TIPS TO START A DAILY JOURNALING ROUTINE

Have you thought of getting started with journaling but felt stuck somewhere? Well then, you’re not alone. My journey of maintaining a daily journaling routine has finally emerged strong after being inconsistent with the habit of journaling for a long time.

I have learned about the various benefits of journaling daily. Psychology experts, my fellow bloggers, and productivity experts speak a lot about how journaling can make a huge difference in our lives.

Filling out those empty notebooks lying somewhere with words that come straight out of your mind is considered a therapeutic practice.

But, in my case, maintaining a consistent journaling habit didn’t come easy to me. It was after several trials and errors that I started to like writing in my journal daily. In fact, I look forward to picking up my notebook and pen and starting to write.

Journaling helps me when I feel stuck in life. Asking yourself questions is a powerful way to discover yourself. Journaling has helped me be honest with myself; through this simple practice, I have become a friend of mine.

So, if you are a beginner and you want to know how to start journaling every day, these journaling tips will surely help.

How to Start Daily Journaling

So many questions pop up before starting a daily journaling practice. What should I write about? How many pages to fill up? Is there a need for several diaries for several kinds of journaling? Wait, how many ways can one journal? When is the right time to journal?

Let me answer these questions of how to start journaling by answering the five important and most asked questions about journaling:

-Why to journal?

-Where to Journal?

-When is the right time to journal?

-What should you write about in the journal?

-How do you maintain a consistent journaling routine?

Why to keep a journal?

You might have heard countless times about how influential the art of journaling is. But what is so special about this simple practice?

Journaling is an effective way to get to know yourself. At the end of the day, you can engage in a few minutes of reflection.

Writing down your thoughts in a journal simply serves as a way to organize those thoughts that are continuously running in your mind.

Before you include journaling as a part of your daily routine, it’d be helpful to figure out ‘why’ you want to keep a journal. Your reason for keeping a journal will guide you toward maintaining a daily journaling practice.

Perhaps you want to keep a journal to store your memories, which you can look back on. Or, you want to work on your self-improvement journey to keep track of your goals in life. Maybe you just want to converse with yourself to better manage your emotions.

So, before you start a journaling practice, try to figure out why you want to keep your journal. This simple question will simplify your journey of journaling and will enlighten you about the purpose with which you want to get started.

And, a few of the good reasons for you to start journaling are:

-you get to know yourself better.

-you get to acknowledge the small wins in the day.

-to document your daily life, like maintaining a daily log book.

-it’ll help you cultivate mindfulness.

-to free your mind from the mental clutter and manage stress.

-to help you reflect on the day, month, or year. Like conducting a review of your life.

-writing down your dream goals and chart an action plan to achieve them.

Where to journal?

Okay, to start journaling, you need two inexpensive things: a pen and a notebook.

As simple as it sounds, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by a large number of aesthetically appealing journal diaries that you want to hoard them all and simply can’t decide which one you should start with.

Yes, this was the major constraint on my ability to journal regularly. I had plenty of cute diaries, a few of which I had purchased and a few that I had been gifted. So, I started writing in each and every diary, and there was no specific diary in which I consistently journaled. It sounds all over the place, and it was.

I was so much in need of an organized journaling routine.

That’s when I picked up a simple notebook (like the one I used in school). Choosing a notebook or diary and sticking to it worked for me.

The idea is to figure out what kind of journal you want to write in. It can be a structured journal with various journal prompts about what to write about.

A digital journal is also an option for starting your journaling practice. Not everyone adores the idea of writing by hand. You can use your mobile phone and journaling tools like Evernote and Notion to write down your thoughts.

I’ve heard Ali Abdaal talk about notion journaling, too. Using an online journal is a portable way to carry around. You can unlock your phone, open the Notes app, and start writing. In fact, when you write in a digital journal, you also save some physical space at home of piles of journals lying around.

Well, having said that, I journal in my notebook and a pen. I had tried online journaling, but it didn’t work for me. However, Notion journaling is a territory I want to explore in the future.

But if you want to start a journaling practice, you must stick to your preferred medium. The tip here is to choose what works best for you.

What do you write in your daily journal?

There are so many different ways to journal. But if you are a beginner looking to get started, you can start with a daily journal.

A daily journal is like a log book you keep to document your life. It is the practice of writing in your journal every day. It is an excellent exercise to end your day by recording what happened in the day. Author Matthew Dicks talks about the exercise of writing the ‘story of the day’ so that you do not simply forget your days.

A daily journal can also be used as a means to reflect on the thoughts and feelings that you had throughout the day. Daily journaling is the most common way of journaling. However, there are different ways to write in a journal.

Gratitude journaling is another simple way to journal. You keep a gratitude journal where you write about everything you are grateful for. Simple, right? On days when words don’t flow out easily, start with a little gratitude practice.

Bullet journaling is another way to keep a journal. It is a quick and easy way to start daily journaling, especially when you don’t want to write long pages. You can use it to list anything (your dream goals, to-do lists, accomplishments, meal plans, daily goals, gratitude lists, and so on). It is an effective way to stay organized.

I have mentioned just three of the different ways you can journal. However, there are numerous ways you can journal. There’s no hard and fast rule regarding how you want to journal.

Journal prompts are helpful when you don’t know what to write about. It gives you journaling ideas, encouraging you to reflect on a specific aspect of your life.

Related: Journal Prompts for Meaningful Self-Reflection

When is the right time to journal?

The right time to journal really depends on your personal preference and schedule. Some people prefer to journal first thing in the morning to set intentions for the day or clear their minds before starting their day. Others find it beneficial to journal in the evening to reflect on the day’s events and unwind before bed.

Experiment with different times of day to see what works best for you. You might find that journaling during a specific time helps you feel more focused and reflective. And it definitely enables you to maintain a consistent journaling routine.

I journal before bedtime, a mindful ritual that helps me unwind and relax. These night journaling sessions help me plan the next day, which is a vital part of my night routine. Journaling at night can help you think about how you want to show up, what you want to prioritize, and any specific goals or tasks you want to accomplish the next day. Setting intentions can help you start the next day with purpose and clarity.

There isn’t just one universal right time to journal. You need to decide the right time for you.

How to be consistent with daily journaling?

To be consistent with your daily journaling, you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. Start with small goals.

Remember to not expect the same amount of energy and words flowing out every single day. When you’re struggling to write long paragraphs, it’s okay to focus on simplicity. Just jot down a few key thoughts or feelings or even a single sentence that captures your day’s essence or current state of mind. What matters most is the act of showing up to your journal, even when you don’t feel particularly inspired.

It’s crucial to maintain realistic expectations when establishing a new habit. Incorporate journaling into your daily routine, perhaps alongside your morning coffee, until it becomes second nature and you no longer berate yourself.

Simply start.

Three things helped me to develop the habit of journaling:

-Set aside a specific time (before bedtime for me) of the day to write.

-Not following any structure, just letting my thoughts flow.

-Adopting the ‘no-zero day’ principle by James Clear, where I would track my journaling habit and not miss a single day. I did struggle initially but I made it a point to atleast write something, even if it was just a few sentences, to keep the momentum going.

-Picking up a notebook that resembled my school notebooks, which made me nostalgic. It instantly felt special.

The key to being consistent with journaling practice is to find out what works best for you.