How To Create a Journaling Habit That Lasts.... (BONUS: 31 Writing Prompts Inside!)
How To Create a Journaling Habit That Lasts.... (BONUS: 31 Journal Prompts Inside!)
Mmmm. The first page of a brand new journal—waiting to be filled with notes, doodles, and rambles. But how the heck do you actually fill it up and make it a habit? If you’re like me, you’ve been guilty of “Okay, I am going to COMMIT to journaling!!!” …And then 3 days later, your passion fades off. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve made bold journaling goals, only to lose steam a week or two in.
But the zinger? I absolutely loveeeeee looking back and reading the entries from those 1–2 week spurts. There is something about writing in your own words that captures a life stage so perfectly—not only what was happening at that time, but who you were at that time. Journaling is so important because it gives you a chance to pause, reflect, and manifest—and I was ready to make it a priority.
2019 was the year I officially took charge of my journaling habits, and I am so proud to say that I have journaled every single day of this year! My morning journaling routine has truly become a nonnegotiable part of my day…it’s where I outline my day, reflect on the previous day, brainstorm, reflect, dream…wherever the pen takes me. :)
And in this post I am going to teach you how to make this reflective, therapeutic, centering activity into a habit.
step one: find your why
As with any goal, it is important to determine your why. WHY do you want to make journaling a habit? For me, it was to be able to have a keepsake from this sweet, sweet time in life. I am probz the world’s most nostalgic person, so the thought of having journals and journals full of small + big life memories to look back on was my personal motivator. So for me, my WHY was to document each season of life. Some other great motivators: a place to organize your day/get more productive, a time of day to pause + reflect, a habit that will help you set goals and manifest…whatever it is for you, make that your center point! Come back to that why on the days when you are lacking the motivation to pick up that pen.
step two: grab some supplies you loveeee
Are you noticing a theme in my blog posts? I truly, truly believe one method to kickstarting a goal is to get supplies that you loveeeee. Wanna start running? Buy a pair of running shoes that fit great & you love. Want to start baking more? Find a gorgeous set of mixing bowls. Call it vain or materialistic, but there can be something sooo powerful about picking out an item specifically for your goal. Is this necessary? No way. But it’s just one way to jumpstart your journaling goal!
You get so excited to use your new items that the goal pretty much starts itself! When I made my goal to write every single day of 2019, I spent hours (literally…) looking at different journals, planners, pens, etc. until I found the set that was perfect for me. (Side note: to every DM I’ve gotten asking what pens I use, ha! Here they are! Sooooo smoooth and no smudgies.) I was sooo excited about my choices that it made gettin’ this habit started a whole lot easier!
I prioritize nice, smooooth pens, thick paper, earthy planner designs—but there are countless options! Here are 2 simple options I like (here and here), but if you are looking for a more concrete journaling experience, check out this journal collection!
Are you ready to customize your journaling experience?
step three: block off the time
Like any goal, you need a plan to get there. Now this doesn’t have to be intense like, “I will journal at exactly 6:47 every morning,” but more along the lines of “I will spend 5–10 minutes journaling while I sip my morning coffee.” Think of something you do every day that can trigger the new habit (ex: drinking coffee, winding down before bed, taking your lunch break, etc). When you get to this time of your day, reach for your planner. It will feel forced at first, but with a few days of repetition, soon you won’t be able to imagine your morning coffee without your planner!
step four: turn it from a chore to a ritual
Now that you have your “when” figured out, daydream a few ideas that would turn this chore into a joy. It’s all about small choices: lighting a candle, sipping tea, using a pen you love—don’t make it a task, make it a ritual! I’ll make my cinnamon + cacao collagen coffee recipe (find the recipe here!), play my “moon beam” Spotify playlist, and ease into my morning by journaling. It is straight up divine and I crave that peace + solitude as a way to start my morning. Journaling started as something I couldn’t stick to, and it’s quickly become something I can’t live without all because I blocked off the time, made some fun rituals to elevate the experience, and committed to making it a routine.
How To Create a Journaling Habit That Lasts.... (BONUS: 31 Writing Prompts Inside!)
step five: get that pen on paper
For me, this is quite easy. For as long as I have lived, I have loved writing and I find it very easy to just put my pen on paper and floooow with whatever I need to write that day. But! I know that can be hard for a lot of people—especially when you are new to the whole journaling habit! While I have a whole collection of guided journal workbooks, below, I compiled 31 days’ worth of journal prompts for those of you who like a lil bit of lovely structure in your journaling routine.
31 writing prompts to kickstart your journaling ritual:
When I visualize my life a year from today…
When people describe me, I would like them to say…
What do I need to get off my chest today?
What do I need to hear today? How can I uplift myself?
