The Journaling Quick- Start Guide

If you’ve always wanted to start a journal, but wasn’t sure how, this is your guide. Below are some tips and inspiration to try journaling and capture our current events for future generations (and yourself!).

Keep It Private

A journal by definition is something private and not shared broadly while it is being written. Our current culture encourages public sharing all day long of our life events and our feelings about current events. My advice is ignore our current culture, and live in your ancestors’ culture a bit – keep your journal on paper and keep it private.

However, if you want to share that you are writing in a journal each day (while keeping what is in the journal private), that could encourage others to write too. Life has been changing fast the last 18 months and we need more people preserving their personal experience of these events for the future.

Have a plan in mind for when and how you will share your journal. Remember some of the most treasured items we find of our ancestors is their personal writings.

Make It Yours

What goes on each page of your journal is up to you. Remember, no one is looking over your shoulder as you create each page. Perhaps adding a photo or drawing captures what you want to say. Maybe you change the color ink each day. Could be that you handwrite some days and type pages on others. Let it be an expression of who you are and what you are thinking and feeling, right here, right now.

What I do eachScroll down for some writing prompts to get started if you are stuck.

The Real Secret

You want to know the real secret of how to journal successfully? Just show up everyday and do it. Make it something as regular as brushing your teeth each day. Journaling is a word-by-word, page-by-page creation.

Many of us like to prepare, think, and analyze to make sure we are doing it right. I invite you to put aside thinking and analyzing and focus on sharing yourself with yourself. Yes that sentence is odd, but how often are we rushing around and distracted? Set a timer for 15 to 30 minutes and write. No judgements.

If you are stuck, writing prompts can rescue you.

Writing Prompts

Using writing prompts can help us feel like we have a focus for journaling each day. A series of writing prompts can reassure us that we cover everything we want to cover in our journal. Subscribers can access my list of writing prompts through a password in the newsletter.

While not every time period we live in is as significant as early 2020, every piece of our lives is interesting to our future descendants. I hope you continue journaling!