If you’ve been wanting to start journaling but you don’t know where to start, then this is for you. In this post, I share with you 3 easy journaling methods to get you started. These are simple ways that you can journal, whether you’re a beginner or are seasoned at journaling.
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If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that I journal every day. I use the same journal prompts in the morning and in the evening. I also journal when the need arises, if I’m feeling down or anxious about something.
I also use my journal as a tool for personal development where I take the time to reflect, write my thoughts and emotions, so that I can better understand myself, learn and grow from my life experiences.
But I know that journaling can be daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before. You probably don’t know where to start, and will even feel “silly” the first few times that you sit down and try to journal.
I would really encourage you to continue, regardless of how silly it might feel. This isn’t your typical “Dear Diary…” journaling. It’s more than that..and if done right, and done often enough, then this is a powerful tool in your personal development journey.
Benefits of journaling
Before I get into the 3 journaling methods I wanted to teach you about in this post, let me quickly go over the benefits of journaling, if I haven’t convinced you already.
What I hope is that by the end of this blog post, you will make the conscious choice and give yourself the gift of cultivating this habit, because I promise you, it’s a game changer.
- Related : 6 Habits of Happy People
Journaling is a great way to put your thoughts and emotions on paper so that you can remove it from your mind, take a step back, and analyze it from a more objective perspective.
By writing things down, you’re also removing some of the crap from your head which… well .. is always a good thing to de-clutter your mind.
And when you externalize your thoughts and emotions, you’re also cultivating mindfulness because the process of writing things down will help you work through your thoughts and emotions. These can sometimes become all jumbled up and by writing it down, you can more easily sort through them.
Journaling is a great tool for personal development and cultivating the right mindset because when you write down good memories or things you’re grateful for, or you write down your goals, then you are anchoring those thoughts and beliefs in your mind and in your heart. And the more you are reminded of them, the more likely your subconscious mind will also be focused towards making them into reality.
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JOURNALING METHOD # 1 | Prompts
If you don’t know how to start journaling then following journal prompts is a REALLY easy place to start. You remove the pressure of thinking about what to write because you simply have to follow the prompt.
And in case you’re wondering, a journal prompt is simply a question or a “fill-in-the-blank” that will make you think about a subject. You simply have to answer the journal prompt.
This is an easy way to start journaling because you can just do one prompt at a time, and warm up to the idea of what you can write or how you want to format your answers etc.
You can find journal prompts for specific topics, like happiness or personal development, or just have general prompts that will make you think about general topics and ideas about life and yourself.
JOURNALING METHOD # 2 | Morning and evening prompts
I journal as part of my morning and evening routines. I have different journal prompts that I use in the morning, to help me start the day in the right mindset and mood. And I use different journal prompts in the evening to help me reflect on my day.
I have to admit that my morning and evening journal prompts change with time, as I learn and grow and change…I want to make sure that my practices are also evolving with me.
But if you want to get started on journaling, and you struggle with keeping a positive mindset, then a great place to start is to have a morning journaling routine (and it doesn’t have to take that long!) where you can write down 3 things you’re grateful. That’s it! Just start there and voila, you’re journaling!
Having a morning and/or evening journaling routine really helps process thoughts and emotions that are inevitable in our lives…and the more you sort through them as they come, the easier it is for you because you will have less mental clutter to deal with.
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JOURNALING METHOD # 3 | Brain dump
This is a more “advanced” journaling method because you won’t know necessarily what to write…even though a brain dump is exactly that : writing whatever comes to mind.
When you put pen to paper and you just let it flow, or you write down how you’re feeling or if something happened…then you realize how much you actually have to write about it.
I *love* doing brain dumps. It’s literally just me sitting down and writing whatever is on my mind. Sometimes it’s about a struggle I’m having. Other times it’s the questions I’m asking myself about life, about myself, about a situation. And some times, I do brain dumps about the things that are overwhelming me.
Whatever it might be, there are no “rules” for this journaling method. You just have to stop feeling shy, don’t overthink it, and just sit down and write whatever you feel like writing. Even if it’s “I feel silly. I don’t know what to write. Why am I even doing this” with time…you WILL find something to write about!
Get Started!
If you’re not sure where to start, then you need to download the FREE worksheet I prepared for you! There are journal prompts that can you with method 1. I also included my current morning and evening journaling prompts.
And method 3 doesn’t require very much … but I hope that these worksheets will help you commit to starting your journaling practice. Because I know that journaling is an important habit and practice I have in my life that makes me feel grounded.
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