Whether you’re already an avid journaler or your New Year’s resolution was to journal daily (even though it’s now March and you still haven’t started—no judgement here), this article is for you. All the benefits of journaling that you hear about and how it is the cornerstone of an “It Girl” lifestyle are true.
My dad kept a journal ever since he was a teenager and writes daily. I am so glad that he encouraged me journal my My dad has kept a journal ever since he was a teenager and continues to write daily. I am so glad that he encouraged me to keep journals throughout my life because now I have records from almost every year. Getting anxious thoughts out of my head, documenting a great day, and making gratitude lists are just some of my favourite uses of my journal. If you are unsure of where to start with your journaley (get it, journal + journey = journaley!), this is the guide for you. I’m going to lay out some journal prompts and templates for every scenario you may encounter and from there you can build off of this foundation to expand and personalize your journal.
I find the best and easiest place to start putting words on a page is through daily break-downs. They consist of a morning part and night part that you can do every day, and it only takes five minutes to complete. This template includes intention-setting, affirmations, and gratitude—three of the most beneficial aspects of journaling. It looks a little something like this:
MORNING:
“What are 3 intentions you have for today?”
“I am excited for…”
“I am anxious/nervous/scared about…”
Write 1 (or more) positive affirmation(s): “I am…” or “Today is going to be…”
NIGHT:
“Today was great because…”
“I can make tomorrow even better by…”
“I am grateful for…”
This next type of prompt is one of my personal favourites: the ever-trusty Brain Dump. For this, you can either set a timer for about 20 minutes or just go for as long as you can, and without any prompt or direction in mind you just free-flow write. Whatever is in your head making you anxious, stressed, happy, or excited, just get it all out. I promise you will feel so much better after. It is proven that if you write down your worries and get them onto a piece of paper it frees your mind from stress and allows you to think more clearly. Again, this one is super easy and really nice to look back on to put your problems into perspective.
Next is the gratitude list. There have been many studies proclaiming the benefits of expressing gratitude, even for the most mundane things in life. It does not matter how long or short, or how meaningful or silly your list is. No matter what, it will make you so much more appreciative for everything in your life instead of focusing on the things you wish you could change. My gratitude lists usually look something like this:
Today I am grateful for:
- Sunshine
- The good book I’m reading
- Matcha
- Laughing with my friends
- Being sore from a good workout
- My new shirt
- Candles
Another favourite of mine is the end-of-week reflection. Being able to sit down on a Sunday night and think about my past week sets me up for the week ahead without any worries from the past. It makes your intentions going into Monday much clearer, which will set you up for success! As with all of these ideas, you can modify the prompts, or add and cut sections as you see fit to make your journal your own. Here are some prompts for this theme:
“What has drained my energy this past week?”
“What has given me energy, or when do I feel ‘recharged’?”
“What is a memory I don’t want to forget from this past week?”
“What is a lesson I want to bring into the week ahead?”
“What is an intention I want to set for the week ahead?”
Lastly, here’s a really great prompt for when you’re feeling overwhelmed or just want to write and don’t know where to start. Begin by writing out what in the moment you can see, smell, taste, touch, and hear. Then, write down your loudest thought dominating your brain right now. Next, write down how you can quiet that thought. Finally, finish with writing one positive affirmation for yourself. This practice really grounds you in the present moment and puts your worries into perspective.
There are two other small things I love to do in my journal where you don’t write the entire thing in one sitting but are completed over long periods of time. They are memory logs and mini idea-dumps. The memory log is usually 2 pages set aside for writing short one-sentence blurbs of a quick memory that I don’t want to forget. For example, I saw my first shooting star on March 1st; or my housemates and I had the most delicious family dinner today. It’s a super quick way to remember all the little moments you may otherwise forget. The mini idea-dumps are similar to the memory logs; I’ll set aside a couple pages to write down an idea or thought I have that I don’t want to forget. For example, I want my dream house to have a balcony; or I feel really happy when I can have a slow morning. These little blurbs help me to remember the random thoughts that filter through my head and are really just super fun to look back on.
I hope this article has inspired you to start or continue to ramp up your journaling. Also, never forget my one rule of journaling: this is NOT a diary. Those are reserved for coming of age movies and Bridget Jones only. Happy writing!!