I’ve kept a journal since middle school, keeping track of my daily activities along with my feelings about the things and people around me. I’m glad that I did it because it’s so interesting to look back on, but while trying to implement this habit into my routine at college, I’ve run into some difficulties. I’ve found that lately, what I want to write about is less about my day-to-day activities and more about my general thoughts for the day. When I tried to make entries feel more structured—as I was able to in middle and high school—I found that I became overwhelmed, and put off writing for several days. I’ve heard from many other people, too, that they feel too busy to write in a journal, and that the thought of trying to order their ideas into something coherent can be stressful. This is why I’ve decided to try a new way of journaling, and if it sounds interesting to you, you should try it too!
I know we’re all busy, but I think everyone has at least a small block of time they can set aside for writing each day—what gets more difficult is trying to think or plan out the entries. This is why, instead of writing sensical and structured entries, I’ve started just doing stream of consciousness journaling. For me, I ideally write for thirty minutes every day but based on your schedule, you can accordingly plan how long you want this time to be. Stream of consciousness entries take the stress out of journaling and make me more likely to do it consistently. I’ve also found that it’s a more accurate representation of myself—and sometimes will even lead to me realizations! If I continue going back to one topic in particular, I can uncover what I’m truly stressed about, and maybe even try to find ways to help me cope with that.
When you write just what you’re thinking, and don’t worry about how it sounds, I think it’s much more productive for you than simply writing the events of your day. Ultimately, I think we are much more likely to remember the big events that happen to us than our thoughts while they were happening. If we journal about our thoughts, exactly as they’re forming, I think it not only can be productive for you in the present but also can be more interesting to look back on. So, if you’re one of those people that always say they’ll start a journal, but for whatever reason can’t stick to it, take the pressure off of it and simply try stream of consciousness writing!