Some Tips to Make it Easy

I have journaled on and off throughout my life- when I was a young girl and thought the world revolved around me, and that my ‘problems’ about who was friends with whom and what boy I liked seemed monumental. I journaled through years of a difficult marriage and how conflicted I was, given my love for my children.

So it’s been a situational tool to help me through what I considered challenging times in my life, similar to how I’ve handled counseling. For sure, you have tools like this to navigate harder times or issues, thankfully.

About a year ago I faced the ultimate challenge/question. After leaving an unfulfilling job and caring for my older father, I wanted to do something meaningful. But what? What was my life calling? I read a lot of self help books (see my post), listened to podcasts, talked to people.

But what has helped me more than anything was my daily journaling.

My husband got me this book for Mother’s Day because he knew I started this daily practice and that it was important to me. The book is fantastic; it’s made up of 100 very short stories about the lives of people, some of the them somewhat famous, and how journaling changed their lives. They also give you little prompts as inspiration to start writing.

The Book of Alchemy is compiled and arranged by various topics by Suleika Jaouad. She used journaling to help her through a cancer diagnosis as a young woman, and claims that journaling literally saved her life.

I understand that. Research has shown that this practice helps reduce blood pressure, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. There is evidence that it reduces stress and therefore promotes overall health.

So it’s worth at least trying! If you’re interested, here are some tips!

Tips for Getting Started Journaling

To begin, begin. 

– William Wordsworth

I LOVE this quote. It’s so simple, but basically a truth you must understand to ever move forward with anything. Just Do It (Nike), the Five Second Rule (Mel Robbins)…there’s lots of people (and companies) that have known this forever, but it’s easier said than done, we all know!

One way to begin journaling is to build it into your daily schedule. My morning goes like this. Drink a big glass of water, brew a cup of coffee, meditate, splash my face with water, dress, apply vitamin c serum, put on yoga/meditation music, brew second cup of coffee (they are small!), and while sipping on that- write in my journal.

 I am fortunate (in many ways, not all…) to not be technically working right now, and of course it’s much easier to find time to do this morning routine now that I’m home and not on someone’s clock. If you don’t have time in the morning, a wonderful time to journal is in the evening. You can sit in quiet and reflect on the day- what you are proud of, happy or sad about, or grateful for that day.

I have always been a morning person even when working 9-5 for years, and found my morning routine and journaling to be a peaceful, grounding and positive way to start my days. But whatever works for you. If you opt for the evenings, just try to build it into your routine and do it the same time/order each night. After the kids are in bed, after you take a shower or bath, before you watch tv. Some people find it helps them sleep at night, getting all your thoughts out of your head and onto the paper.

Invest in a nice journal. Honestly you can find so many styles at Amazon, or wherever, that are really reasonable priced and pretty. Bookstores usual have a special section of them that are a bit pricey, but gorgeous. My husband gave me a beautiful leather one for our 10th ‘meetaversary’, that I filled up pretty quickly.

I’m using this one now, and thought it was cute to personalize it! I find a large notebook personally easier to write in, so find one that fits for you.

Pens. I do think the type of pen is important. Most of us know, from years of working in offices or writing out checks, that there are some pens that just write so easily and beautifully compared to others. I find gel pens to glide along as opposed to ball points, so that is my preference. Either way, I do think a pen can make a difference in how much you look forward to writing.

Get a pack like this so you aren’t left hanging when one runs dry.

The Process

Keep things consistent; like when and where you do your journaling, and where you keep your book when not in use. I don’t worry about anyone ever reading my journal, but if that’s a concern, you may want to consider a lock, or at least keeping it somewhere out of sight.

Create a peaceful environment. My space isn’t all that peaceful, ie the kitchen table, but as I mentioned, I enjoy a nice cup of coffee while I’m journaling which creates that calm environment for me. If journaling at night, you might enjoy a glass of wine or cup of soothing herbal tea while writing. If you have a sun porch or outside spot for writing, nature is always such a soothing environment.

I always read the previous day’s entry, because I find it so interesting. It is unbelievable how life changes in ONE DAY. You can absolutely use prompts to get you started (you can find them lots of places online like this), like:

• What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
• What would you do if you had 2 weeks to live?
• What would you do if money weren’t a factor?

These questions do help point you in a great direction, especially if you are new to the practice. But my journaling is pretty much a stream of consciousness. It may be something that happened recently that affected me, my thoughts or feelings about something or someone, fears about the future, an interesting thing about myself I’ve learned, what I’m grateful for, etc.

After I read the previous day, I sit for awhile in silence. Whatever comes to me, I just start. Sometimes it’s crazy negative, other times positive; but the main point is not to care about what gets on the page. I put no word limits on my writing. There are people who I know give themselves a certain page or word count limit. But I find the point of this exercise is to spark creativity, positivity and clarity- and not worry about anything else. On my more ‘blank’ days, I just write something like, “I don’t have much to say today, so won’t be writing much.” Give yourself permission to be whoever you are in that moment.

How Journaling Has Helped Me

What I’ve loved about this practice is that it has really helped me cultivate, encourage and be thankful that I am able to (finally) be authentic at this stage of my life. A few years ago I did an exercise to find my core values, and found, not at all surprisingly, that my main one is authenticity. I cannot stand people who are fake, but more than that, I can’t stand when I am acting fake. At many times in life, I’ve had to pretend life was great because I had a beautiful looking family on the outside. But things are not always what they seem!

Getting my thoughts and feelings out of my head, validating what I felt was real, and giving me a voice was incredibly life-changing. It gave me the courage to start my life anew, raise my girls the way I wanted, and look for a partner who respected and appreciated me for being me.

I did just that, and could not be happier.

This is what my husband wrote in that book he gave me about journaling.

To say I’ve found the perfect partner cannot be over-stated!

I hope you give journaling a try, and find peace and happiness in the process. Enjoy!