How to Start a Journal Practice
Notice I said MY version of journal writing. Your journal style does not have to be like mine – or anyone else’s. There is no right or wrong way to journal write – you just need to write.
Research continues to show the benefit journal writing has upon health. It has been shown to increase t-cell production along with assist with improving overall mood in as short amount of time as 3-4 days of writing for only 20 minutes. Much cheaper than medication or a physician appointment.
I encourage people to leave the first page blank on a journal and when you begin an entry to date it with the day of the week, date and time of day (it helps if you decide to reread at a later time).
- Don’t worry about spelling or grammar
- You can write everyday, once a week or once a month
- Use your favorite pencil, pen, crayon or marker (or all of them)
- Tell the story of a particular day or certain moment
- List some of your fears and worries
- List things you are proud of
- Write letters to friends and family (they don’t have to read them)
- Write out your prayers
- Draw pictures of how you feel or a place you have visited
- Place pictures or other objects you want to keep
- Remember THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY to journal!!!
If you are still uncertain, I encourage you to try nothing more than starting a daily gratitude journal. Each day, list 3 things you are grateful for on that day. If you are having a difficult time handwriting things, I suggest you try Happy Rambles. Register with this (free) site and each day it will send you an e-mail (at your chosen time) and ask you what you are happy/grateful for that day. All you need to do is reply with your list and it is saved under your profile. You can respond from your phone or computer just like any other e-mail. There are also various other apps for your phone to try.
Give yourself a week of beginning to journal on a simple basis and you may find you want to do more. Let me know about your own journal practice
I love these tips! I’ve just recently started journaling consistently and I love it!
Journaling is truly therapeutic. I’m so glad you are doing it consistently.
I love when you discuss journal tips. I am excited to begin!
Next week I’m going to start with tips and reasons to journal write. My hope is to get my Journal Notes series started again.
“your journal is your friend/therapist/companion at 2:00 in the morning or 2:00 in the afternoon.” I LOVE that. I keep a prayer journal in an actual journal but then use a private platform to journal my personal thoughts via the keyboard 😉 My brain moves too fast sometimes for me to write it all down, although I love to journal in a journal when I travel!
So many people are now using the computer to journal. I still have to handwrite my private thoughts as I love the way pen feels and it also helps me to review what I’ve written. I can always tell a lot about my mood from the way my handwriting looks.
I always think I want to start a journal again but never ever seem to. I think I see my blog as a kind of journal x
Our blogs are journals in many ways but there are also things we probably don’t want to make “public” for everyone to see. Since I’ve been blogging, I do not write in my private journal as often as I used to. Thanks for stopping by!
I use to love to journal. I did it all the time growing up but then my mom started reading it so I stopped. I still feel sometimes that I need to get back to it but I always have that fear of someone reading it.
Jessa, I’m so sorry your privacy was invaded. That does make it hard to develop and keep a routine. Start with lists and things you are grateful for and maybe that will help you begin a practice.
I need to make time for it. I started a list of things I was grateful for by my bed but I haven’t done it in any while.
I have a beautiful new journal just waiting to be cracked. I think it may be time 🙂
Yes, open that beautiful book up. Don’t wait for the perfect time because now is the perfect time.
I love keeping a journal or even just jotting down chicken scratch thoughts! I also enjoy looking back on them years later to see what I was thinking back then 🙂 Thanks for sharing this great post!
I have a multitude of journals, some I keep in my purse, some at work and of course my “private” journals. It’s always interesting to look back and what I’ve written.
I love your journal posts! 🙂 Journaling is my absolute favorite. 🙂 These are great tips, Sheryl!
You’re my fellow journal sister! Thanks Mia.
Great tips on here. One of the things I have to remind myself is that it doesn’t matter how much or how little I journal. I also have stopped in the past because I’m not doing it as often as I would like. However, I’m trying to let my journal be a place where I’m allowed to be imperfect. You are right about how there is no right or wrong way. It just is what it is.
Also, I want to add, that I completely agree with writing the day of the week that you are writing, looking back on old entries I’ll wonder what day of the week I had that thought.
I believe that the empty spaces between dates in our journals tell their own stories. I look back at mine and either know that things were extremely good in my life or not so great at all. And yes, dating is so important. It provides a timeline of our life.
I have 5,001 different journals. All my journals are quite random and sadly they are everywhere.
I have a journal for each child that I need to really get back to. I kept a journal specifically for the time my husband was away in Iraq. But now everything is random- I should really fix that.
Thanks for another great post, Sheryl!
XOXO
Why don’t you try just putting everything up that you have and starting over? Sometimes when we have too much already in progress it’s too difficult to keep up. Think about how many you want to have at one time and start again. The great thing about journal writing is you can start over multiple times. Half written journals tell their own stories.
i used to journal regularly but i’ve gotten out of the practice in the past few years because life just threw a curveball & got super busy. but i do believe journaling is so important! i read about something i want to try a few weeks ago – called “morning pages” – basically in the morning as soon as you wake up, you just write 2-3 stream of consciousness pages…. it could definitely help starting off the morning by getting some thoughts out!