When I inform people that I have been journaling every night for the past, I am greeted with a surprised “Wow, that is incredible.” Although I am proud of my journaling routine, I would not describe it as incredible. On social media, journaling has become a staple piece of a self-care routine. Usually, these representations include journaling prompts, creative ideas, or photographs of perfectly organized notebook pages. The downfall of these representations of journaling is that they make journaling seem unattainable to the average person. To escape this stigma, here are five tips for the average person to get into a consistent journaling routine, because, truly, anyone is capable!
1. figure out your version
Journaling looks very different from person to person. Keeping a daily journal can simply be a bullet point list of the activities you did that day or a lengthy narrative of your emotions and feelings. Some people may even choose to include sketches or color coding in their journals! At the end of the day, journaling is for you, so it doesn’t matter what it looks like. Prioritize whatever makes you happy, stick with it, and remember you can always change your style later on. What is important is that it makes YOU happy, not anyone else.
2. Start a Routine
One of the most important things about starting a new habit is setting aside time and staying consistent. I like to establish a specific time of day (I journal before bed each night, but some people may choose to journal in the morning or during a lunch break at work) and then prioritize journaling at that time each day. If you miss a day, it’s okay, but try your hardest not to, especially in the beginning!
3. Share your goals
To help stay on top of your goal and keep yourself accountable, communicate your goal to your family and friends. By sharing your goal, they can help keep you consistent by asking about your progress. Additionally, sharing goals can be motivating as it gives you the opportunity to share your progress along the way.
4. Keep track of Time
Keep track of how long you have been staying consistent. This can help you stay motivated, but it also gives you an amazing opportunity to be proud and celebrate yourself. Part of a good self-love journey includes celebrating yourself, and if you are killing it, you should celebrate it! You can keep track of your progress on apps such as Since or Habit Tracker.
5. Make it fun!
Include whatever makes you happy in your journaling process, it’s for you! The most important thing is to have fun with it. If you are artistic, include drawings or sketches. If you collect papers throughout your day, tape them in! Personally, I like to print out small photos from the day and glue them in. This is completely optional and personalizable, and as long as you are having fun, you are journaling right!