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In case you missed it, this is the third mini-episode in a three-part series on journaling – part 1 talked about the benefits of journaling, and part 2 covered potentially harmful parts of journaling (and how to avoid them!). In this final part, I’m going to give you all the tips, tricks, and tools I know to get you started journaling right now – many of these I learned myself in the past six months, and which helped me cultivate a habit of healthy journaling every day!
Tips for Getting Started Journaling
At first, starting a habit (of any kind) can seem daunting: how will you add in this new behavior every single day forever?! The secret is to create a small but manageable and consistent habit – you don’t need to write for an hour every day! Here are four tips I’ve learned about journaling:
- Find the formats that is comfortable for you. If you love pen and paper, great; if writing online or on your phone is more your style, go for it! What matters is that you find the right way of journaling that works for you.
- Commit to writing every day – start small but consistently. As I mentioned, you don’t need to spend a ton of time each day writing. Even just 3-5 minutes is a good start when you’re building a habit.
- Care more about substance and less about style. It’s okay if you have spelling or grammatical errors, I promise! When you’re starting out, focus instead on committing to your daily journaling habit than on if an English teacher would give you an A+ on it.
- Recognize your needs and set parameters accordingly. Setting your intention and listing gratitude are great starts, but maybe you prefer to write a stream of consciousness post – that’s cool, too. Or maybe you vow to write one sentence every day. Whatever works for you that keeps you journaling each and every day is what matters.
Okay, great – now you’re actually journaling… but wait, what tools can you use?
Tools for Journaling
A blank notebook is always a good option for journaling, but it’s not the only one. Here are other options:
The Five-Minute Journal – Available in both hard-back (available here) or as an app offers a structured journaling experience each and every day.
Other Mobile Apps – Journey, Diaro, and Narrate are just a few of the options you can choose if you want to start journaling on your phone or tablet.
The Happier Every Day Journal – available as a free download here on my site, I designed the Happier Every Day Journal to be a perfect starter journal as you build your journaling habit.
Do you use or know of a different tool for journaling? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
A Journaling Exercise
You’re all set and ready to start journaling! You know why journaling is healthy, how to avoid the pitfalls of journaling, and the tools and tricks to get started. Here’s one last thing: a four-step reflective writing experience you can use any time you’re feeling stuck or need inspiration.
- Write a few sentences about a problem or negative feelings that you believe need expression.
- Write a few sentences about how the problem or negative feelings can bring you greater understanding and behavior change for yourself and in your interactions with others.
- Write a few sentences considering the following:
– What can you learn from this matter?
– How can you grow from this experience? - Describe what you will do to improve the situation you described above (if you can’t improve the situation, describe what you can do to improve your experience — how you can make it more pleasant or less uncomfortable for yourself).
There you go! You now have all of the knowledge and skills you need to start experiencing the benefits of journaling!
