THE ONLY RULE WITH JOURNALING (A RULE OF THUMB, REALLY)
There is only one rule with journaling.
However, with that being said, many journal keepers will disagree with this. I will explain.
The one rule with journaling is this:
Journal every single day. Without fail.
The ideal rule with journaling is this:
That you will journal several moments every day.
Some will say it is okay to journal when you can or when you feel inspired.
Some will even say that one sentence per day is enough. It is when you are just beginning.
The reason to journal at least every day, preferably at several moments throughout your day, is this: After 32.5 years of journaling, I have learned something beautiful about journaling: The more you put into journaling, the more you will get out of it.
Let me repeat that again. Please slowly read each word.
The more you put into journaling, the more you will get out of it.
Period.
End of story.
Any questions?
Journal once a year.
Journal one sentence a day.
Some is better than none with journaling.
However, do you want to live the deepest, most creative, most productive, most thought-full, most joyful, most blessed life you can, and be the biggest blessing you can be to others, then journal at several moments every single day without fail. You will not accomplish this by journaling any less.
If you journal less, you will live a less thought-FULL life. It will not be as deep, full of blessing, otherwise. In fact, you will take your life, people, and things for granted.
HOW OFTEN AND HOW MUCH SHOULD WE JOURNAL?: HOW TO MAKE JOURNALING A DAILY HABIT
I shared the answer in the previous paragraph. Journal every day, at several points throughout your day. And, you should journal as much as possible.
Great. This might seem intimidating or like wishful thinking. In fact, you might not have the time for it. Let me explain how you can.I journal between five and fifteen pages per day, letter size of 8.5 x 11, single spaced, 12 point font/type. I average nine pages per day, but have journals as many as fifty in a day. But, journaling is my full-time job.
When I worked full-time, I averaged five pages per day.
I say all of this not to brag or intimidate, but to make a point.
I started off writing one sentence per day.
That is the secret, folks. Don't start with the expectation of journaling one page or even one paragraph in a day. Start with a minimum goal of one sentence per day for one week. If you journal more than that, score! Extra bonus!
Then, journal the next week one sentence twice a day... in the morning and evening.
Then, journal the next week one sentence three times per day... in the morning, at Noonish, and then in the evening.
Then, for the next week, journal one sentence in the morning, at lunch, when you get home from school or work, then after dinner.
Then, for the next week, journal one sentence in the morning, at lunch, when you get home from school or work, then after dinner, then before bed.
Then, the next week, add one sentence to each of those times.
Keep building until you journal at least a page twice a day.
Then, keep building from there.
I steal times throughout my day to journal. I do my best to keep the appointed times, but also make sure to journal at every down moment. Our days are full of empty spaces and journaling is how I redeem the time, not checking my cell or doing social media. For instance, when I am on hold on the phone, when standing in a line at a store, sitting in waiting room at doctor's office, waiting for an appointment, waiting for someone to get ready to go somewhere, if I toss and turn at night, if I am stircrazy, if I am worked up about something, if I am anxious or stressed, if I am upset, if I am cooking something and cannot leave the kitchen but can journal a sentence or two as I cook, when I pull into a parking lot I journal for a minute before I go in store, etc. I steal time to journal all day long, plus write at the five times per day mark. This is how I have journals fifty page days at times.
My greatest joys are the mornings I cannot sleep in, because I am wide awake. It could annoy me. But, instead I think, "Yay! More time to journal!" And I rush to do just that. I usually have a major insight or A-HA moment those days, like I did this morning, by the way.
Journaling takes time. It is a practice and an art. Don't think you have to start off journaling pages or even paragraphs per day. Build up to that slowly over time. It took me years to get to this point. I wasn't born knowing how to journal. I've learned through lots of trial and error and experimentation.
Journal every day, at several moments throughout your day, the length you can and build up from there. It's really that easy.
Remember the one journaling rule of thumb: The more you put into journaling, the more you will get out of it.
So, if you have never journeyed before, I hope this helps.
For you journal keepers who have journaled before, I hope this helps inspire you to do more so you and your life can be far more deep, creative, reflective, productive, and blessed, so you can then be more of a blessing to others.
JOURNALING IS ALWAYS CHANGING--OR NOT
What I love most about journaling is it can be something you do differently every time you approach the page--or you can do the exact same thing. It's your journal. Be creative. There is only one rule (which we already covered), but all else goes. Experiment. Have fun with it.
If you are doing something that works in your journaling, meaning every time you sit down to journal, you are able to write several paragraphs without thought, where you are writing and are not getting stuck or blocked, then keep doing what you are doing. Don't change.
But, if you find yourself stuck or blocked, or even bored when you try to journal, then change it up and try something different than what you are doing now.
