How to Get Started Journaling

 

Is journaling on your to-do list for 2022? If you are new to journaling, they may seem a bit intimidating to you. I don’t blame you. When I was young, journaling simply meant to write down thoughts and experiences throughout your day. If you Google journaling today, the stuff you see will look a whole lot different. 

The thing about journaling though is that it can look however you want it to look. Journaling is good for you and it can be very therapeutic for you, so it’s important to not overwhelm yourself by thinking that it has to be a specific way. 

How to Get Started Journaling

Grab Your Journaling Supplies

Go online to Amazon or head to your nearest big box store and look for some new journaling supplies for yourself. You need a journal or notebook that you like as well as pens or pencils that you enjoy writing with (I don’t know about you, but I have very specific preferences when it comes to my writing utensils).

Pick Your Writing Topic

Of course you can write about anything, anytime, but to be more consistent with writing, it will help to know what topic that you will writing about. Each day, choose a single topic and just write. Good journaling topics include what happened in your day, what your goals are, what you are thankful for, etc. 

Set a Timer

Don’t overwhelm yourself with thinking that you need to write for hours and hours. Plus, if you are like me, most of your writing includes your laptop, not writing…hands cramp easily! Set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes and just write.  Don’t stop to fix your writing or make corrections to your punctuation. Just write.

When your timer goes off, read back over your writing and see how you feel about what you wrote. Take notes on what you might like to revisit later.

And just like that, you are journaling!