Benefits of Journaling + How to Start

Welcome to Self-Care Week at Echo Blue. We're firm believers that to be successful in business and our personal lives, we have to have our "heads on straight." Mental health is something to be discussed, and we're aiming to include it in our conversations about personal efficiency and business success. Monthly, we take a week to focus our posts on topics related to mental health and self-care.

Journaling can be one of those things that people either loathe or approach with near cult-like adoration. I myself have a love/hate relationship with journaling — most of the time, I love it. I don't (usually) have a problem finding the time, I enjoy going back and reading previous entries, and actually filling a journal start to finish gives me a weird euphoric thrill.

I haven't ALWAYS loved journaling, for a myriad of reasons.

Like it or not, journaling works. It's necessary. And we should all be doing it. Today, we're going to look at some roadblocks, some benefits, and I'll share some tips as to make your own journaling not just HAPPEN, but WORK.

Why do we resist journaling?

Here are some common reasons I hear why people don't enjoy journaling:

I find so many "nice" journals and buy them, but they're so pretty I don't want to write in them and ruin them.

I don't have time to journal

I don't have anything to write in my journal

I hate making mistakes in journals — I'm a perfectionist

Each item on this list is something I've also experienced. I'm a perfectionist, so mistakes in journals make me crazy. Finding time can be tricky. Some days, I've looked at a blank page and thought, "Nothing happened today" (or sometimes, I think "Where do I even start?"). And finally, it CAN be hard to purchase a nice journal that comes home pristine, then finding motivation to write in it when you want it to STAY pristine.

Put frankly, all of these reasons are easily overcome. They're not reasons so much as they are excuses. I say that with love, because, again, I've experienced them myself. The reality is they're not valid — they ARE excuses. In order for journaling to be successful, we have to set aside our own perfectionism/shopping habits/fears and just, well, DO IT.

Why should we journal?

We hear all the ways journaling is good for our mental health. It provides us a private way to record our thoughts, sort things out, and process. Taking a few moments to yourself to process is such a good part of our self-care. It stimulates our brains and creativity and creates records.

Here are the main benefits, for me: Having a record

History has taught us that many famous, historical figures kept journals, which later proved helpful as later generations researched what happened during tumultuous times said historical figure faced. They provide insight to personal thoughts of folks, how decisions were made, and how the decision impacted future planning. While we may all have plans or ideations of becoming a legendary historical figure, we're not all going to be researched in the future by historians looking for our private thoughts as to why we took a certain job. We don't journal for posterity, but journaling is SO effective in recording our lives for personal benefit.

On a (very) personal note, I kept a journal during a painful divorce. Start to finish. I didn't let myself go back and read previous entries until I completed the last page after papers were signed by a judge and things were official. The transformation I read felt astounding, even though I had actually lived through the process. I had recorded highs, lows, fears, hopes, etc., and when the process completed and it was finally time to move on, I had done a great examination of my emotional processing over the entire painful process. And, since the last page was done the day it was all finalized, I could start my NEXT journal with a literal and figurative clean slate. I literally closed the book on that ugly chapter and moved on.

Journaling boosts creativity, particularly if you are using pen & paper.Once you start, random ideas will start to flow, and you'll capture those. You can draw on days you can't write. You can make collages. You can do "vision boards" of sorts within your journal. You can use different colored pens and stickers and all kinds of goodies. Your journal can serve as a scrapbook and mental health tool. It stimulates our creativity. It improves our handwriting (practice makes perfect, after all). Just overall good stuff.

Journaling can be your friend.We all may be somewhat guarded, even among friends and family. Journaling provides a way for you to be free and truthful. Pissed at your friend? Write about it. They won't see it. Hate your boss? Let loose. We may not always be able to speak freely, but we CAN write freely.

How should we journal?

Go to Pinterest and you'll find an infinite number of pins on journaling (you can even check out my own Journaling Board, where I too get carried away with journaling ideas). The reality is, however, journaling really only requires three things:

Something to write in

Something to write with

Time

You can go digital or analog with this. In most areas of my life, I am paperless and pro-digital. For journaling, though, I am strictly a pen & paper type girl. I find it soothing to write with a pen, particularly when the majority of communication is typing. You can use a bullet journal — I'm going to discuss this in a later post — if you prefer.

The Actual Journal

You have no shortage of options in journal selection. For me, I prefer composition books. They're cheap, found in practically every store, can be wide ruled (I have big handwriting), are hardcover, and I don't mind marking them up with stickers, bending them backwards to write, etc. Any notebook will do, so if you're just starting or are re-comitting, don't wait to find the perfect journal. Get a spiral notebook if you must. If you want something pretty, then get something pretty.NOTE: Full disclosure — I did buy a Moleskine journal on a whim, and it is a REALLY good journal. They're also considerably more expensive than composition books, so I may not keep using Moleskine in the future for journals.

Making Time

Some swear by journaling first thing in the morning (also referred to as "Morning Pages," where you write three pages in total stream-of-conciousness and just let it flow). Some write before bed. Some say whenever the mood strikes is best. I've tried all, so here are some pros and cons for each:

Journaling in the Morning Pros

Surprisingly, I have found I can be QUITE thoughtful in the morning and write pure gold. Some days I get great ideas writing in the morning. Writing in the morning jump starts the day and gets your brain working. Finally, if you had a particularly awesome dream, journaling about it before you inevitably forget helps you remember and process later.

Cons

If you're not a morning person, we could probably be friends. I am not. I hate alarms. There are absolutely days I write entries, then read them later and think, "what the hell was I talking about?" If you're prone to oversleeping, you may find you have to skip the journaling to get to work, so its harder to keep it as a habit. If perfectionism is one your excuses, it can be harder to overcome because your handwriting, grammar, and general sense-making may not be awake yet.

Journaling at Night Pros

If you ONLY journal in the morning, writing about the day before becomes "foggy." Capturing the days events and your moods keeps it fresh. The record of your day is more detailed. It also allows you to better process the day and identify ways to improve or things to repeat. It also can help clear your brain before sleep.

Cons

Depending on your schedule, journaling at night feels like ONE more thing to do. If you are forcing yourself to write, particularly when you can barely keep your eyes open, it may not be fruitful and you could even resent the habit. And while I am a big fan of facing moods when you are feeling them and not sticking your head in the sand, some days I know if I write about something I won't sleep, so I need to distract myself until I'm in a place I can process.

Whatever you decide, make it part of your daily habit. I try to journal in the morning and evening, then occasionally will write during the day if the mood strikes. This allows me to get the pros for each, and counter the cons.

What To Journal ABOUT

Some days I go nuts and can write five pages, no problem. Others, getting a half page out feels impossible. Blank pages can either feel thrilling or daunting.

Most of all, just START. Your first sentence can literally be "I don't know where to start." Don't try to be perfect. Just keep writing. I have found I journal expecting to write about one matter and end up writing about another that I didn't even realize had been bothering me until it just started to pour out.

For those who aren't sure where to start, here are a few suggestions…

High/Low — Record the high point of the day, and record the low point of the day. I do this on the days I feel I have absolutely nothing to say. This gives you a starting point — you may be surprised how a few words can jog other parts of your day for journaling

Gratitude — Many people swear by a gratitude journal. I've tried this, but I never could stick with it. While I often journal about things I feel gratitude FOR, a dedicated Gratitude Journal doesn't work for me. If I'm stuck, though, I often ask myself what I'm thankful for and start there.

Letter Writing — Write a letter to your future self. Write a letter you have no intention of sending. It can be to your boss, your spouse, someone you love, someone you don't, even someone who is deceased. Because your journal is private, you likely will feel better getting it out and processed, even if the person you're writing to never sees it.

Journal Prompts — There are thousands of journal prompts online. You can find them on Pinterest, Google searches, Instagram, etc. If you're stuck, these are a great starting point.

Finally, set some rules.

I have a few pertaining to journaling and getting it done, and done right for me.

My journal very rarely leaves the house and is stored in a secured place.

I find I am more forthcoming and honest about myself and others when I can rest assured nobody BUT me will read my journal.

Journaling is a part of my daily habits.

I prefer routines & structure. Making journaling a part of my daily routine is necessary for me to help me stick to the habit. I don't necessarily carve out time to do so, I just consider it as important as any other habit I do to start or end my day. Some days I skip, of course. If I get home late and I can only summon energy to change clothes and brush my teeth before bed, I may not write. If I oversleep and have less time, I'm getting right to the shower. I've found keeping it part of a habit, rather than scheduling time to do it, keeps me on track.

I am flexible and forgiving

If I skip, well, tomorrow is another day. No guilt. If I mess up a page I'm trying to make look fancy, oh well. I don't rip pages out. I don't use wite-out. I prefer my journal to look beat-up and scuffed when I'm done with it. Well-loved, if you will. Some days I write. Some days I just glue in ticket stubs and add a note I went to a concert. My journal is MINE. I don't follow set plans or themes. It's purpose is to capture me. Some days thats in beautiful self-reflection, others its in really bad poetry, but I don't keep rules as to what I write about.

I also keep a few sheets of blank paper in my work portfolio, in case a mood strikes when I'm out and about. I have a 45 minute commute, and I've found some mornings I get thoughtful and want to record ideas, etc., on a train ride. Using this notebook gives me a) one less thing to carry, and b) frees me from carrying my "actual" journal out of the house. These entries are usually work-related, so I keep them in the portfolio. If they're more personal, I may take them out and staple them into my journal at home.