Tips on Starting a Journaling Habit

At the beginning of February, I decided that I wanted to start a regular journaling habit. I've said it time and again: journaling is not for me. My brain thinks faster than I can write and I get impatient that I can't get on paper my true thoughts on things. But I've read over and over and over again how good journaling is for you, both mentally and (surprisingly) physically. And so I keep giving it another try. 

Over the last six weeks, I've miraculously found a habit for myself in journaling. For the first time ever, I actually enjoy journaling. I don't journal every day--maybe only 2-3 times a week. But now I see why it's such a valuable habit to invest in. Journaling helps me review my day and forgive my mistakes and celebrate my victories.

01. Don't reread your entries.

I used to write journal entries with the intention of 'sounding cool' in case I ever went back and read them later. I would pretend like I hadn't really messed up or that I didn't get embarrassed or like I had it all together. But I didn't (duh). Journaling should be a place where you can let out the feelings that you hide all day, not another place where you have to pretend to be someone you're not. If you find this is hard for you, try journaling on a scrap piece of paper and then ripping it up. Eventually, I learned that I can write anything.

02. Skip what you don't want to talk about.

On that same note, I felt like I had to mention every part of my day. Journaling is for documenting life, but it's more a cathartic experience. Don't try to make a scrapbook for your kids out of your journal. If something was boring, stressful, sad or uncomfortable about your day, you can choose to journal your feelings out or you can choose to ignore it. It's your choice.

03. Have a prompt.

Sometimes on less busy days, it was tempting to skip journaling because I felt I didn't have any 'news' to record. Turns out, those are the days I enjoyed journaling the most. When you don't have a lot to say, choose a prompt to center your entry around. I'll do a post on sample journal prompts soon, but some simple ideas are to talk about two good things and two bad things about your day, a mistake you made, or something that made you smile. For more ideas, I wrote a post a few weeks ago with 10 prompts for gratitude journaling.

04. Set a timer.

Journaling can be tiring; that's just a fact of the matter. Especially when it's a new activity, it can be easy to journal too much and get burnt out. If you find that happening, set a timer for 5, 10 or 15 minutes. Remember: you can stop whenever you want--even if you've only written one sentence or you're mid-story.

05. Set a time. 

If you're trying to set any habit, it's incredibly valuable to set a time every day or every week to do it. I journal right before I get in bed. I'll brush my teeth/floss/etc and hop in bed with my journal and my pen. Eventually, my mind starts to remind me when I hop in bed that it's time to journal. If you're just starting out, an alarm or a phone ping can be especially helpful!

Do you journal? What are your tips for starting a habit of journaling?

10 Prompts for Gratitude Journaling

Over the last couple months (though I'm totally not a huge 'journaler'), I've gotten into an oh-so-fulfilling habit of gratitude journaling. If you've never taken time to keep a gratitude journal, it's exactly what it sounds like--journaling about things you feel grateful for. The first few times I g-journaled (hah "g-journal"...sounds totally street, right?), I literally just made a list of things I was grateful for, kindergartener-at-thanksgiving style. And it got boring. I mean, how fulfilling is it really to write out that I'm thankful for my friends and family (duh)?

It was just not the way to do it. Since then, I've come up with more thorough, more specific, more creative prompts that I use when I g-journal. Varying what I write about + learning to write more precisely has done wonders for the practice. I love going back and reading my favorite bits of my days from months ago! Because I want to share that lovely-happy-fuzzy feeling, here are ten of my favorite prompts for gratitude journaling.

1. Take a walk outside for ten minutes of so. Just walk to the end of your street and back. Take in the beauty around you + appreciate the feeling of being outside, from nature to the fresh air you're breathing. Take note of three beautiful things you noticed. When you get home, journal about those things, why you appreciate them + how they made you feel.

2. At the end of the day, review your day + what you did. Think of at least two or three things that you did today that you're proud of--even if it's small. Did you ace that research paper? Or did you exercise even though you didn't want to? Write that down, as well as why it happened. This can help remind you what behaviors make you feel good + encourage you to do those more often!

3. Write a thank you note to someone--no one said gratitude was meant to stay private! Be thorough + specific, reminding that person of how much you need + appreciate them in your life. Bonus points if it's for someone unexpected, like a cafeteria server or assistant. Now go deliver that little envelope of love!

4. Take stock of all the various spheres of your life + spend a day being grateful for them. Take one day to be thankful for...your school/work, your family, your friends, your home, your lifestyle, your own body (yes!) or things that you read or heard during the day. As always, get specific! What do your friends do exactly that makes you so grateful? Is it that they are always happy to eat ice cream with you late at night after a bad day? Or they always make you laugh? 

5. Think of some of your favorite memories with friends, with family, as a child, or while traveling. Write down as much as you remember about that time, down to the thoughts in your head and the sights and smells around you.

