5 Ways To Create & Sustain A Fun Journaling Practice That Will Help You Reach Your Goals
Who this is for:
The new journaler looking to create a journaling practice that feels easy and sustainable.
The dabbler who has jumped in and out of a journaling practice but is now ready to create a journaling habit.
Anyone feeling blah, bored or lost in their journaling practice.
Whether you’re brand-new to journaling or you’re looking to breathe life back into your practice, you will find tons of ideas and best journaling practices in this article. As someone who has been journaling for 25+ years, I know what works, and what doesn’t. However, over those 25 years I have not always been consistent with my journaling practice. Like many humans, I fall out of habits, too, and when that happens, that often means there’s something that needs tweaking. In addition to best practices, you will also find some creative ways to get back on the journaling wagon if you find yourself off track.
Let’s dive in!
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Get clear on why you want to journal.
This is the biggest mistake journalers make when they first start a journaling practice - or any habit for that matter!! If you start journaling without a purpose, why on earth would you continue it? Your why is your deeper reasoning for your practice. It’s what will inspire you to keep coming back, even when the motivation is no longer there. This happens with every practice! Think about a habit you’ve started in another area of your life. In the beginning, it’s so exciting, but as the days go by the newness starts to wear off. But if that goal really matters to you, if it’s really important, you keep going. When the practice starts feeling hard or mundane, that is often a sign that your brain is changing, saying ‘this feels too unfamiliar from what we’ve done before. Come back! I’m scared!”. This is a crucial part in any habit you are creating - if you can work with that resistance, adjust, and pivot, but not give up, you will reap so many incredible benefits from your practice.
So what are the results you want to experience? Here are some ideas and reasons why you might want to start journaling. These are scientifically proven benefits of journaling as well:
Reduce stress and anxiety
Get to know myself better so I can improve my habits and grow.
Increase my self awareness
Improve my relationships
Process my emotions and past experiences so I can get unstuck
Explore thoughts and ideas in a creative way
Ok now, here are four questions you can ask yourself to get clear on why you want to journal:
What’s inspired you to start journaling more consistently?
What would you love to gain from your practice?
What will inspire you to keep coming back day after day and week after week?
So, why do I want to journal? What result would I love to see? Answer in one specific sentence.
To help you get the ball rolling, here are a few of the reasons why I’ve started a journaling practice:
I want to feel more abundant and notice the amazingness of my life and all that I have. I’m tired of feeling negative and wrapped up in negative spirals (reason why I started a gratitude journal).
I want to capture all the simple, yet sometimes mundane moments in my life so I can look back and them and see how incredible life really is (reason why I started my simple moments journaling practice).
I want to feel more connected to myself, my life, and The Universe. I am tired of feeling alone, lost and separate from everyone and everything. I want to be reminded that I am part of an infinite Universe and never alone (reason why I started a connection journal).
💡 Pro tip - we are much more likely to continue with a habit if we see and acknowledge the results we are experiencing. This too often goes overlooked because we’re simply too caught up in the daily practice to really notice all the wonderful things going on beneath the surface. Plus we’re just shitty cheerleaders for ourselves. Take time each week to jot down 1-3 benefits you’ve experienced from your practice! This will remind that silly brain of yours “oh yeah! I’m getting some good out of this practice.” And that, my friend, will inspire you to keep going, probably more than anything else.
2. Check-in with your perfectionism or masculine way of doing things.
Many habits start with some structure and rigidity. It’s actually what we need as humans to stick with any habit. We need some certainty on an uncertain path and we need parameters. However, there is a very fine line here and it’s easy to become very black and white in our thinking, ie., this is a success (journaling every day) and this isn’t (missing one day).
Perfectionism not only gives us an excuse to be dickheads to ourselves when we “fall short” but it’s also a classic tendency that keeps us from taking the right action toward a goal. Let me explain because I know that “right action” comment can feel a little sticky: We might engage in activities that look like the actual habit on the outside, but what we’re really doing is avoiding it out of fear. For example, you may go out and buy a beautiful journal and pen to start journaling but never put pen to paper. You might read this entire article, but never apply what you learn. You may get fancy new gym shoes, but never step foot in a gym.
Perfectionism is fear. This is where you dig in and see what’s under the fear of starting a journaling practice or any new habit you’re looking to start. Are you nervous about what you might discover? Are you afraid this might be just another thing you start but never stick to? Are you feeling unsure or nervous about what to write about?
🤸♀️ Exercise: Take two minutes right now and ask yourself: What am I afraid of? What’s the best that could happen? What’s the worst?
Take some time to think about some of the blocks that may get in the way, or you are already experiencing. Common excuses and blocks include but are not limited to things like, I hate my handwriting, I don’t have the time, I need the right journal and pen, it’s gotta be pretty and appealing, is this worth it, I have to have a breakthrough every time I journal, I’m bored, what if someone reads it? And so on.
Lastly, if you have a strong “why” you’ll be able to overcome some of these excuses and perfectionistic tendencies relatively easily so make sure you lock in your why before you start and plaster it on the front page of your journal.