Just a beautiful natural prayer… (My personal fav! It’s amazing where journaling a prayer can take me—such a wonderful way to ground myself in God’s presence. *ahhh*)
A reflection on the prior day…what went well? What didn’t? What was one moment where I felt most “me”?
What feels like a struggle right now? How I can work to solve it?
Manifesting: What am I seeking? What are some big, unfinished goals? (Write them down as if they are GOING to happen. Be specific.)
What am I thankful for right now?
Is there anything draining my energy right now?
What are 3 things I can do to take really good care of myself today? What is my plan to implement them?
What is making life feel complicated right now? What are 3 ways I can simplify this?
What is my financial situation right now? How can I cultivate more abundance in my everyday life?
What are my priorities in life right now? (Be honest on where your time/energy is actually going. Are you happy with how your priorities look?)
Have I been holding myself back? How or how not?
What brings me the most joy? How can I infuse more moments like this into my day?
What is a weakness in myself that I can work to improve?
A lesson I’ve learned recently is…
Who inspires me? Why do they inspire me? How can I learn from them?
In the next month, I want to…
What would I tell my childhood self?
What would I tell my future self?
What am I afraid of?
15 things I am thankful for today….
What is a quote that means a lot to me? Why?
What is my personal definition of success?
What are 3 spaces I can de-clutter physically or emotionally to find more peace?
10 affirmations for myself are…
What do I like most in my life right now?
What would I like to change in my life right now + what can I do in my power to improve it?
Where do I feel most in alignment and most “myself”? (Reflect on job, relationships, situations, hobbies, etc.)
There ya have it! 31 writing prompts to get ya goin! If you could just work your way through this list, you’d be ONE MONTH into consistently journaling! Eep! Gives yourself a timeframe to get through the list above and plug awayyyy :) Can’t wait to see the magic you guys write!
step six: do you have 90 extra seconds a day?
There is absolutely no pressure to do things “right.” Some people love prompts, some people don’t. Some people write poetically, and some people write logically. You don’t have to be a great writer, journal every day, or write 5 pages for journaling to be effective—just find a journaling routine that works for you! Starting with a mega simple 90 second routine (yes, really.)
One option I loveeee for beginners is to start small + get hooked by using a simple little prompt journal! I did this when I first started journaling with the “Q&A 5 year journal.” This little journal book asks you a different question every single day for a year, and you only have a sentence or two to answer it…then it has a space for you to answer that same exact question every day for the next 4 years! I started this as a sophomore in college and finished it as a married, working girl who owned a house!
An example prompt would be “One thing that could’ve made this day better is….” and I got to see how my answers changed each year from being about college (track, studying, party hardy-ing) to owning my first house and getting married. Such growth! So many life changes! It was soooo fun and reflective to look back every day and see how my answers had changed.
It was really stinking fun to read short little blurbs about my day-to-day life and read back on memories, see how different my answers grew with time, and observe how I was growing. It genuinely takes 90 seconds to answer it daily—so if you’re the person who’s like “Oooh journaling sounds great, but…” GET THIS BOOK. It takes 2 minutes of your day and will very quickly become your favorite keepsake. Heck, you can even do this in addition to your normal journaling routine if you want, like I do! (NOTE: they also have options made specifically for moms, couples, college students, and kids.)
step seven: make it easy to continue
It may sound silly, but incorporating these little moments of peace into your day shifts chaos into calmness. There will ALWAYS be things you *have* to do in this life, but it’s up to YOU if you want to make those tasks feel peaceful or if you want them to feel frantic. Make it EASY to continue! For me, I always lay my journal open on the kitchen table so I can see it first thing when I wake up—it makes it a simple, nonnegotiable invitation to journaling. I don’t even have to think about it! Journaling is suuuuch a magical habit and I can’t even really fully express how much it has impacted my mental health, self-care, and gratitude, and I want YOU to get in on that juicy journaling goodness.
Still lacking the motivation to get going? I leave you with this beautiful writing below:
(CREDIT: notinthemaps on tumblr)
How To Create a Journaling Habit That Lasts.... (BONUS: 31 Journal Prompts Inside!)
It’s Sunday as I post this, and I challenge you to start this week fresh. Take the first step to make journaling a habit—first buy a journal you love, find a format you love, create a ritual…map it out. Let THIS be the week you finally commit to a journaling routine. Just 10 minutes in the AM to take a few deep breaths, write, and recenter—YOU are in control of the pace of your life, YOU are in control of the things that get put on your calendar, and YOU are in control of your mindset. Friend, live this week knowing you can *be* busy without actually *feeling* busy. And journaling is a great way to start your day—grounded in gratitude, present, and fully, fully alive…
psssst: am i weird for wanting to start a journal club??? kind of like a book club, but… for journaling :)
check out my journal collection & tag #TFBJournalClub so i can cheer ya on and we can all connect!
resources for more journaling & grounding rituals:
