Four Creative Ways to Start a Journaling Habit

Journaling is a fantastic tool for self-awareness of emotions. Shifts can often include cranky patients, stressful workloads, and fatigue in general. All this wears down our ability to deal with hard feelings and react calmly to intense workplace situations.

Putting your thoughts down on paper can not only help you perform better at work but also promote understanding and self-compassion outside of work.

Despite all of the physical and mental benefits journaling can provide, it can also be a difficult practice to start. It’s good to know, however, that the practice doesn’t have to be perfectat its core, journaling is really recording our personal thoughts, insights, and happenings.

There are easy, creative strategies you can take to make journaling a habit. Take note of the following tips to make journaling a fun, rewarding experience.

1. Take Small Steps to Write

We may have unrealistic goals about how much we want to accomplish when journaling. Some people may not consider themselves natural writers and don’t even think about the possibility of journaling.

It’s essential to take a step back and know that we won’t be perfect at writing. Not all of us can wake up at dawn and fill three pages with detailed versions of our childhood.

Small steps can be the antidote to perfectionism. You can also set a short time block of ten minutes of your day every day (or when you can) and free-write whatever comes to mind. Freewriting is unstructured, so this practice helps you write down anything you want to without thinking about grammar, spelling, or messy handwriting.

2. Experiment with Different Journaling Formats

Think about what medium you want to use. You should start with a simple notebook and pen to write down your thoughts physically. Or, if you don’t like to write, you can consider other methods, like art journaling.

Art journaling can be a way to express your creativity through color, paint, or another type of art medium. Use this method to document life events, advice, or quotes that inspire you. This can also be a way to try art if you’ve always been interested in drawing or painting.

If you’re busy and would instead not pick up a paintbrush, find guided journals that provide prompts. These include quick prompts you can answer in five minutes or less. Nurses stuck in a negative rut can look for gratitude journals to reflect on what they enjoy or are grateful for. Arts and crafts stores often carry guide journals and notebooks that can serve as your writing medium.

3. Technology is Your Friend, Not Your Enemy

Journaling doesn’t have to be just pen or paper. If you find yourself on your phone or laptop often, you can find a journaling app to replace hours of scrolling on social media. IPhone users can already use the Journal app on their phones, and it’s an easy way to take a couple of minutes to jot down anything stressful (or happy) happening in your life. The app also has a feature called ‘Reflections’ that gives you topics to write about in case you can’t find anything to dump down.

4. Make This Time Exciting and Meaningful for You

Maybe you started journaling to get rid of your ruminating thoughts, but you stopped because the practice wasn’t serving you anymore or was taking too much time.

Life can get in the way, so stopping a practice that isn’t helpful or doesn’t feel good is natural. However, try to find ways to make journaling an enjoyable experience. This can look like any of the tips mentioned of using art as an expression or even getting a guided art journal to explore your feelings that way.

Don’t feel bad about yourself if you want to pick up journaling as a habit, but don’t do it every day. If you do it once a week and find out this is enough, congratulations! You’ve journaled. Putting excessive pressure on ourselves can diminish the joy of a practice that helps us relax. Explore a writing rhythm that suits you and discover what works best.

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Karie Pinnix

Karie Pinnix is a public relations strategist and freelance journalist with experience writing content for print and broadcast platforms and creating branding development with start-up companies. She’s written about topics like college nightlife, community organizations in Mississippi, and the nurse shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic. When she’s not working, you can find her exploring nature, catching up on reading, or traveling to the nearest beach.