5 Tips to help you start a journal
Last month a friend of mine asked me if journaling could be helpful for him. He is starting a business and is curious to know if the habit is really worth starting. I’ve read about journaling in the past, but I wasn’t comfortable enough giving my opinion until I’d tried it out for myself. This wouldn’t be my first time journaling, but it would be the first time that I decided to journal consistently. While it didn’t go quite according to plan, I learned a lot along the way.
I started my journey by picking a time during the day where I would sit down and write. I would write about my achievements, goals, or ideas from that day. I told myself, “this will be a reminder of what I accomplished, the failures I had, and the lessons I learned — one day my kids will use it to build successful businesses and change the world!” — Unfortunately, this didn’t last long.
On a daily basis, I found myself procrastinating and pushing my scheduled writing time back further and further until it eventually fell off my calendar. I would try to get to it when I finished working for the day, but that never really happened. Instead of feeling good about journaling, I found myself with one more chore every day.
Something we all have in common is that none of us like chores! And it was in this mindset of misery where I finally decided to do some deep internet research on the science behind journaling. I needed to know why journals were so helpful for some - Leonardo Da Vinci, Jim Rohn, Steve Harvey — but so burdensome for others. Today, I’ll give you five lessons I learned while looking for an answer to this question.
What is a daily journal and why is it helpful?
A daily journal is a regular record of news and events of a personal nature; a diary.
In other words, it’s a tracker used to record your life. While researching the value of a journal, it became clear that the most important trait is the fact that it is made by you, and made for you. This means MLA format and complete sentences have no place in your journal unless that is how you prefer to write.
Writing can be a form of art and therapy that can give you the freedom to express yourself and your ideas in a thoughtful way. I like using a journal to track some of my craziest business ideas, this way I can think about them and address the challenges they may face.
There isn’t really a technique to this, but there are a few keys to making your journal effective.
#1: Start Small
One of the most challenging aspects of writing is not knowing where to start. Whether you’re lost for a topic or just not feeling it, we all struggle with filling up the blank page.
The Great Gatsby has a scene where the main character, Nick, is meeting with a counselor. Nick doesn’t know what to write about, and the counselor walks Nick through simple questions that eventually create the story. Your journal may not be a great journey of life today, but that journey can only begin when you decide to start.
#2: Use Different Journaling techniques
Ditch the pen and paper. A daily journal gives you the freedom to fill the pages however you want, and there are a ton of ways to track your life and journey. Use pictures, magazine clippings, a blade of grass! Explore the different forms of expression to fill your journal with life.
The last thing you want is for journaling to become a chore. Be free-flowing and unapologetically creative with each page. Your ideas pop into your head this way, so try not to box them in on paper.
#3: Add pictures of memories or draw A Memory
It’s difficult to write when you’re focused on others understanding your thoughts, this is why I hated papers in school. We attempt to help others understand our perspective by using metaphoric language and symbolic words that we hope will paint a picture for our audience.
Some people will prefer to write this way, and that is fine, but in order for me to remain consistent, I had to add a few pictures that triggered happy memories or add a quote to the page that inspired me on a rough day.
#4: Analyze the things that aren’t working
One of the coolest conversations I heard when researching — through blogs, online articles, and YouTube — was about the way to overcome writer’s block through the use of a small personal challenge. If you have ever been stuck on a blank page and can’t figure out what to write, I’m sure you were frustrated. Next time, try writing out a problem you currently have in your life, think through 5 different consequences of that problem, and then leave some space below for you to write out your solution.
Jim Rohn used his journals as idea nets and each page was meant to capture an idea and the challenges that it could face. This allows you to think through potential solutions and document them for use later.
#5: Keep your journal handy
I keep a very small, palm-sized journal with me as often as I can. This journal has captured many of the investment tips and tricks that I’ve picked up over the past 6 years. It isn’t full yet, but I’ve found that keeping it close by makes it easier to actually use it.
Your journal shouldn’t only be handy so that you can write in it, but it should also be handy for you to read and continue to learn from it.
Most people will find it hard to maintain the routine of journaling, but for the ones that fight through that beginning stretch, they will see the value that this form of thought can bring.
The First Step Challenge
At the start of next month, challenge yourself to track your own thoughts for 30 days.
“The most powerful thing I can do is decide.”
You may even see the therapeutic benefits that journaling can offer.
2 Quick Mental Health Benefits of Journaling
Keeps Memory Sharp. Journaling helps to keep your brain at peak efficiency. Not only does it boost your memory and comprehension, but it even increases your working memory capacity and your ability to process information.
Boosts Mood. A unique social and behavioral outcome of journaling is that it can improve your mood. More specifically, it will give you a greater sense of overall happiness.
SOURCES
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/feb/15/psychology-usa