Introduction
Journalling is a gateway to reduce stress and deal with emotions for a lot of people. But not using it correctly can cost you your hobby! I have been journaling since 4th grade, and by far I’ve completed many journals. It has become so natural to vent my emotions and daily doings on the pages, since a young age.
But I haven’t used my journalling hobby to the fullest, I never learned how to journal correctly, and soon I reached a point where journalling felt like a burden to me. This is the reason why you need to learn how to journal correctly ASAP!
What went wrong
Like I said I’ve been journalling for a while now. When I first started journalling, I was in 4th grade. Nothing serious, just a medium to vent my frustrations, gossips and friendship fights.
Journals are of various types, for example:
1. Personal Journaling: for self-development, used to keep track of your mood, activity and productivity.
2. Gratitude Journaling: listing the things you are thankful for
3. Bullet Journaling: listing things like hobbies, tasks, new goals, etc.
4. Reflective Journaling: Encourages analyzing events and emotions to understand patterns and make sense of experiences
5. Prompt-Based or Guided Journaling: Uses questions or prompts to inspire writing
6. Art or Creative Journaling: Combines writing with drawing, collage, etc.
7. Dream Journaling
8. Morning or Productivity Journaling: Focuses on planning the day.
9. Junk Journaling: Uses recycled materials to create something new
10. Positive Journaling: Highlights positive events or achievements
11. Nature or Travel Journaling: Documents experiences in nature or during travel
12. Health or Fitness Journaling: Tracks exercise, diet, and wellness goals
13. Food or Baking Journaling: Records recipes, cooking experiments, or meal planning
14. Free Writing Journaling: Writing continuously on a topic for a set time to clarify thoughts
What I did was free writing journal but without a set time. And expected to grow and become better. I never monitored my crash outs, my short comings and continuously kept venting about certain topics daily.
My habit remained the same, but my expectations kept getting bigger, I always thought how journaling should magically help me deal with traumas, become a better person and rewire my brain!
This is exactly why I formed a ick. It felt like a lot of work to journal the same thoughts and not improve. I kept trauma dumping about the same things and when I didn’t get results it became tiring and I started to look down at journalling.
What to expect?
This is why you need to know what you expect from journalling, before you even go and get a journal.
Are you someone who wants to see your progress daily? or do you want to rewire your brain? build self-love? outgrow traumas? What is it that you want.
After you decide what you want, try looking up the type of journalling that’s the best for you! It doesn’t have to be just one kind by the way (keep reading to find out what I mean).
After you have decided the type of journalling you want to practice, learn how to do it correctly! There are a lot of people who share their ways of journalling you can look it up too! or make your own blueprint inspired by theirs.
How I journal now
After understanding all of this, I immediately went online and looked up how people journal to outgrow their trauma and keep track of their growth (this is what I expect from my journal btw, helping me keep track of my progress and unpack trauma and feelings).
I made my own blueprint focusing on every little detail, in the end this is what I came up with:
- Start the entry by mentioning 3 things I’m grateful for
- Ask for forgiveness, for all the things I’ve done knowingly and unknowingly
- Answer one of the 10 shadow prompts (these are the ultimate shadow prompts that target all the emotional work btw)
- Write down the 3 things you want to change about yourself after answering the prompt
- Write your to do list for the next day
After I complete the to do list, Infront of each task I write how proud I am of myself to get everything done, and how easy or hard it was for me. It helps me understand that I am working hard towards my goals daily and motivates me to do better!
Sometimes I let myself free journal too. On days when I’m too sad or disappointed or when something triggers me to a point where I don’t want to analyze myself or anything but to just vent it all out.
Later, I look back at the entry and decode my trigger points, patterns and how should Include this certain incident under shadow work.
Thus, not only to I practice “free journalling” even today, but I also mixed it with “personal journalling” to get the results I want!
Did anything change?
Yes, it did!
Earlier I never flipped through my journals, as they were just me venting things endlessly, no solution, no conclusion. But now, every time I look back, I get to see my progress crystal clear. It makes me happy to flip through the pages and see how well I’ve been doing each day.
Conclusion
Go get your new journal today! Sit down and make your own blueprint and get started. I hope this article helped you understand how to journal as a beginner.
Or how to maximize results from your everyday hobby!