3. Be realistic - what does “consistent” look like for you?
💡 Pro tip and warning: do not get too ambitious! As lifelong learners who are ambitious and maybe even a little Type-A, it’s so easy to feel inspired and energized with your goal, now. But what happens in a month from now when you’re tired, your kid’s sick and you’re annoyed that you started this stupid little journal practice to begin with?
Decide from the get-go what consistency looks like for you, realistically. Once a day / once a week / 5 minutes? 100 words? Write down your goal and then take some time to future pace. Think about yourself a month from now. Does it feel realistic to stick with this goal? If so, awesome! You nailed it! If not, take some time to brainstorm a more realistic goal as well as ways you can overcome foreseeable roadblocks, like vacations, illness, or just flat-out feeling unmotivated.
Here’s one idea: Once you decide your official goal when it comes to your journaling practice, identify a “Bookmark Habit.” What is a bookmark habit you ask? A bookmark habit is a placeholder for your big, original habit. Let’s say you have a goal of journaling every day for 2 minutes. But on one particular day, you’re absolutely spent and can’t muster up the energy to journal. What will be your placeholder habit that will help you stay consistent, even if you aren’t doing the main goal? Will you quickly jot down in your notes app how you’re feeling? Will you write down one thing you are grateful for and why? A bookmark habit will help you keep the momentum going without putting a thousand pounds of pressure on yourself to show up perfectly.
💡 Pro tip: Habit stack it! Habit stacking is where you pair an already-established habit with your new habit. For example, you drink coffee every morning so you decide to journal with your first cup. Or, you do yoga 3x/week so you decide to bring your journal to the mat and take 3 minutes after class to jot down how you feel. Stacking your habits is a great way to sustain your fancy new journaling practice.
4. Get creative!!
One of the biggest blocks to establishing habits is getting bored! To stay consistent, you must switch it up from time to time. If you always journal in the morning, try journaling at night before bed. If you always use a certain pen, maybe you use color and markers. If you always journal with pen and paper, maybe you explore digital options (I have some thoughts about this because of all the distractions on your phone. Look for an article on this topic dropping soon). If you journal in silence, try journaling to music . If you’re always journaling at your desk, take your journal out into nature.
Here’s another wonderful fact about building habits: the more fun we have doing it, the more likely we are to stick with it! Yet, too many of us think that success and reaching our goals come with hard work. We have to slog through the mud and struggle and suffer to get what we want. No, we don’t. Make your journaling practice fun and something you can look forward to! Use stickers, washi tapes, lots of color, whatever will bring some life into your practice. Remember, journaling doesn’t have to be so dang serious all the time. Leave the Dear Diary scaries at the door, get creative and have fun for crying out loud!
Another idea to make your practice a bit more fun is to pair it with something else you find enjoyable - pet cuddles, your fave blanket, coffee, delicious snack, incense, it could literally be anything. The more you look forward to your practice, the longer you will stick with it.
I do have to admit, having a shiny new journal or pen can inspire your journal practice! If you love the journal you’re writing in or appreciate the smoothness of your pen or pencil, you’re much more likely to come back to your journaling habit. Give yourself permission to purchase a journal or pen you love. The possibilities are endless!
5. If you get stuck, try prompts!
It gets a little mundane and redundant simply writing about how you feel, what you’re grateful for or recording the events of the day. Remember, this is your practice and it’s your job to make it your own.
One of my favorite ways to spice up your practice is to bing prompts into my practice. I created a journaling deck in 2020 called the Awaken Your Joy Deck and it’s full of 84 prompts all designed to help you tap more into your joy. Speaking of card decks, another thing to bring into your practice if you’re feeling stuck is your favorite tarot or oracle card deck. You could pull a card each day and simply write your insights and thoughts about the card. BONUS: this will help you lean into the trust and guidance of The Universe (if you’re into that kind of thing).
It’s always nice to have some go-to prompts in your back pocket Come back to a few of my favorite go-to prompts. Inside my Workbook Library you will find a free download of my 21 Go-To Journaling Prompts For Any Occasion.
Give yourself permission and space to explore what feels difficult about your practice. For me, I struggle to journal when I’m going through something really heavy. I often need to step away from journaling and process without writing before I can process it in my journal. And guess what? That’s ok. There is no right or wrong way to journal. And the less judgement you have for your process, the longer you will stick with it.
If you find yourself gone for awhile, do not beat yourself up. Be easy on yourself and look at your time away as a learning opportunity. Ask yourself, what got in the way? This will give you huge insight on how you can overcome this block in the future.
Last but certainly not least. Journaling is a valuable, effective practice that can support you on your personal development journey. However, I feel obligated to say (even though it hurts 😂) that journaling isn’t for everyone. If after a few months you just haven’t been able to create a practice you love, maybe journaling isn’t your best growth strategy. It’s so much better for our mental health to let something go than to force something we feel like we should do. Maybe you would benefit more from one-on-one coaching or therapy. Or maybe you process best by moving your body or engaging in anther creative practice. Or maybe you need a community of fellow journalers to support you and provide extra accountability? Give yourself permission to let go of your journaling practice and explore other avenues, especially if journaling feels like a slog and you’ve gained little from it.
I hope you found this article helpful! And you feel called, please do share it with your fellow curious journal nerds.