How to keep a journal

Writing helps me make sense of my world and myself. It’s the way I learn and think and engage.

I love the fancy books, and thick pads of paper and gel pins, and spiral notebooks. Me encanta office supplies. When I get a inspiring journal or a thick notebook of new paper, I begin filling the pages. Just moving my hand over the paper makes me feel better. There are lots of benefits to journaling.

The Bigwigs declare that regular (about 20 minutes per day) journaling strengthens our immune system and lessens the symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Writing can also be a big-time stress reliever – as long as it isn’t a term paper you’ve got to knock out.

Journaling also keeps the analytical part of our brains busy. That means our right brains – the creative, intuitive parts – are free to run about without supervision. This happens to me ALL the time. When I’m journaling, usually other unrelated ideas – about books or recipes or music that I must download – pop into my brain. The journaling process provides an avenue to clarity and creativity and a record of where you are and where you’re headed.

Here’s how to do it.

Pick out a notebook or journal and pen. Pick out something you like. Something sturdy, that makes you feel good when you touch it. Doesn’t have to be fancy – I’ve gotten good mileage from spiral notebooks. But, it has to be something you like. A journal, in many ways, becomes a sacred space.

Decide what to write about. Is this a general book to record your life experiences? Fine. Is this a goal record for you to chart your progress? Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project writes about keeping a “one sentence journal” or a “milestone journal” simply to record moments that could spark other memories down the road.

Sherri, a nutrition coach, urges her clients to keep food journals to record what they eat and when. This helps them to be more aware of what they are putting into their bodies, she says.

Some people write notes about the first year of their child’s life, others record everything from sun up to sundown. No rules here, just decide how you want to do it and put it to the page.

Make time. Twenty minutes a day seems to pack the greatest health benefits, according to the Bigwigs. But, I think even jotting down a quick sentence can shift your focus and mood. The key is to make a commitment to it several times a week, or every day and keep it up. .

Don’t dwell, explore. It’s O.K. to work through negative emotions or challenging experiences in your journal, but don’t use it simply as a place to list your troubles or solely criticize and lament. Challenge yourself to go bigger and really reflect on the challenges you face by writing about all sides. Declare the hard stuff, then evaluate what happened, ask questions of yourself and come up with solutions or the lessons contained. Write both from a emotional and analytical perspective.

Do make room for happiness. Rubin and scientific Bigwigs say that reflecting on happy memories and moments in your journal is a way to actually feel happier. Also, make sure each entry includes something positive that happened in the present. Then, when you read over those entries at a later date, your good feelings will be ignited again.

Skip the punctuation and fancy words. This doesn’t have to be a formal account. Heck, don’t even worry about complete sentences or commas. Just get the thoughts and feelings out on the page. And, don’t worry about being neat and tidy – no one will see this but you.

Visualize, explore, create. You can doodle, create flow charts, mind maps – whatever expresses your thoughts and feelings. I often write, in vivid detail, about my goals or what I want to create in my job as kind of a written visualization. I also stick wrappers or mementos in there and jot notes in the margin seemingly disconnected thoughts that will remind me of a moment later on.

Journals can also provide evidence – clear reminders – of how things feel and work when you’re in a state of flow. Simply, by using your journal to connect with that feeling again, you move into a more creative, productive space. On Wednesday, I’ll talk more about this and explain how you can use your journal to connect more deeply with your essence.

But, no matter how you decide to journal, it is one of those you-can’t-go-wrong activities. Determine what kind of journal you’ll keep, then get writing. Don’t get caught up in a bunch of rules. This isn’t a should-do activity, it’s a practice that can inspire your life.