How to Start Journaling

Hello Homebodies!

Are you at a loss as to what you should do when the world is falling apart and you don’t have access to any of your go-to distractions? How many hours can you really spend scrolling through Instagram, then switching to Twitter, then swiping on Hinge just to find yourself on Instagram again? I mean, what is one supposed to DO with all of this time?

Journal. Use this time to journal. There’s this sentiment I see everywhere on instagram that is quite literally making me hate the internet. It’s the “if you don’t come out of this quarantine with either: a new skill, starting a project, or a new skill, you never lacked the time, you lacked the discipline.” Oy vey.

I mean look, I get it. I, too, used to think that I could bully myself to success. But pro tip, it doesn’t work and will likely take more than a few therapy sessions to undo. Also, if you don’t find that you’re full of hustle and inspiration in the middle of a global pandemic, I don’t blame you. Society as we knew it 30 days ago is completely different than the one we’re in right now and we’ll likely be in a completely different place 30 days from now. So instead of feeling bad that you’re not starting a new side hustle or writing the next great American novel, how about creating a habit that will help you process whatever fresh hell we wake up to and give yourself some respite at the same time.

How to Start

What you need: Notebook and a pen. The notes app. A google doc. Don’t like to write? Keep an audio journal using voice memos.  Pick anything that you know you’ll use and use often. If you’re a sucker for good stationary like I am, you might be tempted to buy a gorgeous journal and the most luxurious pens but 1) we can’t go outside and 2) you don’t want the aesthetics to distract you from the fact that this is a functional tool. If you want to decorate it and paint pictures in the pages, go for it! But don’t let it distract you from the writing. Its value comes from what you put in it, how you use it, not the journal itself. So start with whatever you have and promise yourself you’ll invest in a pretty one once you finish the first notebook (and we’re allowed out again).

What to Write? 

The beauty of journaling is that you can write about anything. But that can also be daunting- there’s something about being told you can do anything that wipes your brain of any ideas you’ve ever had. That’s where journal prompts come in. A journal prompt is a sentence or idea to inspire your journal entry if you ever get stuck or want to deep dive into a particular experience. Here are a couple prompts that I found particularly helpful at this moment in time.

• What am I grateful for?

• Write a letter to your March 1, 2020 self

• What is worrying you right now? What can you realistically do about it?

• Describe what you’ll do on your first day out of quarantine. 

• What do you love about yourself?

• What brings you comfort? (Movie, destination, clothing, food, etc.) 

• Who do you want to be when you grow up? What is one small thing you can do today to help you get there?

If these don’t inspire you, there are THOUSANDS of journal prompts online, for whatever mood you’re in. I find it helpful to do a search and list the prompts I like in my journal so they’re right where I need them when I need them so I don’t risk being distracted. 

When to Write?

Everyday. Personally, I started journaling daily on a whim.  I travel a lot and started buying journals as souvenirs which means I have a large stack of empty notebooks. I didn’t want them to go to waste (or stop buying them honestly) so I started writing Morning Pages and I’m so glad I did. I’m not even a morning person. I’m a gremlin til at least 8:30. But I’ve loved the quiet time I get just for me before I start my day. Morning Pages are three pages of stream of conscious writing, written first thing in the morning, every single day. This framework comes from Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, which aims to help artists overcome creative blocks but there’s value here for everyone, artist or not. Obviously this structure is not mandatory, because there are no rules in journaling, but I do find value in it and there’s a reason why morning pages are so popular. This structure serves three purposes: 

1)The three page minimum. This strengthens my creative muscle. If I can’t think of anything to get me to my limit, then I have to make it up. Sometimes I’ll pick a prompt but I’ve written poems and short stories to meet that minimum. Are they great? That’s subjective (spoiler alert: no)  but there’s no other reason I’d be writing a short story so I’m flexing a muscle that’s been degenerating since my last Creative Writing course (it’s been years, friends. YEARS). I don’t write for a living, but I’ve amazed myself how much easier brainstorming sessions have become when trying to problem solve at work as a research analyst. What I do is not necessarily creative in nature but practicing idea generation and putting my thoughts in to words everyday and it’s served me endlessly in navigating my career in a completely new career.

