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The idea of starting a journal and thereby setting the expectation of having to write may seem overwhelming at first. But the idea isn't to write an entire chapter every day. It doesn't have to be a beautiful story, and it doesn't have to be polished. The idea is simply to do a "brain dump" and transfer whatever is taking up space in your head to paper in order to create more room in your head. Some days that may be a few paragraphs, and other days you may only write one sentence.

The Benefits and Purpose of Journaling

Journaling can help you reduce stress, manage your anxiety and depression, and gain insight into the things you want more or less of. Writing out your thoughts enables you to tackle your problems and fears in a more systematic way by helping you recognize your triggers and how to regulate them. Journaling also lets you track your symptoms and progress, which can be reviewed at a later point in time, allowing you to make small but meaningful changes to your life.

The purpose of journaling isn't to create a polished story or an autobiography. By putting whatever is taking up space in your head on paper, you create room in your head to think more clearly. Once your thoughts are written down, it makes it easier to reflect on them because, unlike your thoughts, whatever you wrote down isn't constantly changing. Reflection on your journal entries increases your understanding of your patterns, behaviors, and thought processes.

Additionally, the act of journaling helps you explore your emotions, values, beliefs, and experiences in order to get to know yourself better. We live in a world of constant distraction, a world telling us what we should and shouldn't be, how we should or shouldn't behave. Journaling cuts through the noise by putting whatever you're experiencing front and center.

Journaling also helps you clarify and focus on your goals and develop a plan for achieving them. By regularly writing about and reflecting on your goals, you gain meaningful insight into your motivations, obstacles, weaknesses, and strengths. Journaling helps you track progress, celebrate milestones, deal with setbacks, and make adjustments as needed.

How to Get Started With Journaling

When it comes to getting started, there are many ways to journal and many different formats to choose from. My recommendation is to start with the most basic setup and modify or add to the habit as you see fit.

First, decide where you will write. You can use a traditional paper format like a journal or an app like Day One on your phone. While there is some research to suggest that we process whatever we write by hand more easily, consistency is more important. Therefore, choose whatever format works for you.

Second, decide on when you will write. While journaling once a week is still better than not journaling at all, you stand to benefit most from making it a daily practice. You may prefer writing in the morning after waking up or in the evening before going to bed. Find a time that works for you, and try to be as consistent as possible.

Third, decide on what you will write. You can take a completely unstructured approach or use a template wtih custom writing prompts such as what you're grateful for, your intentions for the day, and what things you learned recently. Again, you don't have to go for long entries. Writing once sentence every day is better than writing multiple paragraphs only once a month.

Tags

• analyze
• integrate
• rest