As kids, you might have heard of diaries or maybe you had your own diary. Journaling is very similar to a dairy but unlike a diary, a journal contains more than just daily life updates. Journals can have gratitudes, exploring ideas, mood trackers, ect... In simple words, a journal contains more than a diary and in turn, a journal does more for you than a dairy. In fact, the act of journaling can be healing to your mind. It allows all those inner thoughts, feelings, or ideas to be on translated into simpler words and out of your mind. It lets your mind process what's going on in the world in different way. Today we are going to go over an introduction to journaling, so you can get started on your own journal.
Since you are unique and your journals are personal, each journal is going to be unique to you, so there is no one way to go about them. We are going to give you a few ideas to get your started so you can figure out which you enjoy the best.
HOW TO JOURNAL?
There are a few ways that people journal. The most common way is in a paper journal. There are specific journaling books you can buy that come with pre-written questions but if you want to be more creative to do free journaling, you can use a blank journal. Journaling on paper is the most common because it forces your mind to slow down which relieves stress but if you aren't a fan of writing or you don't have a paper journal, there are different ways to go about journaling. Some people prefer a digital journal because it is easier for them to type out their thoughts rather than writing it. For the people who prefer to do most things on their phones, one option is a journaling app. There is a large selection of journaling apps for you to pick from so you can find the one you like the best.
WHEN TO JOURNAL?
Journaling is a form of self-care, and just like self-care, it is important to dedicate a time of day for journaling. But as said before, you are unique and so is your journaling. So the timing of your journaling is unique to you. Some people prefer to journal in the mornings to start off their day. You can add it to your morning routine to make your morning journaling a daily thing. Others though, prefer to journal at night to wrap up their day. You can add journaling to your nightly routine to make it a daily thing as well. Depending on your schedule, you could also journal in the middle of the day. For example, you could journal at lunch time to do a middle of the day self check in. There are many options for you to pick from, you can try them out and see which you prefer.
WHERE TO JOURNAL?
Finding a safe place for you to journal might sound silly, but it is super important. Journaling in a place that isn't a safe place for you, is not a good idea. You might not feel comfortable enough to let everything out, making the journaling not as useful for you. A safe place for you could be in your bed or somewhere at home. Maybe it is outside at a park or in your backyard. It might be a place where you are alone. Wherever you decide to journal, just make sure you feel comfortable to let everything out and not hold back from anything.
WHAT TO JOURNAL?
The big question: what to journal? What you journal, is just as and maybe more unique than the rest of journaling. There is tons of options on what to journal so we have made a list of 4 common journaling options for you.
Gratitude Journaling- To start this, you can find 5 things everyday that you are thankful for. Write about those 5 items in depth and why you are thankful for them. As you get better at this, you can start increasing the amount of things you are thankful for. This type of journaling can make you start to appreciate things in life more and it expresses one of the healthiest human emotions: Gratitude.
Self Check In Journaling- This is just a journal entry of what's going on in your life, how everything going mentally, physically, socially, ect... It is similar to the dairy we were talking about previously but goes more in depth of your emotions and feelings that you are experiencing. Feeling like everything in your life is making your head spin currently? When lots of things are going on in life, this journaling allows your mind to organize it into simple words and get those thoughts out of your mind. This allows our minds to rest and recharge for the next days.
Free Writing- Set a timer for an allotted amount of time (say 10 minutes for example) and just let your mind free write. It doesn't have to make any sense at all, it doesn't need structure, or even grammar and punctuations. It's just letting your thoughts flow straight out of your mind. This type of journaling calms your thoughts, your mind, and your body. If you struggle falling asleep, you can try this before bed and see if this allows your mind to rest.
Art journaling- This one is amazing for your creativity. You can do this in so many different ways. You can draw what happened in your day, you can paint what you are thankful for, you can make art that translated how you are feeling. You even could make your words into a piece of art. Pretty much, art journaling is a very free styled type of journaling. There is not many rules to this one, just like art itself. For the people who enjoy creating things, this one can be super beneficial for you since being creative actually helps heal your mental health. You can read more about how art helps to increase mental health here.
There are many more options of what to journal that you can explore but these are great options to get you started on your journaling journey.
Overall, your journaling is unique to you. There are so many different ways to go about your journaling to help you in the areas you need or what you prefer. We hope that this Introduction to Journaling post is helpful for you to start your own journal.
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