Journaling has been around for as long as I remember with my first introduction via movies and tv programs whereby the main premise for a journal was to reflect and write about the day, good or bad and don’t forget all those secrets too where you dare not show anyone. Many popular tv programs depict the younger brother being chased by his older sister for reading her journal and its secrets that would ruin the entire school life forever if let loose.

An everyday phenomenon

Now journaling is big business and it's a buyers market full of every conceivable template and approach to help you and by all the ways (paper or electronic) you can dream of. It has moved far beyond the basic thoughts of the day, to an all-round healthy happy life management system backed up with research on its benefits. A journal now will have your favourite quotes, the top 3 things you were grateful for today, exercises to keep up your positivity and help keep your head out of the stress loop and an overall reflection mechanism to sort out what is real and important versus not etc., the list goes on and on.

One thing that has not changed is, you need to pick a time that suits you to journal. I’ve had a lot of trial and error over the years and for me its last thing at night before I sleep and its handwritten all the way.

But why do we need to journal?

Well, everyone is different and with journals being very personal and individualistic, I’m sure there are a million reasons why folks do it. Some like to because they enjoy writing and practicing writing, some like to reflect on the day but then leave it behind, looking forward to starting a new day with no baggage. Others like tasks and goal setting while others use it to explore ideas and analyze how and why things worked as they did today and what new ideas can be attempted tomorrow. A big shift which is much more conscious than before is the use of journaling for stress, anxiety and depression with plenty of research done as noted at https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-journaling/ and many more articles besides as a quick web search will show you.

Why did I start journaling?

I started in the daily reflection, goal setting and stress management bracket although I cannot remember any eureka moment that drove me to start journaling over something else. Since I started over 6 years ago, I’ve gone through 11 different versions of a daily journal and I’m sure I will get to a v12 before too long. I haven’t journaled full time either and had many natural breaks but found my way back for one reason or another. My latest journal template is as follows:

Grateful for: List as much as I can on all the things, people and experiences I was grateful for today.

The best thing that happened today: The best thing could be anything but the process naturally makes you reflect on all the potential positive outcomes making it hard to choose but you realise lots of good things happened today. I usually find more things I am grateful for too that can be added to the previous list.

Belief reflection: Free form writing on what I am doing, what I am all about and anything I want to reflect on that occurred during the day. Some of this stuff is out there with the UFO’s.

Things I would like to change or am still curious about: Items or ideas I might want to change or create and items I am curious about but have no clear actions to take or I feel compelled to take at this time. These are not a to-do list for the next day but sit in my subconscious and if they come up again or in another form then I guess are important and will naturally fall into action.

My latest template is full of reflection, compassion and an easy future focused outlook to keep me thinking and positive. It works well writing last thing before I sleep as it closes the day well with some future focus that is low key and won’t have me thinking when I should be sleeping. I do have weekly and daily to do lists/tasks but I now separate that stuff from journaling with its own routine as I do with the morning routine.

Do I really need a journal?

I reflect on this a lot and a part of me says I only journal because there is something unfulfilled or an issue yet to be worked out that makes me have to manage it another way, basically a band aid fix with journal writing. Over the years when I went on holidays and turned everything off, including my mind, to be in the moment enjoying a break, I felt I didn’t need to journal at all. On other occasions however I still felt like I needed to journal on holidays but didn’t and noticed it. I have a habit of viewing journaling as a Monday – Friday task and to this day still miss many a weekend day journaling. I always find it difficult to put my finger on how my journaling helped me today and what I got out of it? Most times the answer comes when I miss a day journaling and find I have restless sleep or build-up of stress. I know some people get a huge benefit and energy rush from the whole experience, especially the free form reflection writing but, I’m not one of those and it's more subtle for me.

You don’t need to have a trauma or an issue in your life to start journaling and a lot of people and many famous folks journal to help with their ongoing work and constant flow of ideas. In this fast paced world there is something to be said for finding at least ten minutes of quiet reflection for yourself, so I would recommend to try it for yourself, create a template that might work for you and give it a go.

Yours in reflection,

Journaling, once you start, can you stop?

Keep Moving

Curiosity didn’t kill the cat