6. If you've had a bad day, take time to nurture ideas about how you can turn the bad things into good things. If you got in a fight with your best friend for example, reflect on it + yourself, looking to see if you can apologize for something or communicate your feelings more calmly and clearly. 

7. Pick one person, just one person, that you're thankful for. The person who helped you out on that big project? The stranger who smiled at your in the grocery store when you looked upset? Someone who chose to celebrate with you? If you can't write them a thank you note, write a thank you note to God/the world/their momma for putting them into your life today.

8. Draw a picture of something that made you happy today, whatever that may be. When you're done, write a little blurb about the emotions that the picture could not express.

9. Write about your greatest achievements in your life. Then write about your smallest, but most cherished achievements.

10. This one's less a prompt but more something not to write about. Be careful not to write about something because you think you should be grateful for it. Some days, you may be grateful for your family. Some days, you may not be. That's okay. Embrace the things you're grateful for, not the things you think you should be grateful for.

I hope you put time into this awesome practice! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments--how do you write in your gratitude journal?

Weekly Goals #25

Heyyyy nuggets! Happy Monday. Yeah right. Actually, I had a pretty good weekend so I'm not too stressed going into Monday. On Thursday, my computer just decided to peace out on me + wouldn't turn on or cooperate with me. Let me tell you, I spend a whole lot of time on the computer and that was super stressful. I was panic-emailing all my clients telling them I'd be back as soon as possible + I'd try to make sure I didn't lose their designs and in general, trying to stay sane. Thankfully, all my clients are lovely + rational people + no one got mad at me :) On Saturday I got my computer up-and-running so I worked through the weekend to catch up on lost time. 

Despite all that, my weekend was really nice. I had a lovely date with H that involved watching SVU (fact: I'm actually addicted to watching SVU) + eating a whole lot of Qdoba. So duh, that was good. And that put together with the fact that I got some nice sleep + eno (hammock) time, I'm one happy girl! 

In my effort to keep things that way for the rest of today, I've decided to share some sort of funny things along with my weekly goals on Mondays. Guys, I'm telling you straight: the humor section on Pinterest = GOLD. I'll tell you a thousand more times; it's just beyond great. Please tell me someone else thinks this is as hilarious as I do: 

This is how I felt every. single. moment of the Superbowl.

Guys, I'm just sitting at home alone, laughing out loud. I feel like a weirdo.

Okay, let's be serious. Back to the actual point of this post now. Since it's Monday, it's time to set my goals for the week and recap how I did on my goals from last week. 

How did I do last week?

Last week, I made three goals: to continue writing posts ahead of time/stick to my editorial calendar, be at least 80% done with my drunk driving awareness campaign site for a local law firm + to continue practicing journaling. 

Number one? Booyah. I'm not as far ahead as I would like to be, but I'm currently about five posts ahead of schedule, which I have to say, feels AWESOME. I never really understood the point of writing ahead of time before I tried it, but I'll admit that I'm officially a believer. Now, whenever I'm in the mood to write, I'll sit down for a few hours and crank out 2-3 posts, just like that!

Goal number two (making progress on my charity site) was pas bon this week. I only finished two pages out of ten for the entire site. But I'm okay with that. My "due date" that I've made for myself is still more than a week away + with all my computer issues, my design time had to be focused on my more immediate clients. 

Goal number three was also a success! I'm really not a big fan of journaling, but I'm learning to like it. I journaled three times this week + I'm really proud of myself!

My goals for this week:

A few days ago, I shared my goals for all of February. The hardest of those goals for me will be to continue building a habit of running, so I'm going to focus on that this week. I really have a love-hate relationship with running. I hate the actual act of running, but I love the pride that comes with running further than I have before, the strength I feel in my body + the endorphins. This week, I'm going to run three times, even if it's a short, mini, 15 minute jog. Whatever gets me outside + moving.

I'm just gonna stick with that for the week! That'll be tough enough.

What are your goals for the week? Do you run (help!)?

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Monthly Goals: February

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This month, I have so. much. going on. Over Valentine's Day weekend (I know, I know, I'm missing my date night with H, but we've got a concert planned for the 8th), I'll be in Michigan, probably eating snow. I know they tell you not too, but it's just so much fun. And if you get it from the very top of an untouched part, it's clean, right? Maybe? 

And then the next week, I'll be in Breckenridge with friends, pretending I know how to ski. Being from Minnesota, one of my friends is convinced I'm a master skier. But you skied to school, she says. Stop being humble! she says. But really, I haven't skied since I was maybe eleven...so that could be interesting.

So even though January is by far my favorite month of the year (snow! New Year's Resolutions! Leftover Christmas food that no one else wants!), I'm ready to have a great month in February. 

In February, I have two things I want to focus on, but they're rather substantial. I want to focus on both my physical  and emotional health. And really, those things go hand in hand. Like just about every human, I ate a couple holiday cookies and somehow (somehow!) there's just a little too much of me to love right now. I've been running for the last two weeks or so but it's hard to get back in the habit. This month, I'm going to continue running. 

