How To Start a Journal

Journaling is a great way to unravel your thoughts and manage stress. Here’s how to start a journal that will improve focus, reduce anxiety and boost your mental health.

Keeping a journal is a great mindfulness practice that can help you to better understand your feelings, emotions and experience of life. It’s a simple daily habit that reminds you to focus on the positive and take care of your mind.

A journal is one of the best ways to get to know you. To observe your thoughts, feelings and emotions. To release, organise and understand what’s whirling around inside.

You may have tried journaling before, or are completely new to the practice, so here’s everything you need to know to start a journal and build the habit.

The benefits of journaling

A journal is a chronicle of the mind. It’s a collection of hopes, dreams, thoughts, feelings, events and insights that you have experienced. It’s a written account of your inner self.

Journaling is a healthy way to express yourself and release emotions that build up inside. A journal can help you:

Improve focus and concentration
Organise thoughts and events
Increase awareness of thoughts, feelings and emotions
Increase emotional intelligence
Improve memory and mood
Reduce stress and anxiety
Cope with depression
Focus on the positive
Feel gratitude

Journaling is most effective when combined with other mindfulness practices such as meditation, breathwork and reading. It should form part of an overall healthy lifestyle that includes exercise, nutrition and sleep.

Types of journaling

There are different ways to keep a journal and you’re free to do it any way you want. You may be pretty straight and like short phrases and sentences, or more creative and enjoy adding some colour and illustration to your words.

Here are 8 popular types of journaling for you to try:

Bullet journal. An organisational system that lays out days of the week with bullet points as tasks.
Creative journal. Creative writing and illustration to express yourself and your life experiences.
Daily journal. The simple practice of writing something each and every day.
Dream journal. A record of your dreams and the ideas, thoughts, feelings, and emotions they produce.
Gratitude journal. A diary of things that you are grateful for.
Meditation journal. A journal to accompany and support your meditation practice.
Reflective journal. An open book for your hopes, dreams, ideas, insights, successes, struggles and pain.
Travel journal. A personal record of the places you’ve been and the experiences you’ve had.

One of these methods may jump out at you as an obvious place to start a journal, but if not, you can experiment and find which approach brings you the most benefit.

How to start a journal

It’s pretty easy to start a journal. All you need is a notebook, a writing implement, and a commitment to yourself. The following steps will help you to get going:

1. Buy your journal

Find a basic lined notebook, or journal of your choice. There’s no need to spend a lot of money on your first journal so browse the list below and pick whichever you like the look of. If you prefer to use one of the journaling apps, you’ll find some recommendations at the bottom of this post also.

2. Personalise your journal

Bring your journal to life by personalising it and adding anything that reflects who you are. You can add colours, illustrations, stickers and pictures to make it organised and unique to you. A journal can be as bright, or as simple as you want it to be.

3. Write your first entry

Now’s the time to write your first journal entry. Don’t think too much about it at this stage, just write whatever comes to mind. The most important step in starting a journal is getting that first entry down.

Unsure what to write? Write about your day. What did you do? Where did you go? Who did you see? What did you feel? Did you notice anything fun, or remarkable? Did you learn anything new? Write a few lines, or a whole page if you like.

4. Date your entry

One of the simplest ways to organise your journal is by date. It makes it easier to stay consistent, as you always know when your last journal entry was. It’s also fun to look back on what you were thinking and doing at different times in your life. Write the full date and maintain a consistent format (eg. day/month/year) for your journal.

5. Get in the flow of daily writing

Choose a regular place and time of day to journal. This will help you to establish a routine and build a lasting habit. For example, once you’re in bed at night is a great time to write as you have fewer distractions. Find a time that works for you and stick to it.

6. Develop your style

As you build consistency, you can experiment with your writing style. Try bullets, gratitude, self-reflection, illustrations, or writing as creatively as you can. Find a style that you enjoy writing in and feel inspired to keep up.

7. Make the most of your journal

A journal is there to help you quietly express yourself, release emotions, cope with stress, process grief and understand the world better. Use it when you’re struggling and need it most, to help make sense of everything and push through the pain.

8. Keep it safe and private

Through journaling you will reveal many of your deepest thoughts and feelings. Some of which you don’t want anyone else to know. Make sure to keep your journal in a safe place, hidden away from anyone who is likely to read it.

Journaling FAQ’s

Q. What should I write about in my journal?

A. Journaling is primarily for you, so write whatever you want to write about. You can write about your hopes and dreams, your feelings and emotions, your challenges and learnings, any positive experiences you’ve had and all the little things you’re grateful for. Make it a trusted friend you can turn to.

Q. How often should I journal?

A. You can journal as little or as often as you like, but it’s best to maintain a daily habit to get the most out of it. It only takes a few moments each day and you can keep your journal by your bedside to remind you. I like to write mine in the evening just before bedtime reading.

Q. Should I share my journal?

A. A journal is a personal account with some of your deepest thoughts and feelings. Most people prefer to keep theirs private so make sure to keep yours safe if you don’t want anyone else to read it. Hide it where no-one can find it, and express to any loved ones who know about it to respect your privacy.

Q. Are journaling apps better than printed journals?

A. That’s a matter of taste and what you’re able to maintain. If you find it easier to open up an app on your phone to write your daily journal, go for it. If you enjoy the feel of hand writing, that’s what you should do. Enjoyment and consistency is what counts.

Journals to buy

Here’s a list of journals for you to browse, from blank to guided. Choose a journal you think suits you best:

Journaling apps

And here’s a list of journaling apps if you prefer to keep yours digitally:

Dabble Me (Web)
Daylio (iOS, Android)
Day One (iOS, Android)
Diarium (iOS, Android)
Five Minute (iOS, Android)
Gratitude Journal (iOS, Android)
Grid Diary (iOS, Android)
Penzu (Web, iOS, Android)

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Featured Image: @findezukunft

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