Hello friends. In today’s post, I share simple tips and prompts to get you on your journaling journey. On paper. Quaint, yeah?
Why I recommend a handwritten journaling
It’s a fact (check out this Scientific American article) that people learn and retain information better by taking a pen to paper.
I’ve tried digital journaling but it’s not the same as taking a pen to paper. After working on a computer all day, I need a break from screens. When I need to journal due to insomnia, digital journaling is the last thing i need.
How to Journal
You don’t need fancy paper or pens to get started. Any type of paper and pen will do: composition, spiral, Moleskine, or that random blank book you bought but had no plan for.
Journaling is quiet time set aside for you to gather and express your thoughts in a safe place. Your journal is always there for you. It won’t judge you. No one has to read it. Future posts on will cover a few techniques for hiding your journal entries.
What the methods below all have in common: no editing, don’t worry about spelling or grammar. date each session or not. it doesn’t have to be legible. you may or may not refer back to it.
It’s your journal.
Here are 3 methods to get you started:
- the brain dump
- Julia Cameron’s morning pages
- catalog of the day’s events
Let’s unpack those.
The Brain Dump
You put pen to paper and write it all out. Don’t stop until you have nothing left to say. I find the brain dump works best on nights when I can’t sleep, usually because I’m replaying the day, some random slight, mistake I made, or the conversation where I thought up my witty response 2 hours later.
Follow your stream of consciousness and write. It may take a practice and that’s ok. You may find yourself editing in your head before writing. Let it go. Just write. If it’s in your head, get it on paper.
Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages
This method is from her book, The Artist’s Way, which sounds hifalutin’ but is actually a workshop in a book to help release creative blocks. Morning pages are part of her unblocking process.
Morning Pages are a Brain Dump with a 3 page limit, written first thing in the morning. If this sounds appealing, check out Julia’s website for more info but it’s truly no more complicated that that.
Catalog of the Day’s Events
This is a good prompt when you have something on your mind but don’t know where to start. In this method, you start by writing a detailed narrative of your day, from the moment you woke up. There may be science behind this, but all I know is that it works to jump start your brain to letting go of what’s bugging it.
How Often to Journal
I find journaling is a lot like exercise: a little journaling everyday is better than one long journaling session. Regular journaling helps me recognize and correct behavior patterns I want to release more quickly.
Need Rules to Get Started?
If you need some kind of boundaries to get started, start with Morning Pages, or try these 4 steps to create a daily journal practice:
- decide when you’re going to journal
- set a timer for 10 minutes
- write until the timer goes off
- close your journal
If you find the blank page intimidating, scribble on the page to “test” your pen or start doodling. Write “I have nothing to say” over and over until you find your words. You can’t mess it up. I don’t rip out pages; instead, I glue pretty paper over it, or glue to pages together.
Journaling is not a test or homework. There are no grades or rules, except for the ones you set for yourself.
You can’t “get behind with your journaling.” If you miss a day because life happens, start over the next day. No big deal. This is time for YOR. Honor yourself as you would encourage your bestie.
Once you get into a daily habit, you’ll find your rhythm and create your own journaling ritual, clarity and perhaps some peace of mind.
The key takeaway is: journaling is cathartic; it gets stuff out of your head so you can move on.
There’s no right or wrong way to journal. There’s only your way.
Happy journaling!