2) Stream of conscious, first thing in the morning. While I don’t always start or finish my pages in the morning, there’s something about clearing my mind before I start the day. ADHD does this cool thing where I wake up with my mind racing with a billion things to do but no energy to do them and writing helps quell the hailstorm of anxiety until my meds kick in. And with an executive function disorder like ADHD (where self control is in particularly short supply) doing a brain dump first thing in the morning has made a huge difference- instead of using all of my energy trying to self-regulate and manage my time in my head, I can offload it all in the morning and deal with it later. If you rather unpack it all at the end of the day, do your Morning Pages at night. It’ll clear your mind and make it easier to fall asleep. There are no rules, only writing.

3) Write Everyday Writing daily has the effect of those time-lapse videos where you see a kid grow up one picture at a time over a decade. Change happens incrementally, and especially at a time like this, it’d be fascinating how to see how this all changes us. Because like it or not, this will change us. Hopefully for the better but only time will tell. Wherever we end up as a society in 5 or 10 years, it will be fascinating to track that change, and revisit who you were at this time. This is a different experience for all of us and you’re not alone if you’re hesitant to express your feelings about it all for fear of coming across as tone deaf. There will always be someone who has it worse, with problems bigger than yours, but how you feel no matter how fortunate you are comparatively, is completely valid and verbalizing it is necessary. There’s too much happening to keep it all in. Whether you’re grieving a loved one, a job, a graduation or just a life where you can leave your house and see friends, you deserve to have a place to process. Give yourself a platform to say you’re just really bummed that you had to cancel your birthday party or you miss bodega sandwiches without judgement. It also serves as a practice in gratitude-doing this daily makes me dig into the granular details of how to be thankful for all I’ve been given, recognize all that I’ve accomplished, and how I plan be more present everyday. A bonus benefit: Confidence! I promised myself: Three pages. Everyday. With each completed session it builds my self-confidence. I make good on my promises, I’m someone I can rely on, I’m someone that I can trust. A great philosopher once said “I don’t like to gamble, but if there’s one thing I’m willing to bet on, it’s myself.” Each day, with each entry, I believe it more and more.

Why write?

Because science, that’s why! Journaling has been shown to reduce stress, help with time management and even improve your physical health.  Therapists sometime use journaling to augment therapy sessions, because it’s such a dynamic coping strategy. Feeling overwhelmed? Journal it out. Trying to process grief or a loss? Journal it out. Preparing to have a difficult conversation? A journal is a great place to flesh out your talking points. Did Covid tip off a bit of an existential crisis and you can’t figure out who you are or what your purpose is in life? Same! You let it out honey. Put it in the book.    

Journaling is a multipurpose coping mechanism that I wish I started earlier in life.  We keep so much in our head that we forget to make room for the things that matter. Like Marie Kondo but for your brain, thank the things that served you in the past, but only keep the things that bring joy. Daily writing allows for the introspection we could all use a little more of- we spend hours of our day reading other people’s words, watching other people’s lives. So trying spending the first part of your day spend writing your own words and reflecting on your own life.

But enough about why I journal, because your journal is about you. There’s no right way to journal- print out pictures, decorate with washi  tape, doodle. Even when you feel like you don’t have enough to fill three pages, push yourself to the end- that’s where the magic happens. You’d be surprised what comes out of the deepest, most private parts of yourself when you’re really hungry and all you want is to hit that last line. And it doesn’t have to be anything profound. When I manage to actually write my Morning Pages in the morning (currently at a 57%ish success rate), the first few lines are usually about how tired I am. Doesn’t matter, just fill all three pages. Don’t censor, don’t edit, just write. Release all that weight you’ve been carrying around and find out how much of it wasn’t yours to carry. Silence the mean voices in your head and realize they weren’t yours to begin with. Put down the thoughts you’ve had about this dystopian situation we find ourselves in that you can’t share with anyone else. Address all the anxieties that you keep yourself SO BUSY to avoid. Guess what, your distractions are no longer considered essential businesses. Nothing like a period of solitude to dig inward, figure out who you are, and leave quarantine knowing yourself better than you did coming in. You owe it to yourself. So journal on!