The only question is: what do you want to get out of journaling? And what time and technique would work best for you? Except my mind needs two cups of coffee before it wakes up – and even longer to formulate a decent thought. So I’ve been journaling at night, when the house is quiet and when no delivery man will interrupt my flow. And my writing flows better. The speed and ease of the keyboard sometimes works better. I type faster, I feel more productive and I’m less likely to censor myself and more likely to write stream of consciousness. Because it’s not much effort to type something out versus getting hand cramps from paper journaling.

Better Every Day Journal - First Inside Then Out: Daily

For example, if the prompt is, ‘what aspects of your life could you slow down?’ Think about the parts of your life that you are not appreciating. To become a little bit better every day , however, it’s best to focus your journaling routine on the essentials. That’s where the following three paragraphs come into play.Keep It Private – Just like when you were a teenager and wanted to hide your latest crush from your big brother… The main thing to remember about your journal is that it should be kept private. The only exception is if you want to share thoughts with a therapist, counselor, or coach. Or if you want to turn it into a book or course, to help someone else overcome whatever you overcame. But don’t overthink it. Expecting the journaling process to be impossibly hygge will only disappoint when reality hits. 13. Analyze what isn’t working The reason why expressive writing works is thought to be because inhibiting our thoughts and emotions is bad for our health. By self-disclosing the things we haven't told anyone, we help release that burden of keeping it all inside ourselves (Pennebaker, 1997). And because a journal is private, we can freely and comfortably share thoughts and feelings that we might not feel comfortable sharing with others, maybe not even a therapist.

Better Every Day Journal: 365 Prompts and Daily Affirmations Better Every Day Journal: 365 Prompts and Daily Affirmations

We may have the assumption that all journaling is good for us, but the last few decades of research has shown us that the extent to which journaling—or expressive writing—is good for us depends a lot on what, exactly, we write about.With so many types of journals to choose from, having more than one type of journal might be the best way to keep everything organized better. When you have more than one type of journal, you can simply go to the specific journal to work on one issue at a time or keep something organized so you can make better decisions. Emotional self-care, such as positive self-talk, weekly bubble baths, setting boundaries and saying “no” to things that cause unnecessary stress, giving yourself permission to rest, meeting with a friend Reflective journaling is thought to aid experiential learning—or learning from our real-life experiences. You might start by first reflecting on the details of an experience. Then, aim to interpret the event to try to understand what happened and find meaning or value in it (Hubbs & Brand, 2005).