I’m a big believer in rituals. Whether they be daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly, rituals keep me grounded, centered, and optimistic about the future. From a daily yoga flow to at-home facial Fridays, adding a little bit of ritual into your life, especially if it centers on self-care and doing what brings you joy, can uplift your mood and transform your mindset.
So, instead of making a New Year’s Resolution for 2018, I decided to incorporate a new ritual into my daily routine. For the entire month of January, I challenged myself to complete The Five-Minute Journal every morning and night.
I first discovered The Five-Minute Journal from a popular YouTube vlogger who featured it in a monthly favorites video. Intrigued, a basic Google search informed me that not only can you purchase it at Urban Outfitters, but it also has received praise from many successful leaders and been featured in The New York Times and Fortune. Based on positive psychology research, the journal claims to be your “secret weapon” in helping you “focus on the good in your life, become more mindful, and live with intention,” so you can experience “increased happiness” and “better relationships.” Could a daily journal really help me to achieve greater happiness, mindfulness, and productivity? Thinking this all sounded a bit too good to be true, I decided to put it to the test.
How it works:
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the journal begins with chapters dedicated to explaining how the journal works and how you can get the most out of using it. This section is filled with countless insightful tips and ideas, so I highly recommend reading it before you start using the journal and referring back to it frequently, especially if you find yourself lacking motivation and inspiration.
In the journal portion itself, there is one page dedicated to each day that always begins with a place for you to fill in the date and a famous, uplifting quote. Because it’s not dated, you can start using the journal at any time of the year. The first three sections of each journal entry are intended to be completed at the beginning of your day: three things you are grateful for, three answers to the question “What would make today great?,” and a space to jot down an affirmation. In the nightly section, you record three amazing things that happened that day, and write about how you could “have made today even better.”
How I incorporated it into my daily routine:
Adding a new ritual into your day, no matter how small, is always a challenge. To be sure that I wrote in my Five-Minute Journal every morning and night for the entire month, I made “rules” for myself: I couldn’t check my email in the morning until I had filled in my entry for the day, and I didn’t allow myself to set my alarm for the next day until I completed the nightly portion.
My experience:
I truly enjoyed filling out the morning section of the journal before I started getting ready for my day. It gave me a few extra moments of peace before turning on the news and checking my phone, which made my morning routine overall feel much less rushed and frenzied. Plus, I could always count on the Five-Minute Journal to put me in a happy, positive mood by encouraging me to cultivate gratitude and optimism about the day ahead from the very moment I woke up.
However, I slowly came to dislike the nightly portion of each daily entry. Drained and exhausted after spending hours doing homework, I wasn’t super excited about having to do one more task that required some brain power. While I loved how the journal helped me to focus on all of the amazing things that happened throughout the day, I found myself becoming a bit discouraged and stressed when the journal asked me to reflect on what could have gone better. Going to bed with thoughts swirling in my head about things that did not go well during the day put me in an anxious, worried state, and some nights I even had trouble falling asleep quickly because of this.
So, did it work?
Yes, and no. Spending five minutes journaling about what I am grateful for and all of the wonderful things that would make the day ahead great was not only calming, but it also had a tremendous impact on my mindset. I also found myself repeating my affirmation all throughout my day, especially when I started to feel overwhelmed. It helped me to stay focused, concentrate on “the big picture,” and build a sense of self-trust.
However, I didn’t enjoy ending my day with thoughts of all the things that could have gone better. While I think this is an effective, powerful practice for self-improvement and making positive changes, I wish that the nightly portion of the journal entries made me feel as joyous and peaceful as the morning sections did.
Overall, completing the Five-Minute Journal challenge inspired me to create my own daily gratitude journal, which, not surprisingly, I am very grateful for. Today, I write down three things that I am grateful for every morning, and this has quickly become a cherished ritual in my daily routine.
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