How to Start Journaling: A Beginner's Guide

Journaling has been a major part of my self improvement and self-discovery journey.

I wouldn’t be able to navigate my problems, challenges, emotions and feelings if it wasn’t for the outlet that journaling has given me.

I have been journaling consistently since 2016 and I am so thankful for all the benefits of journaling I have received.

It is where I pour out my feelings, thoughts, fears, questions, and doubts, and unknowingly I receive my answers and guide me to do the right thing.

When writing, I automatically come back to my senses I feel.

And because I have been able to know the vast benefits of journaling, I ask my friends also to keep a journal for themselves.

But I often hear that they don’t know how to start even though they want to.

So today I want to make this journaling process easy for you and tell you how to start journaling easily.

How to start journaling: A beginner's guide

What is journaling?

Journaling is simply the act of writing down your thoughts, feelings, experiences or anything you want to record.

You can record how your day went, your best highlights of the day, the things you are grateful for, your dreams, your ambitions, your hopes, your thoughts, your feelings and anything that comes to your mind.

There is no hard and fast rule of how you should journal.

You can journal any way you like and you can consider journaling as a brain dump on paper.

It might not even make sense, you will find that it is a very reflective process where you come closer to understanding yourself and your subconscious thoughts.

What kind of journal to get

While there are so many journals to choose from and it depends on why you want to start journaling in the first place, I would recommend simply getting a notebook/diary for yourself.

When you are starting I know prompts and all could be helpful and yes, you can use prompts to help you with something, but I want you to try writing freehand without any aid of questions and prompts.

There are all kinds of journals like the 5-minute journal which are all very popular, but those journals only serve the purpose of highlighting the day and only a small reflective process.

The act of going free flow with your pen on a page is something different.

The thoughts that may be lying hidden and unconscious come to the forefront and you get to know yourself better.

The answers come more freely and you will receive what you need to know.

This cannot happen in journals such as the 5-minute journal

This is not criticizing the 5-minute journal or these kinds of journals.

Of course, you can use such types of journals just for the sake of highlighting your day and a daily simple reflection, but I truly feel that it doesn’t give the full benefit of journaling and clearing out our hearts.

That happens only by writing fully on a blank page and pouring out your thoughts.

Julia Cameron in her book ‘The Artists Way’ speaks of this in her recommendation to write ‘Morning Pages‘.

And that’s the kind I would recommend too.

Why you should start a journal

1. A tool for self-discovery

Journaling is a tool for getting to know yourself better. Writing is an act of self-discovery where you unravel your hidden thoughts and feelings.

All through the day we keep on thinking so many thoughts unconsciously, but when we start writing, the most dominant thought that we have at that moment comes out in our journal entry.

Our thoughts become clear and we discover new things about ourselves.

2. You get the answers you have been looking for

Whenever you are confused about what decision you need to take, what action you need to take next, or what would be a better way to deal with a situation, you can come home to your journal.

Write about your problem and then slowly the answer will be revealed.

It always seems to happen like this for me. Writing in my journal guides me like no other as if the instructions and guidance are coming from God and writing on its own.

I come to know what I need to do or how I need to be at least for that present moment.

Journaling truly gives you the answers you have been looking for.

3. Free therapy

Journaling is like free therapy.

It will be your best friend like no other.

As Anne Frank put it in her diary- Paper has more patience than people.

Your journal won’t judge you. It won’t blame you. It won’t backstab you. It is just there for you.

You can bring out your most vulnerable self to your journal. Write down whatever you are feeling without any fear of judgment or apprehension.

Your journal is your safe space. Pour out your heart to it safely. You will feel much lighter and calmer.

4. Helps you track your progress

A journal can be of any kind. You can start a journal to track your fitness journey, your pregnancy journey, your healthy food journey or simply just a journal where you pour out your thoughts, feelings and experiences (that’s the best kind)

There you can also track your progress and you will come to know better through your journal, what is lacking, what needs to be done, where you might be going wrong and how can you do better.

This is because journaling helps us be more self-aware, and the more self-aware we are, the more change we can bring into our lives and improve ourselves.

5. Helps you in reaching your goals

So often we don’t know what to do in life. We don’t know how we want to live and what goals we have.

But because of journaling, you will be so clear on this aspect as well.

A journal helps you define your goals.

It gives you clarity on what you truly want to do in life, and most of all, whenever you go off track and forget your goals and dreams, if you journal, you will always come back to it.

You won’t be able to go far away from the things that you truly want to pursue in life.

Through journaling, you will see that your dreams and hopes for the future keep coming back and you won’t be able to not do them, because it will be too painful if you keep on neglecting it.

Your journal will nudge you again and again to go after your goals and do the things you want to do.

6. Preserving memories

Lastly, a journal is an excellent way to preserve your memories.

My mum has also been journaling for an equally long time. She keeps her past 1 year’s journal and past 5 year’s journal at her desk and every morning she reads what had happened on that date 1 year and 5 years ago.

We come to know of so many little things and see our changes so much.

I go through my past journal entries and come to know what had happened, what lessons I learned and what I felt.

I feel like my journal would become my legacy even after I am gone from this world and if anybody would ever read it, they would get to know me more.

How to start journaling as a beginner

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1. Know your intentions behind journaling

Figure out why you want to start journaling.

Do you want to be more intentional about something?

Do you want to write down your daily reflections?

Do you want to track your goals?

Manage stress and anxiety?

Knowing your intentions behind why you want to keep a journal helps you to be more consistent at it.

For me, I journal because of all these reasons.

