Step By Step Guide on How to Journal Easily

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How do you start a positivity Journal

Have you been thinking to start journaling for self improvement lately? Now is the time to do it.

But you might be wondering how to start journaling? Or what to write in a journal? Or maybe what supplies do I need for a journal?

If you are in this circle when you want to start journaling, you are not alone.

Today I’ll explain how to start journaling for self-improvement, and what you need to get started with journaling.

But first,

Quick Overview

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What does journaling mean?

Journaling aka writing is the process of writing down your thoughts, feeling, and goals.

Not only that, but journaling can also be for healing a past traumas or identifying your struggles.

Whatever reason you choose for journaling, It’s safe to say it’s away to express oneself no matter the situation.

How Do You Start Journaling For Self Improvement

Get Out There

Journaling in fresh air is something you might want to experience.

Having the right place is crucial when you start to journaling, so you can get focused.

You don’t need to have a fancy atmosphere (we will get to that later) at all when you are just starting with journaling.

All you need when you start journaling is a comforting environment and a cozy chair.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a low commission if you clicked on a link and made a purchase. Read full disclosure.

1- Gather Your Items

Of course, you need a pen and notebook to start doing journaling and no you don’t need fancy journaling or any special material unless you are into that.

A plain journal is all you need like this one and a journaling pen like this one.

2- Just Write

Really that’s it. You don’t need to overthink what you should write (I’ll explain in a moment).

You don’t have to care about your grammar at this point, the whole idea is to just start writing whatever comes to your mind.

3- Pick The Right Time

When you first start journaling you want to set at least 10 minutes, doesn’t matter if it’s at night or in the morning.

Each duration has it’s own benefits, whether you decided to journal in the morning or at night.

But from a science perspective, it’s best to journal at both times, during the morning and night.

You’ll understand why later.

3– Stream of Consciousness Journaling

The idea is so simple, you write what’s on your mind.

Don’t think much about it as this has the opposite effect, you want to have a stream of thoughts just like you would any other parts of your day.

Self Improvement Journaling Prompts

Now you know how the process goes it’s time to follow some prompts (directing topic) for self improvement to include in your journal.

Journaling prompts for the morning:

1- What I am happy about in my life right now?

2- What about that that makes me happy?

3- How does that makes me feel?

4- What I am enjoying in my life right now?

5- What about that that makes me enjoy it?

6- How does that makes me feel?

7- What are my top 5 goals?

8- What can I do today to achieve my goals?

9- What kind of help can I ask for today?

10- What I am proud about in my life right now?

11- What I am most excited about in my life right now?

12- How can I make myself feel good today?

13- How can I have more inner peace today?

14- What am I grateful about in my life right now?

15- What am I committed to in my life right now?

Journaling prompts at night:

1- What have I given today?

2- What did I learn today?

3- Did I follow my intuition today? What did it tell me?

4- How did I follow my heart’s desires?

5- Did I allow things to follow today without trying to control the outcome?

6- How has today added to the quality of my life?

7- What is the best thing that happened to me today?

8– How can I create a similar experience?

9- Where did I make progress in my life today? Did I celebrate every step of progress?

10- How did I love today? What am I grateful about in the moment?

Some days, you just have to create your own sunshine.

We have talked about how to start journaling, what to write for journaling and now we will talk about journaling supplies that you need when you get the hang of it.

Best products for journaling

This is probably the best notebook you will find on journaling.

It has 3 different pages format, you don’t have to worry about which pen to use as the page material designed for protection.

Also, what I found is really interesting is that the notebook can be laid flat when you write, unlike other journals where pages tear from too much writing or flipping.

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Black micro pens are a perfect match for the Hustle co journal.

It has different tip thickness to use for different purposes such as drawing or writing or even leaving notes.

The ink material feels like BUTTER just because it doesn’t leave marks on pages or go through the next page.

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If you are going to have a journal for different goals then having a sticky notes divider like this one, is essential.

It’s easier to navigate pages with it when you want to journal on specific parts.

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Who likes to be creative when using a journal? I sure do.

These colorful journal pens will vibrant the whole journaling process and they can also act as a highlighter for certain parts of journaling.

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The vintage stickers will take your journal to the next level.

They are high quality vintage stickers that can be added as a part of your daily journal.

Visual journaling is just as important as noting down.

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If you prefer to draw on your journal then having a copy or trace icons might be a good fit for you.

Think of it as an organizer for your daily journal.

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The Benefits Of Journaling in The Morning VS At Night

In The Morning

Doing a daily journal in the morning can do wonders for you, especially if you are journaling for self improvement.

The benefits:

Preparing you for the day
Can motivate you throughout the day
Will get you focused on your goals
High vibe all day
You will more likely to take actions based on your goals

At Night

Can be a great reflection on your day
opportunity to see the small good things
Can help you to self improve on a certain habit
Will prepare you for a good sleep
You will feel ready for the next morning

So, the question for when is the best time to journal depends on what you hope to achieve from journaling and depends on your goals as well.

Now you are ready to start journaling for self improvement.

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But the question is

How Do You Keep a Journal?

Starting new things can always be exciting but the process of following through can be intimidating for a lot of people, especially in the beginning.

Here are 10 ways to keep a journal

1- Set an alarm

This might seems obvious but you want to set a reminder to just getting on it.

You don’t have to start journaling for more than 10 minutes a day but keep adding up the time as you go through it.

2- Put it on your calendar

If you like to plan your day ahead of time as I do then you can start to set a time on your calendar to do a daily journal.

It’s one of the things that you can do, is to set it and forget it kind of a thing.

3- Visual effect

Do you know the saying out of sight, out of mind? This is exactly what you don’t want to do when you trying to keep a journal.

If you are truly serious about keeping journaling or starting a journal for self improvement then make sure to set it somewhere you see it every. Single Day.

This could be next to your laptop if you work from home or on your bed if you want to use a journal at night.

4- Focus on the end goal

This goes without saying. You started doing a daily journal for a reason, didn’t you? Then why not focus on that reason to help you stick to journaling.

I don’t know what you hope to gain from doing a journal but regardless of your “why” it should be enough motivation to get you sticking with journaling.

5- Keep a tracker

How would you know that you missed journaling today? You wouldn’t know unless you keep a track of some sort, right?

Which is why I recommend keeping a tracking sheet to mark it down whenever you start a journal.

Try not to skip 2 days in row in case you want to make it a habit.

6- Cozy atmosphere

What is your most favorite part of your day? It could be anything but if you think about it long enough you will notice it has a cozy atmosphere.

You can do the same thing when starting journaling, not only you will look forward to journaling every day but you are more likely to keep journaling as well.

7- Make it fun

Journaling is supposed to be fun, if you feel like it’s a chore then it’s time to back off.

You can start to switch up things when you are about to journal maybe a day for just writing down a conscience stream.

Or a day where you just list things to do.

Gratitude log (write down what you are grateful for the day).

And so on.

8- Switch things up

If you don’t like a type of journaling then switch it up.

There are many ways to journaling:

Bullet journal

Daily log

Future log

Sketchy Journaling

You don’t have to try all of them, but if you try one and you don’t like it then move on to the next method.

9- Do it

One way to keep a journal is to do it as soon as you think about it.

If you are busy with something else and it’s just crossed your mind, then make sure to leave a note near you to remind you to do it as soon as you finish.

10- Pass it on

Although this seems counterintuitive to keeping a journal, life happens and you might not feel like writing today and that’s okay.

Remember it’s supposed to be fun and a normal part of your day, no need to stress about it.

Tell me what is your best part about journaling and if you haven’t started journaling then why not?