One of the things that puts people off when it comes to journaling is simply getting started. You might not feel comfortable just sitting down to a blank piece of paper or an empty computer screen. That’s okay, and it’s completely normal. All new activities come with a learning curve. Just think of something you’re now good at, but that took you some time to feel comfortable with. Writing in your journal follows that same concept. It will feel strange at first. Eventually, you’ll get good at it. It will become comfortable and enjoyable.
Journaling is a practice. That means it’s something you should do on a regular basis in order to gain the most benefits. There are no right or wrong ways to journal. What matters is that you get something from the exercise. There are tons of ways you can use a journal, depending upon your end goal. Journaling can help you to gain personal insight, figure out a problem, clarify your goals, increase your creativity, and more.
For now, let’s not put too much thought into the end result. What matters most is just getting started. I’ll give you two easy ways to start journaling. You can pick one, or even both, to start practicing on your own. These are both straightforward and simple.
Plan Your Day
One way you might want to use your journal is as a daily planner and motivator. An easy exercise is to determine three goals you have for yourself each day, write about them, and then try to find ways to make them happen as you go about your daily schedule. This is a great way to start your morning. It gets the creative juices flowing and puts you in a positive and focused mindset. Find some quiet time first thing in the morning and write down just three goals you’d like to accomplish for the day. They can be work-related or personal, and they don’t have to be major or extraordinary. Once you start to tick these items off your list, you’ll be motivated to continue the exercise.
Assess Your Day
Another easy writing exercise to start out with is to simply re-cap your day by writing down three things that went well that day. You could modify this one a bit by writing three significant things that happened during the day or simply writing a quick paragraph about how your day went. Whichever you choose, this assessment can help you to process the day’s events and provide material for the next day’s list of goals.
There you have it – just two simple ways to start journaling. Give them a try and see if that doesn’t help to get your creative juices flowing. At the very least, you’ll get a sense for what this whole journaling thing is all about.