I journal to get to know my thoughts and feelings better, to process my emotions better and it also serves as a reflective process and makes me come back to my goals and intentions.

2. Get a physical journal

I highly recommend you get a physical journal/diary instead of using a digital journal.

Something about writing it in pen and a page makes the thoughts flow more freely.

So choose a journal or a diary that you would like to write in.

It can be blank, ruled or dotted- anything you like

I love my journal to be a bright one and have good quality pages where I love writing.

3. Pick a specific time to journal

When you’re trying to get consistent in journaling, pick a time to journal and try to stick to that time.

You can pick a time to journal before or after doing something that you already do.

For example, if after waking up in the morning the first thing you do after freshening up is drinking tea or coffee, then after your ritual of drinking morning tea or coffee, sit down to write in your journal straight away.

4. Write freely

Write without holding anything back.

This is your journal and nobody is going to read it.

You don’t have to think too much about what you should write or not write.

There is no right or wrong, so put all your judgements aside.

You don’t have to worry about grammar or sentence structure or anything.

Simply write whatever comes to your mind at that particular moment as you are writing.

If one sentence is wholly unrelated to the next sentence, that’s okay too.

Simply keep pouring whatever comes to your heart and mind.

If anything is bothering you, you can write that down.

If you want to write down what happened yesterday, you can write that down.

Write whatever you think and write freely.

5. It doesn’t have to be perfect

Nobody is watching you, so you can be free.

Stop being a critic of your writing.

Let go of perfection and write whatever you want to.

There is nothing to get right.

You are only writing down your thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Don’t try to choose what you should put or not put on paper.

All are valid. All is okay.

So let go of your perfectionist tendencies of thinking you have to only write down your best thoughts, best experiences and so on.

Life is raw. Life is messy. It doesn’t always have to be perfect.

Journaling doesn’t have to be perfect either.

Slowly you will learn how to write down your thoughts and feelings better and express yourself better.

Your thoughts will become much clearer and it will make you much calmer.

4. Start with small journal entries

You can start with small journal entries- perhaps write down a paragraph every day.

Then you can slowly move to writing one page a day or write until it satisfies you.

I write mostly 3 pages in my diary every morning, but sometimes it is also just one page and sometimes more than 5-6 pages.

I write and write and write until I am done pouring out my heart and until I am satisfied.

This mostly happens when I am feeling agitated, and anxious, something is going on inside my heart and also outside in my life which I want to tell and understand better.

But when you’re beginning, you can just start with small journal entries and you will still unlock the hidden powers of journaling.

5. Be honest and transparent

You don’t have to hide anything.

Be honest in how you feel and what you experience.

You don’t have to write down only the best parts of your day, or the best parts of yourself.

Allow yourself to write down everything.

As long as you are honest and writing down what feels true to you at the moment, it is okay.

But be open to the guidance and learning you might come to learn of as you write.

As I said, writing helps us come back to our senses.

You will come to know what is right and what is wrong with the very act of writing if you only go on to become honest and transparent.

The more authentic you are, the more you open up to the wonderful benefits of journaling and the more it works for you in giving you clarity, guidance and understanding.

6. Add reflective elements

Lastly, time and again, you can add some reflective elements to your journaling process.

Here are some reflective elements I like to add:

Daily Positive affirmations
Inspiring Quotes
Gratitude list
Mind maps
Mental images
Goals and dreams
Answering a journal prompt

P.S Here are some links that might be helpful for you

7. Address your journal as a friend

Give a name to your journal.

Let each journal entry be like a letter you write to a friend.

This can be an imaginary friend, the Universe or your own self.

I have named my journal, ‘Grace’.

I don’t know why, but this name has stuck with me for all the years and I always address my journal entries to ‘Grace’ as if I am letting her know my thoughts and events of my life.

I also like to think of Grace like the Universe and I am communicating my thoughts to the Universe.

Journaling Tips for Success

1. Journal first thing in the morning

If you want to journal consistently, journal first thing in the morning.

Make it your daily routine of starting your day first by journaling for 10-15 minutes.

You can easily fill 2 pages of your daily in 10 minutes.

Write whatever comes to your mind. Because we are always thinking, we can always write.

Don’t try to choose what you want to put and not put in your entry. Just write anything. No pressure.

P.S Morning routine that can change your life

2. Keep your journal close to you

Keep your journal where you can easily access it.

Otherwise, the act of trying to search for it will itself be the reason why you skip your journal.

I always keep my journal on my desk where I can easily get it and write it down.

3. Remove distractions

When you are wiring, simply sit down to write.

No distractions. No phone. No nothing.

Stop being restless for at least this moment and simply sit to journal.

4. Be patient and flexible

Lastly, be patient with your journaling practice.

Remember, there is nothing to ‘get right’.

You are only simply wiring what you know, what you feel, what you think, what you experience, and what you want to write in that moment.

Whatever you write and put down in your journal is okay.

If you’re finding it hard to put your thoughts on paper, it means that you’re trying too hard.

There is no need to try. Just be open, truthful and judgement-free as you write.

Also, be flexible. If you skip some days, come back to it again and again until it becomes a part of your life.

You can do it.

Concluding: How to start journaling

Your journal is your private space for your thoughts and feelings.

Over time, you’ll find how with regular journaling you come to be more self-aware, discover things hidden underneath, gain better mental clarity, and closer to your purpose and fulfillment.

So, grab your pen, open your journal and start your journaling today.

Happy journaling to you!

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Hello, I'm Vishaka!

How to Start Journaling: A Beginner’s Guide

What is journaling?

What kind of journal to get