If you are new to journal writing, welcome! Firstly, congratulations on trying something new. Secondly, congratulations on wanting to try something that will have a positive impact on your mental well-being. The practice of journal writing has been found to reduce stress, help with emotion management and even improve working memory. If that’s not reason enough to give it a go, we don’t know what is!
To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of 5 steps that will help you begin your journal writing journey.
1. Identify Your Purpose
It is worth spending some time thinking about why you want to start journaling. Do you just want to improve your mental well-being in general? Is there something on your mind that you need to get off your chest? Are you facing a particular issue that you need to resolve? As you start your journal writing, it’s important to understand your purpose as this will guide your writing and keep you motivated.
2. Pick a Journal
Some people invest a lot of time and energy into finding the perfect journal. No, if you don’t have a preference, that’s perfectly fine. Any plain book will do the trick. However, if you do have an appreciation for a nice book and particular paper, it’s worth hunting around to find a journal that will make you happy and keep you wanting to write. The same goes for a good pen.
3. Find a Place to Write
When you’re ready to write, it’s time to get comfortable. Find a place where you can relax and let your thoughts flow in peace. It might be in your home, in your garden, or at the local park. It doesn’t matter where as long it’s somewhere that is conducive to your writing.
4. Get Writing
Once all the preparations are done, there’s nothing left to do but write! Don’t be afraid of what comes out on the paper. Your journal is only for you, not an audience. That also goes for grammar and sentence structure. It doesn’t have to be perfect so try not to be too harsh on yourself. You will get more out of the process if you just let it flow, rather than overthinking every word.
5. Reflect on What You Have Written
When you have finished writing or perhaps at the end of the week, take a look back over your writing. It is worth understanding the issues you are facing or identifying changes so you can take action to deal with the things in your life.
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