One of my favorite parts of my night routine is when I can sit back in bed and empty out my mind onto my journal. I’ve been journaling consistently for three years and I can confidently say it is the only thing keeping me sane. Journaling has been proven to have many benefits including improvement to mental and physical health. In other words, it’s free therapy and something every single person can do to better themselves and become more self aware.
How-to get consistent
While there are many benefits of journaling, the only way to reap the full benefits are to remain consistent. This may be hard to establish at first but it’s a great habit that only takes a couple minutes and can be done anytime and anywhere. Here are some tips to help you stay consistent!
- keep your journal on you at all times
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Having easy access to your journal makes it easy to write an entry in-between classes, while waiting for your food order, or any other opportunity you get. It’s a better alternative to mindlessly scrolling on social media and it’s especially helpful for people with packed schedules. Add your journal and a nice pen to your backpack or tote bag essentials!
- Write at least one full page a day
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Even if you really don’t have much to say, draw or doodle until you fill a complete page. This will help you get used to journaling and become more creative. Over time, you’ll find yourself restraining yourself from writing multiple pages!
- add journaling to your day/night time routine
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I personally tend to journal before bed as a way to unwind and let out all my thoughts from the day, but journaling in the morning can be equally as beneficial and allows you to have a clear mind heading into the day. Whatever you choose, adding journaling as a step to your morning or night routine will assist you in remaining consistent and establishing the habit.
- don’t let slumps discourage you
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It’s not easy to remain consistent with habits and some days can get so hectic you might not have time to journal. Whether you miss a day, a week, or a month, don’t let falling out of the habit stop you from doing it. It took me about a year to really get consistent and even now I miss days or even weeks. Simply bouncing back is the only way to fully establish the habit.
fun Prompts
Now that you know how to stay consistent you may be wondering “what do I even write about!?”. Journaling is way more than just narrating the events of your day (although those entries are the easiest and sometimes my favorite). As a not so creative person, I really had to dig to find ways to spice up my journal entries so that I didn’t get bored so here are some journal entries I’ve found throughout the years:
- Adding humor and character to narrate your day
- Listing all the positive things that happened that day
- Movie/book/show reviews
- Listing every ick about him or her (perfect for getting over someone)
- Clothes/shoes/etc. wishlists
- Drawing & explaining a landscape of your life with mountains (big obstacles) and hills (small obstacles)
- Game plans for exams, weekends, vacations, etc. (it’s helpful to get out all the information about a stressor out for you to see) where you list your goals and steps you’ll take to accomplish them
- Listing your bucket fillers and emptiers or energy givers and drainers
- Peak and pit of your day
- Writing a letter to your past or future self
I hope you use this information to start the habit of journaling or expand on it if you’ve already trickled into it. Just remember to take it one entry at a time and really try to have fun and be creative! Put in effort and stay consistent and you’ll be a journaling pro in no time!