Is Journaling Part of your Personal Development Routine?

Oh the joys and stresses of journaling…I can’t say that I’ve always been a huge fan of journaling as an adult. Probably because as a child I was always convinced someone was going to “break into” my very fancy diary that had the little flimsy lock on it. Even as a young kid I realized that lock wasn’t keeping anyone out!

But, as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned to embrace journaling as an educational and sometimes restorative process. One that helps me get clear on all the crazy ideas floating around in my brain.

WHAT IS JOURNALING

Journaling is really nothing more than a great way to get ideas and emotions out of our heads and onto paper. It’s the process of writing down our ideas and dreams. It’s a safe place to process and understand all of our emotions.

Journaling helps us clarify ALL the things we want to do, and more importantly it can give us confidence to move forward with our ideas. It gives a certain power to our dreams and our goals and allows us to sit with them, think about them, and process them. Once we do that we are more likely to act on them!

Journaling also allows us to clarify the fears and worries that might be holding us back from something big. One of the most useful aspects for journaling me as an adult is as a tool to help me process TOUGH emotions.

Processing negative emotions is an incredibly therapeutic tool, particularly for anyone that has suffered from anxiety or depression like me. We’ll talk more about what you can do about journaling all the tough step in the steps below.

For a long-time I avoided journaling because I was worried I wasn’t going to do it right, I was worried someone might see all the not so nice things that fly through my brain, and because honestly it just seemed like A LOT of work to commit to a daily journaling practice. (which I still don't do by the way!)

So I procrastinated and I avoided…then finally I tried it…and I loved it.

HOW JOURNALING CAN HELP

In case you are on the fence about this whole journaling thing, let me share some reasons it can help us achieve more in life.

First, as I mentioned earlier, it helps give clarity to our ideas and dreams. Once we know what we want to accomplish we are a lot more likely to take action. And as you know by now taking consistent action is what helps us achieve the goals we have.

Also, I don’t know about you, but speaking my big scary goals out loud often doesn’t happen right away. Somehow writing them down seems a little less terrifying. I can write things down, and then I can erase them, or shred them, or sit with them.

The process of writing them makes them feel real. It also helps me understand why those dreams are there to start with. When I journal I can dig into why certain ideas or dreams pop into my head and trust me there are a lot of crazy ideas in there!

Once I’ve written them down and processed them I can decide if they make sense for me. Sometimes I write down crazy things in my journal that never happen, but sometimes I write down big goals that are slowly coming true (like launching this business and influencing women to be chase their dreams…okay just writing that makes me a little nervous, but hey there it is).

Journaling also allows us to be our own cheerleaders and coaches. When we get stuck on a project or goal we can write about it. Often this helps us break loose of whatever is getting in our way. It is a way for us to hold ourselves accountable and challenge ourselves to keep trying new things.

Journaling isn't a magic bullet, you know I don't believe in those, but it is a helpful tool in building intentional lives we love.

So if you’ve ever considered journaling, but were worried you might not do it right (just me???) Check out the 6 ideas below to get started.

6 IDEAS TO START YOUR JOURNALING PRACTICE

Start Small

One of the mistakes I made was thinking I needed to journal EVERY day to make it part of my routine. I’m a little bit of a rebel so the idea of HAVING to do something every day automatically makes me resist the idea.

Once I decided I could journal whenever I felt like it as often or as infrequently as I wanted, it took the pressure off.

If you aren’t sure you want to journal all the time, no worries. Start small. Try a few entries here and there.

Consider starting with a simple gratitude list. Pick 1-3 things you are grateful for each day, or once a week, or heck even once a month.

Write down one big idea you have. Sit with it for a bit and ask yourself why it’s important. Write down the answers that pop into your head, you may be excited what shows up for you.

I also love journaling after my quiet time. This often leads to interesting ideas and revelations.

You don't need to commit to a daily journaling practice or pages of heartfelt notes to make journaling effective.

Just start small and see what sticks.

