How to Journal 📚

I put a poll on my story yesterday asking “Do you journal?” and it was 75% “No” and only 25% “Yes.

I also put a box asking “Why?” and there were loads of answers around the benefits of journaling but lots of answers around not knowing where to begin, time, and surprisingly - a lot of people were worried about other people reading their journal.

So I thought it would be beneficial to share some tips on how to get started.

First of all, it has to become a habit. If your mornings or evenings are hectic, you are unlikely to stop what you are doing and write down your thoughts. I write in my journal while my coffee is brewing. It’s just a natural thing now. And then you also have the habit stacking reward of the coffee straight after.

It is important to have a good journaling habit on days where you don’t really need it, so that when you need it, you are already in the habit.

You don’t need anything fancy. I have had some excellent journals with great structure, and also just simply a copy book, or whatever I could get my hands on while travelling.

Here are some prompts and questions that might help to get you started (pick and choose as you like):

• How am I feeling?
  
• Do I want to change this?
  
• What can I do to change this?
  
• Would I be better practising acceptance around this?
  
• What can I do today to help myself feel good tomorrow?
  
• What am I looking forward to today?
• What do I like about myself?
  
• What negative thoughts are going through my head? 

• Are they true? 

• And always dig deeper - why, why, why?
  

Getting your thoughts on paper can help you slow down and assess whether they are rational thoughts or not. It can almost help you see what’s going on in your head from another perspective.

Another answer to my question box that kept coming up was along the lines of ‘writing the same thing every day’, which I understand. I love my routine around training, working and eating but challenging myself to write everyday helps to find points in my day/life that I can improve or accept.

Again, having that habit in place will help you when you are not feeling so good.

Even for myself today, I just feel tired and “big” and unmotivated and all those feelings around PMS.

Last night I was trying on my shorts and they were a bit tight and I was throwing a bit of a strop while putting on my bigger shorts.

I wrote about this today.

“I felt fat last night”

Is this true? Well, no, I am in a thin body. I might be bloated because I am due my period.

What can I do to change this? When I think about it, I have been eating a lot of calories the last week or so, but I am also bloated because of hormonal changes.

What can I do today to help myself feel good tomorrow? I could choose more nutrient-dense food, but also I know I won’t feel good if I restrict my food. I might also take a rest day to catch up on work and allow my body to rest, and give in to that lethargic feeling.

What do I like about myself? I like my hair at the moment 

Notice how I haven’t even spoken about gratitude - which I also add into my journaling each day.

Journaling can be uncomfortable, and sometimes we might need even more help with it if we can’t organise our thoughts. This is when I recommend therapy, which I see as a journal that talks back.

All the happiest and most successful people that I know have some way of slowing down at the start of the day, whether that’s meditation, yoga or journaling. We live in a hectic world where we have a better idea of what is going on in other people’s lives than our own.

I recommend journaling to all my clients in The Furnace because I’ve seen those that finish the course feeling happy, healthy and no long frustrated with their bodies, are those that have a journaling habit.

If you haven’t started yet, this is your sign!

Thanks for reading,

Siobhan “Dear Diary” O’Hagan