Thinking About Starting a Journal? Try These 10 Journal Ideas
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Have you started a journal but not sure where to start? Starting a journal is not as difficult as it sounds at first. A journal can be very therapeutic for some people. There are various reasons someone would keep a journal. Think of a journal as a personal diary.
Table of Contents
Benefits to Starting a Journal
There are many benefits to starting a journal. Everyone has their own reasons and they are personal. A journal is a great way to get your private thoughts out of your head, but yet still keeps them private.
● Reduce stress.
● Cope with depression
● Promote healthy self-awareness.
● Release thoughts that are packed in their brain.
● Understand problems or fears they are experiencing.
● Give clarity to a mind full of jumbled thoughts.
● Create goals to achieve tasks or reach their dreams.
- Help with anxiety
If you live with a chronic illness, a journal can be very beneficial for both you and your doctors. You can keep track of your symptoms and things that make you feel better or worse. Was it food? Medication? Activity? Starting a journal for your health also gives you a place to jot down questions you want to ask your doctor the next time you see them.
Journaling has been known to greatly help those that suffer from anxiety and/or depression. When your daily thoughts are out on paper, you can notice triggers that cause you to feel a certain way. This way, you can keep progress in overcoming those anxieties and also avoiding situations that give you unnecessary anxiety.
Maybe you have a fear of public speaking but have to talk in work meetings regularly. Left in your mind, the fear can blossom into anxiety that cripples you anytime you have to talk to someone you don’t know well. Having it constantly on your mind can grow the anxiety, making it worse rather than rationalizing and overcoming it.
Personally, I have social anxiety. I am uncomfortable in unfamiliar places or around people I do not know. I am more social online because I can hide behind my keyboard.
Identifying what is causing your anxiety and how it makes you feel lets you come up with solutions. You can practice speaking in front of your friends or even in the bathroom mirror.
Starting a journal tips
Everyone is different, and our lives are different. What works for one person may not work for another person. The most important thing to remember when starting a journal is that there is no right or wrong way to journal.
You can keep a diary-type journal or a bullet-type journal. You can also keep a hybrid journal where you combine the two. Whatever works for you, is what is the best way to start. The important thing is to just start writing your thoughts and feelings.
We all have computers and cell phones now. If a digital journal works for you, do that! I love to write, so I have a traditional paper journal. I am also a big fan of fun, with colorful pens and markers. You do not have to use those, any pen will work. You can even purchase monthly subscription boxes to get journaling goodies every month. We all love fun mail, what a great self-care idea!
Set yourself up for realistic expectations
When you are starting a journal, the idea of actually getting your thoughts out on paper can feel daunting. Do not overwhelm yourself. Set a time for yourself at first to write for 10-15 minutes. Some people start their day with journaling, some people end their day with journaling. Then there are others that journal mid-day when they need a breather.
There is no reason you need to write at the same time every day. If you push yourself to stick to a schedule of journaling at a set time, it will feel like another chore you have to do not a benefit to your mental health. If you need to skip a day or days of journaling, that is fine as well.
Journal ideas
If you are struggling to think of what to add to your journal here are some great ideas:
- Things You Are Thankful For
Keeping a gratitude journal is a very popular type of journal to keep. It helps you to find the positives in life. There are always good things and bad things that happen on any given day. Keeping track of the positives will help your mental health on a bad day when you read back over them.
- To Do List
We all have a to-do list in life. Keeping track of your to-do list keeps you on track. It also helps you to see what you have accomplished when you write it down and mark the tasks off one by one as you complete them.
- Short Term Goals
Start your week by journaling about what you hope to achieve in the next 5-7 days. Everyone should have an abundance of short-term goals, writing them down and crossing them out is an awesome way to make sure you meet them.
- . Long Term Goals
Just as everyone should have short-term goals, we should all have long-term goals as well. Writing them down helps you to achieve them. You can break them down into smaller steps to make them short-term goals as well.
- Goals You Have Achieved
How do you keep track of the goals you achieved? Keeping them in a journal is a great way because they are in one place. Another benefit is if you are having a bad day you can read over them and see all that you have accomplished.
- Favorite Movies/Music/TV Shows/Books
Making a list of your favorite things can be fun to look back on. What was popular when you were a child? Keeping a list of your favorite things that you watch and read can help you to see how you grow and change as a person as we well when you read back over them at a later date.
- Places to Visit
Do you have a love of travel? You can keep track of places you want to travel to, what you loved about a particular place. You can even add your favorite pictures. Travel is not something I am a fan of but a lot of people love to travel.
- Hobbies to Try
Are you into hobbies? Hobbies are a great way to be creative. When my daughter was growing up, I use to scrapbook all of our family photos. I have not really crafted much since. I do own a silhouette machine though and should get back into it.
- Books You Have Read
How do you keep track of the books you have read? Keeping a written list is great for your own personal record and when buying new books. I have accidentally purchased the same book a few times because I forgot I had it at home, but knew I wanted to read it.
- . Self Care Ideas
Self-care is very important for everyone! Do you have a list of self-care of ideas? It can be something simple as going out to lunch or going to Starbucks for your favorite coffee. It can be more glamorous as a weekend away with your girlfriends or even alone.
It is important for everyone to practice self-care. You can not be your best for your family if you are not your best for yourself. Remember the saying is true, “you can’t give from an empty cup”.
Hopefully these tips on starting a journal help you on your path of creating one. It is not difficult but, it is very beneficial.
What are some of your tips for starting a journal?
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