Make Your Journal Yours

We talk A LOT about doing things the way that work for us. But I find we have this idea of what our journals are “supposed” to look like and sometimes that keeps us from taking action.

I used to think my journal had to be diary type entires, written in beautiful script, with pages of grand ideas. If you could see my penmanship, you’d know what a stressor that vision was!

But now I use my journal for all sorts of things.

I write lists, I journal in typical diary format, I use mind mapping, and I doodle.

Allowing myself the freedom to do whatever I feel like on any given day has made the habit of getting my ideas on paper a lot less stressful and actually a lot more useful.

So don’t think your journal needs to look a certain way to be effective. Work with different ideas and techniques and see what sticks.

There are also tons of great tools and resources out there that have great prompts if you are stuck on what you should write about.

Again, starting with a gratitude approach can really help us open up the creative juices. Because who isn't thankful for coffee and chocolate.

Don’t have to write in the morning

Okay maybe it’s just because I’ve read too many books and articles about morning routines, but somehow in my mind I felt like the BEST time to journal was in the morning.

This kept me from journaling for longer than I’d like to admit. My mornings are already busy, and I already get up earlier than I would like most days, so adding one more thing to my morning schedule seemed completely overwhelming…so I didn’t do it.

Now I journal when the mood strikes.

Sometimes that is in the morning, sometimes it’s in the afternoon, and sometimes it’s in the evening.

Breaking the idea that journaling needs to be done first thing in the morning can create more space for creativity and spontaneity…which are both good things in journaling.

Pick a time that works for you, and don’t feel like you need to stick to the same time every day. If it works to have a mourning routine, great, but don't try and shove a habit into your daily schedule at a certain time because it works for someone else.

It goes without saying that we all have different patterns for sleeping, waking up, getting the kids out the door, getting to work, doing laundry, and everything else…why would we think we all need to journal at the same time?

Again, I’m telling myself this as much as you. But give yourself a break and write when you want!

Keep your Journal Handy

I do find that keeping my journal with me helps me captures ideas and thoughts when they happen. I don’t always carry it with me, but I do take my journal to work, on trips, and on vacation.

Sometimes a change of scenery will spark a new idea or dream.

Keeping the journal with you allows you to take advantage of those moments of brilliance.

Because if you are anything like me, you really won't remember it later.

Use Technology if Paper isn’t your Thing

Don’t feel like your journal needs to be a paper journal. If you find it more therapeutic and useful to type journal entires go for it. If you want to keep your journal thoughts on an app on your phone, perfect.

There is some science behind the power of actually using a pen (or pencil) and paper to get ideas out of our heads, but that doesn’t mean it should be the only way we try and journal.

Simply be aware of how and when your best ideas show up. Try and do more of that.

I like a combination of paper and electronic journaling.

I often use an electronic journal for things I know I’m not going to keep, which brings me to my last tip.

Shred the Not so Nice Stuff!

Sometimes I use journaling as an opportunity to say and “write” all the things I’m thinking in my head when I’m mad or scared or hurt. Often these ramblings don’t result in words I’m particularly proud of.

I can be mean and vindictive and downright nasty when I get too emotional about something.

The good news is that I’ve mostly learned to check my tongue when I’m upset. But I do find that at times writing down all the things that were bouncing in my head helps me process the negative emotions tied up with the moments.

When that happens I frequently turn to an electronic journal. I’ll draft an e-mail (with NO to address in the to line), or open up a blank work document. And then I’ll let the nasty flow.

Once I’m done I usually find that I feel better.

Then I promptly delete the document.

I delete it for a couple of reasons, the first one is because I don’t want someone else to see those things. They aren’t what I really want to say or how I want to show up in my real life. They are just me processing the crap. And we all have crap.

Second, I delete them so I won’t dwell on them. Negative emotions are heavy and they literally can weigh us down. If we reread those things they can become locked in our brain, and can influence our attitude, emotions, and our behavior.

If you are going to journal the tough stuff, I’d recommend a way to protect those thoughts and emotions from others and from yourself.