Start journalling without pressure
A free guide for you, who doesn’t know where to start or feel stuck.
As autumn rolls in, and we start tending to our roots, I wanted to share this easy guide to journalling, which I have been working on for a while. It works if you have never tried journalling, if you want something simpler or if you are stuck.
Have you tried journalling and quit after the first day? Or perhaps, you are not sure how to start?
I’ve got you!
I also found it immensely hard to start. I had a burning desire to write, but I didn’t know how (adding to my fear of someone might read it).
Was I doing it right? That sounded pathetic! I can’t put that down on paper. It should look perfect right? I need to write something longer!
Yes. No, it doesn’t. Yes, you can. No, it shouldn’t. No, you don’t.
There is no right and wrong when it comes to journalling. To write is to release. No one will read it but yourself, it is yours to share or not. You don’t need to write extensively. You can skip a day, a week or a month. It’s not about quantity, nor a forced habit. It should speak to you, make you feel lighter, which motivates you to continue. Everyone needs breaks and end up finding our way back to what feels good, if we only allow it.
This is a lot of what I needed to hear before I started journalling. Assurances and understanding. I started to journal as part of my therapy when I burned out. My therapist guided me towards a steady and simple routine, without the pressure of what I thought journalling was about (which was endless pages). There is a lot of power in words and short sentences too, which I have also learnt from writing poetry.
I have based this guide on what I needed when I wanted to start journaling.
It doesn’t matter when you do it, where you do it or on what. Morning, midday or evening, at home or on the bus, on post-it’s or in a notebook. What matters is that you do it. This practice is your own.
I started with a cup of tea, after my morning shower, and I wrote down three things, it could be whatever — single words, memories, words I needed to hear or unwrapping a feeling. This freedom, an allowance to let it grow, while noticing what worked for me has been key to keep coming back to it daily. I still do, it feels right. I sometimes forget it, but when I return to it, I do it easily and with courage. I only have to write three things and see where that takes me.
I hope this guide can help you move towards journalling, if that is your aim. To do it with ease, calm, simplicity and kindness.
Do let me know how you get on, I will love to hear from you.
Other resources:
I downloaded it and will use it for sure!
Thank you for sharing and your beautiful guide 🙏🏼