What Is Journaling?
Journaling is the simple habit of freely writing out what you think and feel. Rather than recording events as a diary does, you take what is inside your head, put it into words on the page, and in doing so, look at your own heart and lighten it. There are no difficult rules, and anyone can begin today. This page introduces, in clear and simple terms, how to start journaling and how to write — for those trying it for the very first time.
How to Start Journaling
To begin with, let’s start without making it a big deal. What you need, and the steps to take, are wonderfully simple.
What to Prepare
All you need is a notebook and a pen. It needn’t be anything special, but choosing a favorite notebook — one you look forward to picking up — makes it easier to keep going. A note app on your phone works too, though many people find that writing by hand lets their thoughts deepen more slowly and fully.
When to Write
There is no fixed time to write. Some write in the quiet of the morning before the day begins; others write at night, looking back over the day. What matters is choosing a time when you can settle. Starting with just five minutes a day is a fine place to begin.
How to Write, and a Few Tips
When you actually sit down to write, your hand may freeze at the question, “What should I even write?” Here are a few tips to help.
Don’t Try to Write Well
The greatest tip is not to try to write well. You need not mind correct grammar or structure. Since it is not something to be read by anyone else, write the words that come to mind just as they are, without stopping. Typos and a lack of coherence are nothing to worry about.
Begin With a Question
If you are unsure how to begin, start by asking yourself a question. “How am I feeling right now?” “What moved me today?” “What do I really want?” — taking such a question as your doorway, words will begin to flow on their own.
Keep Your Hand Moving
“Free writing” — writing for a few minutes without letting your hand stop — is another good approach. When you run out of things to write, you may even write “I have nothing to write.” By simply keeping your hand in motion, what lies beneath the surface of your thoughts will sometimes quietly reveal itself.
Different Ways to Journal
Once you have grown used to it, try choosing a way of writing to suit your purpose. Here are some of the most common.
- Morning pages — writing whatever comes to mind first thing after waking. You begin the day with a clear heart.
- Gratitude journal — noting what you were thankful for that day. Your heart turns toward the positive.
- Three-line diary — looking back on the day in just three lines. Short, and therefore easy to keep up.
- Writing out emotions — setting down a restless, unsettled feeling exactly as it is. The heart grows lighter.
- Writing wishes and goals — putting your hopes and aims into words. The direction you wish to move in comes into view.
Tips for Keeping It Up
Journaling works gently, little by little, as you continue. The tip for keeping it up is not to set the bar too high. It need not be every day, and a day of just one line is perfectly fine. Tying your writing time to a daily habit, like brushing your teeth, or keeping your notebook somewhere in plain sight, makes it naturally easier to continue. Far more than aiming for perfection, the real secret is to keep on, gently.
What Happens When You Write
As you keep writing, a quiet change comes to your heart and mind. Unsettled feelings find their order, tangled thoughts come loose, and what you truly wish for gradually comes into view. Reading back what you have written, you meet your earlier self and notice how you have changed. Writing is the nearest at hand of all the ways to settle yourself, and to know yourself.
And the Act of Writing
To look within through words, to settle the heart, to reconnect with oneself — this act of writing may be something that people, from of old, have called Yoga. That discovery is set down, quietly, in a single book.