Journaling Is an Incredible Tool; One You Should Have.

Happy New Year readers!
I hope you’re looking forward to 2024 🤓

As it relates to creating newsletters, I’ll probably always wrestle with the question “…but is this useful?”

”How do I not waste the readers time with an article about journaling?”

We’ve heard the benefits of journaling the world over. I simply don’t want to contribute recycled information you can find on the internet in two seconds.

So I’ll be honest:
I’ve rewritten this intro to from scratch 5 or 6 times.

Each attempt missed one crucial element: how I’d honestly react to a newsletter about journaling….

Look, I get it.
When an email’s subject line reads:

• “5 Benefits of Journaling for Mental Health” or

• “10 Good Reasons to Keep A Journal” or

• “Here’s How to Start Journaling Today”…

I trash them too.
I loathe tired, cliché advice.

But Then I Came Across This X Post

Some time ago, I came across this post written by a guy I look up to.
He mentioned a rather compelling argument for journaling and provided a bunch of tips.

If you have X and want to read the thread in its entirety, you can here.

I don’t know if it was the captivating image (you can always get me with a good image,) the practicality of the advice, that it’s from a man’s perspective, or a combination of all three.

But this X post convinced me to finally give journaling a real college try.
”One month Katie, you can do anything for one month.”

So I Began Journaling

Like most beginner’s, I didn’t notice anything immediately."
But after a few days, it started to feel good having some pages filled in.
More days went by and I noticed I was looking forward to the ritual itself.
After a few weeks, I was waking up with a “man, I can’t wait to start this day” attitude.

Now…

When thoughts start to roll into my brain like morning thunderclouds, I welcome them like old friends.
Even negative or painful thoughts make me feel like “good, I’ve got something to inspect via writing.”
Journaling is now a constant in my life. I feel relaxed and lucid yet ready and awake at the same time.

So I’ve stuck with it.

Long enough to say that I journal 1 page a day, everyday, and will continue to for all of 2024 and beyond.
Journaling has provided a tier of introspection I’ve only heard about from like…near-death accounts.

Journaling everyday is one of my 2024 goals.
I want it to be one of yours too. 🙂

Make Your Practice... Practical.

You want to create a daily journaling practice because:

• There is no better outlet for introspection.

• The current state of the world is calling on you to discover, understand, and remember who you are.

• A journal serves as a mood tracker.

• It’s also a tremendous progress tracker. You can assess your self-growth when you revisit old words written by a younger you.

• Journaling allows you to release feelings that you would otherwise neglect or allow to compound. I think as a species, we could all use more outlets for emotional release.

• Over time, you’ll notice your self-soothing abilities improve.

These bullet points can hardly be overstated.

The benefits of journaling come after you give it enough time; I promise you that.

Writing also causes this crazy neural chemistry thing to happen that doesn’t occur by thinking alone.

Writing takes longer than thinking; thus, writing prolongs the synapse process in your brain which catalogues the thought or emotion your writing about as “important.”

Due to this, the thought or emotion is easier to articulate or make sense of.
It’s more colored in.
There’s more texture to it.

Imagine you have poor vision and your journal is a pair of glasses through which you can see your thoughts and emotions more clearly.

It’s an incredible tool; one you should have.

Purchase a Good Pen and Journal

Nothing makes journaling easier to integrate into one’s life than the perfect pen and notebook.
It’s easy to overlook this part - “…why wouldn’t I just use the nearest pen to me? What’s wrong with using my computer?”

Honestly, nothing is wrong with using your computer.

Personally, I journal in the morning and I don’t like artificial light assaulting my eyeballs that early in the day.
But if journaling on your computer works for you, go with what works.

If you’re the pen and paper type like me, I implore you to give both the notebook and pen you use some careful consideration.

Nothing makes a journaling practice lack potential luster like ill-fitted tools.

The Pen

This part feels a little bit like Harry Potter trying out wands at Ollivander’s in Diagon Alley…

Anyway…for a long time, I really loved this Dr. Grip pen.

You might try it if you prefer a fatter pen with a super cozy grip to it. It also glides the page well; I still have a few of these laying around and never get sad using one.

Since I’m writing more frequently and comfort is less of a priority, I’ve become obsessed with these Japanese Muji 0.5mm pens.

The way the tip strikes the page is so satisfying; they’re sharp like a knife and make writing for a calligraphy-enthusiast like me so enjoyable.

They don’t have a grip so if you require grip, keep that in mind. But this will be my go-to pen as long as they continue manufacturing them.

Obviously, go with what suits your preferences best; you may already know what brand you like.

I share mine because I’ve traveled many roads that lead to many pens and found the Muji pen to be the peanut butter to my journaling jam.

The Notebook

Ask yourself; what makes for a good journal?
Speaking for myself, a good journal:

• Has (faint) lines to write on.

• Has a Table of Contents section.

• The pages are numbered.

• The binding works with gravity and stays open to a page without manipulation.

• It ages like fine wine; meaning, it has a natural play to it. It wears. It shows character.

• It has page markers and elastic bands to keep it shut.

• It comes with stickers for labeling.

This is a lot to require from one journal, but I found one and I’m stupid into it.

It’s the LEUCHTTURM1917, almost as fun as saying Harry’s broom name; the “Nimbus 2000.” 😉

Again, find what works for you but be picky. If the front cover likes to fold over your hand while writing, that’s well…annoying.

Maybe you hate big pages or don’t require anything fancy.
Figure out what you like and invest accordingly.

This may seem dramatic but I promise if you’re wanting your practice to stick around, you best approach it with this level of tediousness.

“What Should I Journal About?”

This is one of the most common questions someone new to journaling asks.

