Your First Step: Journal Picking
This is one of my favorite steps. It can be such fun!!! Some woman shop for shoes ~ I shop for journals! They can be high end or made from things left around your house. The key: Your Journal MUST get you EXCITED about journaling.
If you choose to buy one, many booksellers and stationary stores have a wide variety of writing journals. Take your time! Pick up a few; get the feel of the journal! Do you like the texture? It’s Colors? Pick a journal that speaks to you.
You can even make a very creative journal all your own! (More on this another day) One of my original journals was a simple a 3 ring binder with blank pages in it. Of course, the color energized me and I put pictures inside that enhanced what I was journaling about at the time. (I think it was the challenges of being a 13 year old teenager!! And, there were SO many then 😉
Journal Jotting:
This is a preliminary place to start writing in your journal. I keep blank pages inside the front cover of my journals. Here I jot down a quick note or thought when something inspires me or I have a question about. Then, when I sit down to work in my book, it will be there and remind me what I was going to journal about. Yes, I take a journal with me everywhere. You can easily just take out a piece of paper from your pocket that you wrote on. I’ve been known to do this to (in restaurants on paper napkins even!)
Journal Recording:
When to Journal. That is a personal preference. Some people like to do it at the end of the day to process the events of their day. I prefer first thing in the morning (mostly because my nocturnal dreams often prompt me to use aspects of them in my writings. I have a client who journals at lunchtime as a way to relax in the middle of her day. Whatever the time is that you choose, do make the time to try this out as a tool for growth.
Be Creative. You can write eloquently, add in pictures that inspire you. Use Colored pens even! And, just let things flow onto the paper as they come. This is a time to actually STOP the thinking process and let your creative juices flow. You may feel it takes some time to cultivate but everyone can do this.
Be consistent in keeping your journal! It’s important because it then becomes habit. If you are inspired to be an actual author don’t expect to be Mark Twain or JK Rowling overnight. Journaling, like anything done well, takes a little practice. Make it a habit….a little bit goes a long way…commit to writing 10 minutes in your journal daily~ you’ll be amazed at what you discover about who you are and what you want to do!
I want to know. Do you journal? If you do, What insight have you received from your musings?
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I have started a journal so many times over the course of my life but I never stick with it. I’m very good at getting going, but after a few days I forget. I’d love to see a post about following through with journaling. Especially because I’ve started so many, I don’t feel I can justify buying a new one, but I don’t really want to pick up any of the existing ones. Ack! Maybe I like the “idea” of a journal better than the execution? Consistency is a tough one for me.
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 5:50 pm
Jonell ~ I so understand your reply! I used to do that too. Find a great journal, buy it, write a page or two and then ACK, find it somewhere a week later and then, had lost momentum!
If you find the inspiration to do the ‘execution’ of doing it again, no need to buy a new one ~ rip out the old pages of a past journal that don’t resonate, and ‘smudge’ the journal with
sage or simple candle smoke (that’s when you allow the smoke to flow around something) it will bring new energy to the journal! But, there are lots of other ways to learn more about
yourself than just journaling, too! Thanks for your reply and KEEP SMILING
[Reply]
Comment by Jonell — April 2, 2012 @ 8:00 pm
I love to journal! I have a two different kinds of journals… I have a trail riding journal where I keep track of my riding/training/experiences and I have a life journal. I love both, but I think that my life journal is one of the best things I’ve decided to do. Just wish I’d have started it earlier. Great post!
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 5:46 pm
A Trail Journal! Laura, that’s awesome! I had a hiking journal back in my college years when I would go for a hike and during the ‘rest’ time I’d journal! It was amazing!
Glad you are getting so much out of your experience! KEEP SMILING!
[Reply]
Comment by Laura — April 3, 2012 @ 2:05 am
Hi Laura, this may seem a bit silly, but I am wondering how long we need to journal (weeks, months, years!) before a pattern emerges? I have had several false starts over the years (normally in times of crisis), and I think about it often, but I find keeping it going an issue. Any suggestions?
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Kris~ Great Questions! When I started journaling, I used a 5×7 spiral notebook and just jotted things down all the TIME. I thought “this isn’t going to amount to much” After about a week, I noticed that in my ‘doodling’ i always had arrows and they were always pointing downward. Hmmmm…..So, i started a ‘note’ by putting the arrow at the top of the page and writing under it how I ‘felt’….LIGHT BULB, I was depleted of energy and ramped up my exercise! Writing, journaling, jotting is all about FEELING so try it out in SMALL chuncks when the feeling moves you and see after a week if you get any “Ahha’s and let me know! KEEP SMILING
[Reply]
Comment by @Krishn — April 3, 2012 @ 6:10 am