it the next day. Maybe you journal while having your morning coffee when the house is still quite. Or perhaps right before bed you light a few candles, snuggle under the blankets, and recount your day. Make the ritual of journaling just as much about self care as the getting thoughts out.

Finding the Time for Your Journal Practice

I highly recommend the book Atomic Habits for helping you create a habit of journaling. You can read my review here and I even talk a bit about how it helped me get in the journal habit.

My recommendations on finding the time to journal are as follows:

• Find a time you are relaxed. That might be first thing in the morning, or last thing at night, or while you eat lunch. When do you naturally find yourself with some time? That’s the perfect time to start.
• Habit stacking: Tie journaling to something you do everyday anyway. For me, it’s morning coffee time. Coffee’s out, pens are out.
• Don’t skip two days in a row. When starting a habit it is important to just show up everyday even if it is only for a few minutes. If you think there is nothing to write about just sit down and write “I love bunnies” for all that it really matters. Showing up is what matters at the start. (BTW I have a pet bunny whom I do love so that might actually show up in my journal at some point).
• Have a plan B. If you are intimidated by the blank page, have some prompts ready to go.

Read More

Posts mentioned in this article:

Sharing is caring!