Why You Should Consider Journaling

​I find getting things out of my head and onto some paper can be really beneficial to my state of mind. It means I don’t need to use precious brain space remembering it or fretting.
I’m a bit compulsive about keeping lists, to-do lists, shopping lists, things to remember etc. I can pretty much make a list about anything.
But I tend to forget to write down my thoughts and feelings because it takes a little more effort than simply writing a list. And for some reason I always think I need to be formal when I’m journaling, as if anyone is going to read it but me! 😀

Journaling is a really good way to sort out your thoughts and make sense of how you’re feeling. It can also help you re-organise your priorities when life seems to get in the way and you get overwhelmed with just surviving.
But journaling doesn’t need to take up a lot of time. 5-10 minutes a day should do the trick for penning a few thoughts. You don’t need to write the next great novel or anything!

Try finding a few moments during these times:

• Before you turn off the lights for the night.
• While you’re eating breakfast or lunch.
• While you’re waiting in the doctor’s office.
• At the library while the kids play.
• Show up 10 minutes early for a coffee date.
• While you’re stuck in traffic.

Here is a list of journal prompts I have come up with you can download / print out or write the list in the back of your notebook to refer to at a later date:

1. The best part of my day & why
2. One thing I would like to accomplish in the next 30 days
3. The most dreaded part of my day & why
4. 7 things I’m grateful for from the past week
5. I wish I was better at ___
6. One way I can use my talents to benefit my family
7. A financial goal for the next month
8. 3 ways to bloom where I am planted
9. Best recent show or movie I’ve seen & why I’m drawn to it
10. A relationship in my life I’d like to improve
11. I feel most relaxed when…
12. I feel most stressed when…
13. A movie or book character I can relate to
14. A quality I really value in myself
15. A quality I really value in my child
16. An aspect of my health that needs attention
17. A recent loving thing I did for myself & why it was needed
18. A recent disagreement with someone and what I learned
19. A recent compliment I received and how it made me feel
20. Something I’m really looking forward to in the next 30 days
21. A recent news event and how I felt about it
22. Something I could do to be more neighbourly
23. A way I can help my child grow in confidence
24. A way in which I wish my child was more independent
25. A mom-friendship I really value & why
26. Something I wish I had more time for
27. A recent dream that troubled me & how it made me feel
28. How I show my kids I love them