How To Journal

And keep up with journaling

If you enjoy ‘with ease’ and would like to support my work, plus be offered first refusal to book onto my writing retreats and therapeutic journaling workshops, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

HNY! Hope you had a calm and cosy NYE.

If you’re not one for setting goals and intentions just because it’s the 1st January, you might like to consider starting a daily journaling practice.

I’d love it if you decide to commit to a daily journaling practice for the next 31 days.

Just in case you’re new to journaling, there are many different styles and forms of journaling, particularly with therapeutic journaling, ranging from how and what you write about, to whether you use a notebook and pen or a digital device.

Here’s the thing…

There is no right way to journal.

I know this only too well.

I’ve spent years trying to master journaling.

I’m still learning, and will continue to research new therapeutic journaling techniques probably for another decade, at least. I have a life’s mission to help as many people, particularly midlife women to adopt a daily journaling practice, so I’d like to take you through the basics of how to journal and hopefully make it a good habit in 2024.

I passionately believe that any form of journaling can be beneficial for improved health and wellbeing, but therapeutic journaling is on another level and it encompasses a huge spectrum of techniques, including:

• 1 minute journaling sprints

• One word a day

• Sentence stems

• Structured write

• Lists of 100

• Mindmaps

• Unsent Letters

• Poems

• Visual Sketches

• Springboards

• Free Writing

…and the list goes on! Do let me know if you’d like to learn more about any of the above journaling techniques.

Lots of people ask me what’s so good about journaling regularly and how can it boost health and wellbeing?

It’s not rocket science and it’s not expensive.

Just like going to a yoga class to learn about the practice of yoga, or how to become a yogi, learning how to practice therapeutic journaling can take a lifetime to fine tune. But the good news is that foundational journaling can be done anywhere at anytime with very little effort. It is one of the most beneficial wellbeing practices you could gift yourself. Oh and it’s never too late to start journaling!

Basically, the simple act of writing down our thoughts and feelings can help us prioritise our problems and manage any intrusive thoughts throughout the day. As well as hep us monitor our day to day mental health over long periods of time.

Here are just some of the benefits:

• Alleviates depression and anxiety

• Reduces stress

• Improves self- esteem

• Pushes past procrastination

• Helps you find your true self

• Unlocks mindfulness

• It’s so therapeutic

• Unblocks creativity

• Improves our immune system (Check out research by Dr James W Pennebaker discussed on the Huberman Lab podcast)

So maybe you’re wondering if therapeutic journaling is for you?

My advice to you is, don’t overthink it, just start!

Pick up a pen and give it a try. Or tap away at the keyboard. What ever suits you best. Although my advice is to stay away from your digital devices. Writing with a pen or pencil onto the page engages your brain better, it actually increases activity in the brain’s motor cortex, an effect that’s similar to meditation. Plus, it forces you to slow down.

Talking from experience, it’s very important to give your self permission to journal scrappy. Why not try journaling for just a minute about anything and everything you feel like writing about. If you find this too challenging. Commit to writing just one word a day. Don’t overthink the word, but if you do feel like delving deeper about the word of choice, write for 2 minutes about what the word means to you, describing why you selected it and where does the word show up in your life. If you think you’d like to continue past 2 minutes, just for another minute about how your word of choice makes you feel. Try not to second guess yourself or edit what you write. With this basic journaling exercise, I’m trying to encourage you to get into the habit of making time to sit with your journal for 3minutes once a day. At this stage of learning how to journal, it really doesn't matter what time of day you decide to journal. Just make sure you do try and journal every single day for the next 7 days.

One thing to bare-in mind, is that it’s very important to be aware of your inner critic. If you can, try and silence it. One way of doing this, is to write with your non dominant hand. I know this isn’t easy, but it’s one way of preventing your inner critic from taking over journaling activity. I’ll reiterate this again - there are NO RULES - journaling is meant to be a calming, safe and liberating experience. After over 1000 days of consistently journaling, I can’t go a day without journaling. It is literally my oxygen. I journal so I can make sense of my thoughts.

Journaling isn’t for everyone, so please don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t manage to commit to a daily habit just yet. All I’d say is that if you do try and journal for the next few days, even for the month of January, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain when it comes to making yourself a priority and looking after your own selfceare.

Until the next time

Take care and stay safe xx

PS. If you would like to learn more about therapeutic journaling, I host weekly guided journaling workshops and a more thorough therapeutic journaling program called ‘Rage on a Page’. I’d love to help you channel your emotions into something more positive and creative, so don’t be shy, let’s connect.