Over the past two years, journaling has become an important part of my daily routine. It’s been life-changing, actually.
I think what it comes down to is that my brain just thinks differently when I have to organize my thoughts in a way to write them down. It forces me to give certain thoughts and feelings more clarity than if I just let them swirl around with the million other thoughts in my mind.
…does that make sense?
Keeping a journal might not be right for everyone, but for me it’s the best way to reflect on what’s going on in my heart and mind. The process can feel a little bit awkward at first, though, so here are my three tips for keeping a journal.
1) keep journals for specific topics.
This is something I learned from my best friend Jessi. For example, you can have one journal dedicated to a career-related vision, one dedicated to relationships in your life, one dedicated to something you’re trying to overcome, etc. It may seem like overkill to have that many journals, but it can really help with narrowing down what the core priorities in your life are and cultivate growth in those areas.
I was actually just sent a new journal the other day from Poppin, and it couldn’t have come at a better time! I’m dedicating it to a new venture I’ve been thinking about lately. So thanks for that, Poppin 🙂
2) answer your own questions.
A lot of the time…well, most of the time…when I sit down to journal I have no idea what to write. So something I started doing almost daily is to write down questions and then answer them myself. My go-to’s are:
What do I want today to look like?
What’s heavy on my heart?
What am I thankful for?
What are my prayer requests today?
Simply answering those questions can really help put things into perspective and change my outlook for the entire day.
3) just WRITE.
Anything. Everything. It can look like chicken scratch. It doesn’t matter. The bottom line is to just get your thoughts and feelings down on paper. The point of keeping a journal isn’t for it to become a published work – it’s to improve your mental, emotional, and spiritual life. And that’s going to look different for everyone.
Do you keep a journal? How has it helped you?
jessi says
This is great! You definitely have become a great journaler haha
Keeping a journal helps me keep my thoughts and feelings in perspective and allows me to see firsthand where my thoughts are going. Sometimes, it feels refreshing and invigorating to simply see my thoughts on paper or on a screen. I promised myself not to feel as though I must write each day, so I only write when I feel compelled. It’s been a big relief not having to subject myself to feeling forced to write when I don’t want to.
I definitely always feel like I’m trying too hard when I write in a journal. You’re right, it’s not going to be published but for some reason I always try to make my sentences flow. Perfectionism at its finest. Oy! Haha!
I love the idea of having separate journals for separate areas of your life! Great tip!
I love love love journaling and totally agree with you that it has changed my life in a little (or maybe not-so-little way). For me, it lets me put “it” all out there - I lay my emotions, thoughts and prayers on the line with those messy words! I also love keeping a notebook or journal in my purse at all times to document questions, inspirations and discoveries.
Megan says
Keeping a journal has helped my walk with Christ SO much because I’m able to look back at specific places of encouragement and that makes it easier to press on! It’s also helped with relationships because I can go back and see how I was feeling at different points. Good stuff 🙂
Yes - such a good point! It has helped my relationship with God so much too. I love reading back (even to just a few months ago) and see how much I’ve grown and learned!
Thanks for the comment, Megan 🙂
Lauren says
I’ve always loved journaling, but I’ve found that I’ll do it seriously for a short amount of time, and then it’ll fade off. I think if I take your tips and apply them, journaling will become more routine for me.
Thank you! 🙂
http://piecingthepuzzledaily.blogspot.com/
I love the idea of keeping a different journal for different things! I think I’m going to start a career journal!
That’s awesome! Having a career journal has been really helpful for me, I think you’ll love it 🙂
I have always kept journals. My problem is that they’re really disorganized and I’m currently using two for the same everyday writing. I like the idea of keeping different ones for different topics in your life.
I used to journal more but now I find myself only journaling after reading my Bible, just using as a place to keep track of what I’ve learned. I love going back to old entries though and seeing how I’ve grown and changed.
YES - love journaling alongside God-time!
I always forget to write in my journal … and then lose them. :/ haha that’s why I started a blog but then I realized I don’t write too personal of stuff on there. might need to start journaling again. 😉
Thank you for this post. I have been trying to make journaling a daily practice but have been intimidated to start… I know I have plenty to say but I never know what I want to write about or where to start! I use to love doing it when I was younger (in high school/early college) but lost the practice somewhere along the way. I love the idea of asking myself questions, I think that is exactly what I need to get started. Thanks Gracie!
Hey Dana! I’m so glad this post helped encourage you! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Kris says
I really enjoyed this post, I am also an avid journaler (if that’s even a word) and these tips will be sure to help me out in the near future! Another thing I like to do when feeling uninspired or at any point, is to find a quote that really speaks to me or a situation going on in my life and write down said quote and expand on why it meant so much to me at that point in time! I enjoy doing this often because I come across a lot of quotes while reading books, blogs, etc., that really resonate with me on a personal level. Definitely try it out, and when you read back you will have that quote as well as why it had such a large significance.
lauren says
hi i love your blog and i totally believe in writing in a journal it has saved me from myself many times and let me find out what to do rather than be persuaded by other people in my life i once use to worry about how everything sounded and i think this was because i use to relate writing in a journal somthing i only saw in the movies and anted it to sound good so it didnt sound like my life sucks but with the more i wirte i realize its my life and it can sound how i want it to and that it isnt my life that sucked it was some of the moments inside it that did and writing them truly in the journal helps 😀 loveing your blog!!!!!
That’s great, Lauren! glad you appreciate journaling as much as I do 😉 thanks for the comment xoxo
Lauren says
Your welcome I know how good it is to get comments I use to have a blog for years and haven’t written in it do you think I should start up a new one or go back and carry on ?
Sana says
Ive been wanting to start a blog for so long now. I love how you’ve done it up..and this is so true about keeping separate journals..i really need to do that! thanks 🙂
shae says
thankyou so much for all of your advice it really helps me sometimes
Megan says
This is really helpful. Thankyou. x
http://itsmegsmind.blogspot.co.uk/
Marco Bitran says
It’s enormous that you are getting ideas from this
post as well as from our dialogue made at this time.