I think a lot of us assume that when it comes time to journal, we should know exactly what we want to write about.

That, or you feel like you have to commit to a specific format that is not allowed to evolve over time for some weird, arbitrary reason.

My advice? Let the format change with each day— just like you do.

Sometimes, I wake up and my mind wants to dump everything it has onto a page. To-Do lists, a dream reflection, ideas for things to do when my in-laws come to visit. For the lack of a better name, I literally call it “Mind Dumping.”

Whatever my mind is holding onto, I dump it out.

Other days, I stare at the page blankly for a little too long. In this instance, I turn to a prompt.
There’s plenty of places to get thought-provoking prompts besides “How do I feel today?”
My personal trick is to search “journal prompts” on Instagram’s Explore page and bookmark the ones I like.

I have a whole collection of bookmarked prompts I can always turn to in dire straights.

Expressive Writing

When a big, loud emotion is persistent for a noticeable amount of time, I tackle it using the Expressive Writing protocol developed by James Pennebaker.

Essentially, the Expressive Writing protocol has you:

• Select an experience, event, or memory that’s proufound/painful to you.

• Without pausing, write on the selected topic for 15-20 minutes.

• Hold nothing back and be totally honest.

• Ignore grammar, punctuation, or any sort of self-editing.

• Refrain from self-judgement.

• Aim to articulate your deepest recollections and feelings around the topic at hand.

You then repeat it; the same topic on the same day of the week for four weeks.

When the month is up, you re-read each entry and see if and how the emotions around the experience/event/memory evolved.

I used this method approaching sobriety and it was wildly insightful.

Expressive Writing is truly beneficial when you have a massive thorn stuck in your heart.
Whether you stick to the Expressive Writing protocol for an entire month or leverage it for a day is up to you.
I only mention it because it had potent effects on my life when I turned to it.

One Great Tip

Above all else, approach each journaling session with what wants to comes forward. You don’t need to journal the same way everyday.

Hell, when I wrote this article for INK + VOLT in 2022, I was journaling during my yoga practice.

The approach was so effective, I thought other people might want to try it.

I journaled alongside my yoga practice until I didn’t want to combine the two modalities anymore.

When you first start out, don’t be discouraged if nothing “comes up” naturally. You will develop a skill for detecting what needs to be written overtime.

I think that’s my favorite part about journaling these days; having thoughts like “hhhmmm…what will it be today?”

I LOVE the curiosity that hides in that question.

How to Create the Daily Habit

The only tip you need to begin: start your journaling practice slow and easy.

Slow and easy looks different to everyone. What I’d ask yourself is “what amount of journaling am I willing and able to commit to everyday?”

Maybe it’s 5 minutes.
Maybe it’s 1 page.
Maybe it’s more.
Personally, one page a day does the trick. So one page a day is what I do.

The next question to ask is “when is the best time of day for me to journal?”

I’d consider:

• When does your brain work the best? (Morning? Evening? Right before lunch? While your baby naps? Heck I don’t know, but I’m sure you do.)

• When does your schedule allow?

• Where are you the least likely to be interrupted? (I like to journal on the couch first thing in the morning before my husband and cats are up.)

Find the time and place that suits you well.
And then journal at that time in that place for one month.

If you’ve never heard of habit stacking, maybe consider it as you develop your practice. It’s a way to leverage a current habit of yours to help create a new habit.

For example, I never have a morning without coffee. That first cup of blackness is the first thing I think of when my alarm goes off— I can’t wait to enjoy it.

Thus, I paired up my journaling practice with my first cup of coffee.
As I enjoy the coffee, I perform the journaling.

Overtime, this has taught my brain via neuroplasticity that not only does coffee = GOOD FEELING but now, journaling = GOOD FEELING.

Thus, I have way less resistance to journaling because it feels as good as that first cup of coffee.

We have a higher likelihood of repeating things that feel good to us.

Journaling Teaches You How to Read Yourself

Journaling is this weird mirror that you can use to look within.
It’s a tool to explore your consciousness, nervous system, and routine.
It’s a record keeper of emotional patterns and the health metrics of your relationships.
Think of it as the gym for your muse, your psyche, or your personal development.

Yea yea you got it, I’ll stop with the clichés.

But really, journaling is an incredible teacher.
When my mind has somewhere to intentionally wander, my day goes smoother.

My self-awareness has raised like a tide that doesn’t go back down as often.

For example: when I’m at the grocery store or on a long walk outside, I’m way more present.

I deeply enjoy the experiences I’m having; experiences I would have paid big bucks or made reservations months in advance for.

I Want You to Fall in Love With Journaling

Something I know I can be annoying about but have come to accept is that when something works for me, I want it to work for others too.

That said, I know holding people’s feet to the fire is a useless act if the person whose feet I’m holding…don’t want me holding their feet.

I say this because deciding to pick up this journaling thing all comes down to you.

I want you to ask yourself this: “What would life look like if it was exactly how I wanted it to be?” Then ask yourself what you could be doing to make your life look and feel that way.

Maybe you know exactly what it would take.
Maybe you don’t.
Journaling? A heck of a way to start finding out.

I can’t wait to hear how your practice changes you for the better like it’s changed me.

💡 Journaling Prompts:

• How does it feel to exist in your body / mind / life right now?

• Are your basic needs currently being met? What could you do today to address any unmet needs?

• What does fulfillment look like for you? How can you give yourself more fulfillment?

Additional Resources

Huberman Lab Podcast- A Science-Supported Journaling Protocol to Improve Mental & Physical Health

Expressive Writing: Words That Heal- A Book By James W Pennebaker

Atomic Habits- A Book By James Clear