Journaling: My new favourite habit

Photo by Pedro Araújo on Unsplash

We all have a lot more free time. During this time in quarantine, I have focused on self-development. I started journaling as it was something a lot of people always recommended and that it helps you to write your thoughts down on paper. I decided to try it and this is a habit I would love to continue after quarantine ends.

For me, I overthink a lot. The smallest things creep into my head and I end up thinking about it for hours on end. My brain simply will never shut up and I felt that I was constantly worried about something I did, something I said, I can’t believe this person said that to me, etc. It is an annoying trait that I have and hope to one day get rid of

When I started journaling, it was a way for me to clear my head at the end of the day and dump everything that was on my mind onto a piece of paper. Every time I finish journaling for the day, I feel lighter and more at ease going to sleep.

I wanted to write this article to tell you about the type of journaling that I do and how I have made it a habit.

There’s more than one way to journal.

I started journaling with the mindset that I write about my day and my feelings. And that is what I do. Whenever something happens in my day that made me feel a particular way, I write about it. What I find is that once you start writing, then the words come naturally. Initially, I was thinking that I would have some kind of artist block, but that is not what it's about. It is simply writing whatever you think. There are no bad ideas.

And that is the way that I journal every night. However, my girlfriend does it differently.

She also practices journaling regularly, but she writes everything in more of an affirmation style. Her career goal is to become a doctor, so she would write as if she is currently a doctor and talk about everything she is grateful for (getting into Master’s program, having a supportive environment that has helped her achieve that goal) as a form of affirmation. If you believe hard enough, you will achieve your goals and that is how she likes to write. While I like to write in the evening, she likes to write in the morning and sometimes in the evening. For morning journaling, she feels that she is starting her day on a…