Journaling should bring you peace and contentment in the end and leave you with a new perspective. If it doesn't, try something new or different.
GRAMMAR?
With journaling, it is okay to break every single rule possible regarding grammar and how you write. Write one word sentences. Don't write in sentences. Make lists, mind maps, use bullets, or not. The choice is up to you. Do what works for you in that moment when you face the blank and empty page. If it works, your hand or hands are busy journaling. If not, then you are tapping or twiddling your thumbs. If it's the latter, mix it up and try something else.
So, forget grammar. Do what works for you as you journal.
OOPS. THERE ARE THREE RULES OF JOURNALING
1 The more you put into your journaling, the more you will get out of it.
2 Forget grammar.
3 Never, ever delete something, throw it away, rip it up, or get rid of it. Never, ever.
RULE 3: NEVER DELETE ANYTHING
Part of what makes journaling so effective and so delightful, is also what makes journaling such a powerful activity. It's reflection and self-analysis. It's about learning to live a deeper, more thoughtful life. Journaling gives us proper perspective, where after we deal with out stuff, then we can look around and count our blessings, and then we can be a blessing to others. We learn how to be far less self-centered by looking within and realizing our weaknesses and limitations, along with our mistakes. This brings humility. Then, we can be thankful for what we have and not regret the things we don't. Through this, we count our blessings and can look out at others and see past their warts and bring blessing to their lives. It's a wonderful progression.
We live such shallow lives normally.
Journaling makes us go deeper, where we explore the depths of self, situations, others, etc.
But, we can only do all of this through reviewing our journaling and reading it again, to analyze it and see what themes emerge, where we seem to keep tripping up, how we have grown, how what happened in the past seemed so nonsense but looking back we see how things worked together, we see how blessed we are, and we learn how we need to grow. Journaling it once and not reviewing and analyzing prevents us from doing all of this.
So many times in my life, I have faced challenges or experienced something that made no sense whatsoever. I have wondered why or thought how it didn't seem fair or was pointless. I've thrown a pity-party. Then, later on, more things happen, I do the same. Then, later on, something else happens, I review my journaling, and see how things worked together to bring me to this point. This exact point. How it came together the things that seemed unrelated and challenging. I learn how everything had a point. But, I would never have seen it own known it if I hadn't journaled it in the first place and then reviewed my journaling.
I never would have seen how things came together if I journaled something and then deleted it, destroyed it, or gotten rid of it.
Some will say it's therapeutic to rip up your journal.
Really?
If you fully deal with your stuff, you don't need to destroy to let go and move on. If you fully deal with your stuff, you learn that challenge is one of the biggest blessings in your life.
Why destroy a blessing?
Oh, at the time, it may seem ugly. But, often times, great beauty comes from what seems ugly.
So, never, ever delete. Not one word.
It's okay if your journaling is ugly. It's okay if you feel ugly after writing the ugly journal. Give it time. Beauty will rise from the ashes.
Keep every word, every scratch, of your journaling.
WHAT CAN YOU DO INSTEAD OF DELETING?
1 If it's too painful to keep using that journal, start a new one. Set it to the side and forget about it.
2 If you feel like you need to rip something up, write as ugly of a letter as you can, purging The ugliness onto the page so you don't keep it within. Then, copy the letter. Keep one copy. Put it to the side. Take the other and rip that one up.
3 Or, just simply rewrite it. Keep the original and on the next page, rewrite it.
WHAT SHOULD YOU JOURNAL?
Truthfully, you should journal anything you want and anything that comes to mind, even if you wrote it before. There is a reason why it comes to mind or is on your heart.
It's true.
But, there are times you approach the page, your journal, and are blank. Nothing is there. Nothing comes to mind. So, what then?
There are many things you can do in that situation, or even just in general and every time you journal.
Journal every day about where you've been, where you are, and where you want to head in life. Then, count your blessings of each and then journal about memories of each. This is the simplest approach to take with journaling every time you approach the page.
There are other ideas as well:
Count your past, present, and future blessings.
Do some journaling exercises or prompts.
List as many memories as you can. Then, expand upon each of them until you have a full journal entry of at least a page per memory.
Ask who, what, where, when, why, how, and what-if questions.
Make lists of different things then expand to a page journaling of each item. For example: What are your favorite foods? Movies? Books? Say why they are your favorites and list at least three memories of each. Then journal a page about each memory.
List the decades of your life then under each decade, list as many memories come to mind.
Look around your house and list items, rooms, etc and the memories associated with each.
Then, expand your memories to one page each.
Every day, count your blessings. I know I ready said that, but I repeat that.
Those are just a few examples of what to journal.
IT'S YOUR TURN: A JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT
Count your past, present, and future blessings.
Why is each a blessing?
List a memory of each blessing and then journal as much as you can about it.
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