I've also heard about a place called 9Rounds that's like a kickboxing/martial arts studio. For some reason, kickboxing has always really appealed to me. In soccer, which I've played forever, I've always been a tad aggressive + maybe a year ago, someone recommended kickboxing to me and I've been wanting to try ever since! However, since I'm not a gym member and I'm totally broke, I just haven't gotten around to finding a good place to try. BUT, I'm determined to try 9Rounds--I just have to find a friend to rope into it with me.

As for emotional health, I just want to make one goal for that--journaling. Now let's be straight, I hate journaling. God, I really really hate journaling. It frustrates me and makes me impatient and I just get all weird reading back over what I wrote. But as I'm in a huge period of transition of my life as I mentally get ready to move away from everyone I know, by myself, I think journaling is a powerful tool that I can use to sort through my emotions and control my anxiety. 

What are your goals for February? How do you like to exercise? If you journal, do you have any journal prompts for me?

Weekly Wishes #24

Hello loves! Happy Monday! Ew. Mondays. I saw this on Pinterest the other day and just about peed myself since I'm pretty sure that's me on Mondays. Poor lady. Side note: if you ever need a good laugh, the humor section on Pinterest is gold. Gold, I tell you. Last week, I just pitched a hissy fit because I was stressed about my move (which okay, I know isn't for like eight months, but still) and generally made everyone around me miserable. Half an hour on Pinterest? I'm just peachy. You know it's sad when Pinterest cheers you up more than friends...

Annyyyways, I'm gonna attempt to start my week off right with some of those weekly wishes. But let's recap. Last week I made two goals: successfully transition back into classes and stick with my new checklist system. I think I aced both of them! I didn't have to stay up too late with class work and I used my checklist every day but one! And since it seems like some of you are curious about this mysterious checklist system, I'll be sharing it in the next few days!

Moving on, I'm setting a few goals for the upcoming week! Firstly, I've been basically Wonder Woman since last weekend, actually getting things on my editorial calendar and written ahead of time. Someone please congratulate me. I want to continue writing posts in advance so that things can be a little more consistent around here.

I also have a project that I'm working on that I'd like to work on a lot this week. I'm making a drunk driving info site for a local law office + I've got a few more pages and some code to finish up. My goal is to finish or be at least 80% done by the end of the week!

My third and last goal (because even three goals might be more than I can handle) is to practice journaling. I go in and out of phases where I journal regularly and then not at all. All in all, I've more or less decided that journaling isn't the thing for me. I generally get impatient with it and it frustrates me to go back and look at what I wrote in the past. But with the current transitions in my life with moving and all, I think journaling is an important habit for the stage I'm currently living. I've been focusing on just taking fifteen minutes ever day or every other day to reflect on my day, not only the bad things but also the good. This week, I'd like to journal at least a page every other day.

What are your goals for the week? Do you journal?

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4 Simple Goals (Before 2014!)

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Hello dears! It's been a day of highs and lows. Classes were less than great today but I met my supervisor for my internship (with my town's Storm Water Services) + we planned out my time there + different projects I'll be working on. I'm most excited for a toxicology project we're planning on a local stream that involves collecting algae + bugs + identifying them under microscopes. AHH microscopy!! Macroinvertebrate testing! So much exciting!!

....and I lost you all. ANYWAYS. Point is, that was super exciting for me. For real, I want this internship to start like yesterday. What's been exciting for you today?!

Shifting gears (sorry, I'm incapable of making non-awkward segues), I want share some goals of mine. If you've been around here long enough, you know I'm like beyond analytical. If you looked it up in the dictionary, it would just be a whole page picture of me. I mean, I'm the girl that plans out my day to the minute. So of course, goals are totally up my allie (...see what I did there?). SO, since I already make weekly goals all the time, I had to come up with a new idea. How about goals for now until the end of the year?!

Disclaimer--yeah, I didn't come up with this. These girls did.

1. Exercise twice a week, consistently. I know this is the less than the recommended amount and all, but let's face it, I've got stuff to do + I just can't commit to much more. That said, I'll aim for 3-4, but let's be realistic.

2. Do something good for myself everyday. As long as I go out of my way to do it, it counts. Eating fruit for dessert instead of that glorious key lime pie in my freezer, going for a run, doing yoga, spending time outside--all count!

3. Journal 5+ days a week. I'm really just going to set the bar obscenely low and challenge myself to a sentence a day. Like I said, let's be realistic.

4. Love myself. It's just not happening enough lately. And let's be honest, I'm one rocking female, so it needs to be happening.

What are your goals for the rest of the year?

Catching My Eye 08.

Would you make me very very happy and take my survey? I promise, it's super short, 9 questions. And most of the questions are multiple choice, a few you have to fill in a word. I will love you forever! 

Just a heads-up, friends. I'm heading up north today for a super short trip. I have posts scheduled for you but I won't be responding to comments until Friday. So no, I don't hate you, I'll reply soon!

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