Setting Up Your Journal

If you’re looking for a new project, there is nothing I recommend as highly as journaling. Journaling has been proven to help your mental health (See Psych Central Health Benefits of Journaling and Benefits of Journaling for Mental Health ) . I also love journaling because it helps me reflect on bigger patterns and goals in my life. And, it’s fun to look back at old journals to see what you were thinking and doing at different points in your life.

I have journaled for many years. Like a lot of projects I do, I’ve started journaling and stopped it, only to pick it up later, usually in a different form.

When you’re starting a journal, deciding about the format of the journal can be overwhelming. Do you just write what you’re thinking? Do you write in letter form? Do you do bullet journaling (See Buzzfeed’s Guide to Starting a Bullet Journal)? Do you draw pictures?

I encourage anyone starting to journal to think about what they want from their journal, and to think about what structure of a journal will help them achieve that. And, to experiment. The journal is yours, so do whatever you want to it! Write, draw, leave pages blank, write upside down, anything! See what works for you. And you can always do something different next time.

For me, there are some rules I follow that help me journal and help it be productive and fun for me to come back to:

1.     I only journal in black and white college ruled composition notebooks, in blue or black pen. A lot of people like to write in pretty journals, but for me I like consistency. I use other types of notebooks for school or projects, but to me, composition notebooks are a place to tell my story. And pen makes it feel permanent.

2.     I always start with the time, day of the week, and date. Every entry I write says something like 10 am, Wednesday May 13. I like to know the date of my entries, and when I look back through my journals, the time is interesting to see as well. Since I don’t always know what day of the week May 13 was, I like to include the day of the week so that if I’m looking back through a week, I can immediately see that I wrote every day except Tuesday, instead of having to count back the dates.

3.     The cover of every journal says my name, then the time I started it (Jan 2020-) and then I add the finishing month and year when it’s done.

4.     I cover the front and back inside covers of the journal with quotes that inspired me at the time of the journal. Sometimes I do this when I start the journal, but usually I do it sometime in the middle of the journal when I find quotes that I think represent ideas that I hope to remember and think more deeply about.

5.     I keep a list of every book I’ve finished on the back pages of the journal. I write the date I finished it, the author and title, and I put a star next to it if I would recommend the book. Sometimes I add a short description or note (ie- great book for somebody interested in farming). This helps me look back at all the books that I’ve read and notice how my patterns in what I read change.

6.     I don’t require myself to write every day. I try to write every day, but if I don’t, that’s okay. I don’t allow myself to start any entry with an apology for not writing sooner. I apologize too often in my life, and I don’t need to waste space in my journal with apologies that aren’t even to a person.

When you start (or re-start after a break), your journal, think about what will work best for you. What type of notebook do you find inspiring? Colored pens or black pen or pencil? How will you structure your entries?

When will you write, will you write at the same time every day or different times during the day?

What will you write about, are there certain goals you want to talk about in your journal?

Once you’ve decided how to set up your journal, start thinking about what you want to include in it. In future posts, I will share different types of content I write in my journal, including gratitude charts, quote collections, and well-being check-ins.

Have fun journaling! What does your journal look like? Any tips for new journal writers? Please share in the comments below!