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?

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?