Keeping a daily journal can be a valuable tool for personal development, self-care and maintaining a healthy emotional balance. Even a weekly journal entry can be very beneficial as you reflect on the week's highlights. It's also a great way for your children and generations after to get a glimpse into your life and keep your memories alive. If your looking to unlock your creativity, journaling can be a really good way to get your surface thoughts out of the way to make room for free flowing ideas and creative problem solving strategies.
The Transformative Power of Journaling
1. Express Yourself Freely: Have you ever kept your thoughts to yourself because you didn't want your friends or family to judge you? Your private journal can give you a safe space to express and process your thoughts and experiences without worrying about judgement or gossip. The art of writing allows you to identify stressors and develop your own coping strategies. You would be amazed at how well your mind can work through a stressor just by writing it all out. Keep it locked in an app like this, or keep it in a drawer out of sight. Remember the diaries with a lock? Oh, sweet nostalgia!
2. Goal Setting: Are you setting goals for yourself, but having trouble following through? Journaling can help you set them, track them and finally get those dreams accomplished. Tracking your progress over time can motivate you to keep going. Seeing your previous journal entries may be the push you need when your too tired or busy to think about your goals. Hold yourself accountable simply by using a journal like this for maximum organization and focus.
3. Elevated Mindfulness: A daily journaling practice can improve your concentration, decision making skills and foster a positive mindset. Journaling can assist in making better decisions by weighing out the pros and cons of any situation that's on your mind. Writing down things you're grateful for will improve your mood and ability to problem solve with a calm and clear headspace.
The Art is in Your "Why"
Now that you know the many benefits of journaling, lets narrow it down to what type of journal you want to keep. Of course you can have multiple journals for different purposes, or use one and freely write as you need.
Types of journals to use: The High 5 Journal guides you through "brain dump" and journal entries step by step and The Daily Overview Planner is perfect for undated organization and self care intentions.
The Legacy Journal is filled with writing prompts to help you share your story with your family. It's a beautifully thoughtful gift to give your parents and grandparents to let them know you want to know their life story.
Storyworth is a creative way to get your memoir finally completed. With email prompts sent weekly for a year, you can easily finish the story you want to share. Once you've answered all the email prompts, you will receive a beautifully bound keepsake memoir book to share with your loved ones for generations.
Create Your Own Journaling Ritual
Setting the scene for your journal writing will help you limit distractions and focus your energy on that task only. Developing a writing ritual can look something like this: find a comfortable place that's quiet, have pens handy, light a candle to signal to your brain that it's writing time and let the words flow freely.
Remember, if journaling is a new habit you are setting, know that it's okay if you skip a few entries. You may even forget about it for a month! The important thing is to keep trying to incorporate it into your life and it will eventually stick.
Pro tip: schedule journaling time in your calendar or set a daily alarm to remind you of your new practice and include your WHY in the title. "Brain Dump Time", "Legacy Journal" or "Finish that Memoir!"
What journaling ritual do you use? Will you try one of the journals listed? Tell me in the comments, would love to know.
