How to get started with journalling
One of the things that’s often recommended for busy minds, at work or at home, is to start journalling. You might have come across this suggestion in a magazine, or seen it online. But what is journalling? Why is it helpful? And how do you get started with journalling?
What is journalling?
The act of picking up a pen and paper and writing something, for no specific reader is what I would consider to be journalling. As a teenager I kept a diary, it was basically a form of journaling. I was writing my thoughts and feelings (as well as the weather and other random things) about each day of my life and doing so purely for myself. In fact, as a teenager it was vital that I was only writing for myself, I would have hated anyone else to have ever read my diary. Looking back of course I can see that I didn’t actually write anything that would have been of interest to anyone else, but at the time it felt quite the opposite.
So journalling is writing about your thoughts and feelings in a way that feels right for you and is of use to you.
Why is journalling helpful?
The human brain is amazing, capable of thinking at high speed, holding accurate and detailed facts and crazy, colourful imaginings as well as thoughts, feelings, sensations and much more besides. We are able to take in information, process it and make decisions to act in next to no time at all. It’s truly amazing. And our brains can be our greatest undoing. We can overthink, catastrophise, act as if the stories we make up are real and sometimes find it hard to distinguish fact from fiction. This is one of the reasons that journalling can be helpful. In getting thoughts and feelings out of our head and onto paper not only are we making space in our heads, but we are also able to more effectively work with what’s been going on inside our minds. Writing down the thoughts and feelings means we can see them. We can notice patterns in our thoughts. We can make lists. We can filter and sort and question our own thinking. We can also let go of some things that might otherwise float around in our heads for weeks, months or even years. Journalling helps us relate differently to our own thoughts and feelings. We start to realise that we are not those thoughts and feelings. We separate from them a little.
How do you get started with journalling?
Obviously you’re going to need a pen and paper. While you can journal electronically by making notes on your computer or even your phone, I always suggest that clients start with pen and paper because it gives you the physical act of writing. No matter how messy your handwriting, there is something powerful about taking the time to write out the words, especially since we don’t often actually write by hand much anymore.
Somehow, even with the basic equipment, we can stall when it comes to actually writing. Why do we find it hard to journal? I think it’s because we see those nice notebooks and we think our words are not important enough to live in them. We don’t know what we are going to write, so we hold back. Ultimately I think it’s a shame-based feeling of not being good enough. You might have some limiting beliefs about yourself, feel that you’re not clever enough or articulate enough or smart enough to write. And actually none of that is true, although we all struggle with shame throughout our lives. If this feels like it is true for you, you might want to make the first page of your journal a set of permission slips (see my blog here for more information on permission slips). Simply start the first page of your journal with as many statements as you can think of that begin ‘I give myself permission to….’ Some examples could include ‘I give myself permission to write sentences that don’t even make sense.’ ‘I give myself permission to make it messy.’ ‘I give myself permission to write how I truly feel.’ ‘I give myself permission to write like no one is reading.’ (They aren’t - unless you share this with them). ‘I give myself permission….’ Keep writing them until you run out. You’ve now done your first of journalling - well done!
Here are my top tips for journalling:
12 Journal Tips for Beginners
It doesn’t have to be pretty. You may have the worst handwriting in the world, it doesn’t matter. You are writing for you!
There is no way to ‘get it wrong’. Let go of any fears that you might fail. That’s not possible. Pick up the pen and write a word - even the word ‘hello’ and you’ve started. Let the words fall off your pen.
Keep writing. You are starting to connect more deeply with yourself - let yourself see what shows up when you write regularly.
Remove the fear of the blank page. You can make a blank page look a lot less scary if you put a sticker on it, some washi tape (paper craft tape) or even a sticky note with a question or quote on it.
Give yourself permission for it to be messy. Score stuff out, scribble over the page, smear the ink with your hand as you turn the page, or let the tears fall. This isn’t a piece of homework, it’s a messy and real conversation with yourself.
Make it easy - give yourself a starting point. Use journalling prompts to act as a launchpad for your writing. You can find plenty online and I’ll be sharing some in my next blog post.
Put a boundary around it. Set a timer for 2 minutes and write for the whole time. Even if what you’re writing is ‘I have no idea what to write. This is annoying. Why am I doing this anyway?’ Eventually you will start to write other things.
Start with a single sheet of paper. If a journal or book feels overwhelming, pick up a piece of paper. Even the back of a piece of mail will do. Simply get started, and see what comes up.
Commit to a number of days and see how the habit develops. You might want to start at the beginning of a month or on your birthday. Like any new habit you’ll notice that some days feel easier than others, and you’ll also notice thought patterns that might arise in what you write.
Play music while you write, ideally without words. You can play the same music each time or choose something different depending on how you feel.
Use some inspiration. Read a poem or a quote and use that to journal about how you feel.
Make lists. Not your shopping list or to-do list. Make lists of things you want to do. Try writing a list of your strengths or accomplishments. Lists give your brain structure which it will then try to fill.
And above all else, try to enjoy it. Journalling can be such a powerful tool to increase your self-awareness and help you to process thoughts and feelings and it can also be fun, creative, inspirational and enjoyable!
