Journaling Tips: The Complete Guide For Beginners.

Learning Journaling is a big deal now and it is super helpful in managing your emotions and feelings, great for in-depth self-reflection and self-discovery I have often been asked how one start journaling so today I will share with you some journaling tips to help you get started

It is all the rave now not because it is something you should do because people you know are journaling but because journaling is powerful and hugely benefits your mental health and well-being. Journaling is also known to ease your anxiety and depression and stop suicidal thoughts.

Journaling is basically the practice of using a journal or diary to document your thoughts and feelings from events and your life generally.

This is where these journaling tips on how to begin journaling come into place.

Benefits of Journaling For Stress

Stress is a silent killer. Stress increases the cortisol levels in your body and leads to a number of ill health-related issues like obesity and hypertension. Journaling gives you the space you need to relax and release “tension” as you write and these journaling tips will help you manage your stress as you begin your journaling journey.

One effective way of thus dealing with and managing stress is to journal your thoughts about things that cause stress in your life so you could easily identify the stress triggers. When this happens, managing stress becomes easy.

Related: 11 Powerful Ways To Manage Stress

Benefits of Journaling For Mental Health

Your mental health is one of the things you should protect by all means. As we age, our mental health declines but journaling has been known to help maintain our mental health as we age.

Journaling also improves mental health and allows for stress relief, because it provides a safe space to pour out your pent-up thoughts and feelings,” said Dr. Carla Manly, a clinical psychologist.

In general, whether journaling is after a therapy session or after a long day, it is always a safe space just to spell out everything. It is like emptying your soul.

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Benefits Of Journaling For Anxiety

Journaling helps you process and manage your emotions and thoughts. Writing down your thoughts and emotions gives you a clearer perspective about them.

This leads to better understanding and when this happens, your anxiety will be greatly reduced and well-managed.

Related: Powerful Tips I am Using To Manage My Emotions

Benefits Of Journaling For Weight Loss

Yes, journaling benefits weight loss. Greatly.

Keeping a weight loss journal will help you effectively manage/track the kinds of food you eat each day, portion sizes, macros, and the like.

It will help you to be accountable to yourself throughout the weight loss journey, keep you focused on your weight loss goals and even help choose better nutrition since you will get to know the food types that are more beneficial to you as you progress.

Journaling Tips: Benefits Of Journaling For Self Discovery

Self-discovery is necessary for personal growth and development. As you journal your thoughts and feelings objectively, without holding anything back, you get to know yourself more.

This is self-discovery. You get to discover yourself more. Seeing yourself in a new light becomes the norm as you journal using these journaling tips.

Self-discovery is very essential because self-knowledge is deepened and you are able to figure out what to do when certain things happen in your life. Here are some 77 Journal Prompts For Self Discovery to help you on that journey to self-discovery.

Journaling Tips To Help You Begin Journaling

1. Journal daily for best results. This allows you to document things in much more detail.

2. You don’t have to write a novel, just a few sentences will do.

3. Journal when your mind is at ease so you can focus. This may be first thing in the morning, during your lunch break, or the last thing you do at night.

4. Record more than just your thoughts. Include your feelings, and the sights, sounds, and smells around you. What color was the sky? Did you smell fresh-cut grass? What was the person wearing?

5. Write about where you are in life at this moment.

6. Write about how you got to this moment in life and where you see yourself going from here.

7. Don’t worry about using correct grammar, full sentences, or punctuation. This is for your eyes only. Just let the thoughts flow.

8. Don’t censor your thoughts or feelings. Just write it as you see, think, or feel it.

9. Create a gratitude journal for all the things you are grateful for. When you’re feeling lost or down, read through it to brighten your day.

10. Include more than just words. Photos, drawings, stickers, poems, quotes, scriptures, mementos, and more can be added.

11. Journal about your successes and failures. It will bring you much insight.

12. When trying to solve a problem, write it down in the third person so you see it from a new perspective.

13. Don’t just surface write. Tap into your deeper emotions and thoughts to get the most benefit from your efforts.

14. Pen and paper are much more effective for journaling than using digital devices.

15. If pen and paper just don’t work for you, then go the digital route. It’s better than not journaling at all.

16. Set limits, at least at first. Start with 2 minutes or one page and work your way to the point where you feel most comfortable. Once you get into a groove, you can then aim for 10-15 minutes of journaling but again, do what feels right for you.

17. Do not edit. The whole point of journaling is to explore your mind and document your thoughts. Editing stops the natural flow of things. Just let everything pour out. Empty your soul each time you journal.

18. Add a memorable title and date to each entry. This makes the experience and reflection more powerful.

19. Keep your journal in a secure location to ease your mind about writing private things. You are literally pouring out your soul. Your journal should be private.

20. Use a specific location when you write in your journal. Journal in the same location every day. This might be your dining room table, your bed, or your favorite coffee shop.

21. Leave room for a table of contents. Once your journal is complete, you can add it at that time. This will allow you to quickly find what you are looking for.

22. If you struggle to journal, try a different method. If you’re currently using an app, see if pen and paper will work better. Change the time or location of your journal to see if that helps.

23. Make a list of writing prompts to help when you feel you have nothing to write about.

24. If you are short on time, make note of the most important details and come back to finish the writing later.

25. Take your journal everywhere you go. You never know when an inspiring thought will come.

26. Journal about anything that is important to you; people, places, ideas, books, poetry, etc.

27. Add new words to your journal. Select a word and see if you can use it in your journal for the day.

28. If necessary, create a starter phrase and use it time and again. “It all started….”

29. Get creative. Add fun, silly thoughts to your journal. You don’t always have to be serious.

30. No matter how you feel, write every day. Write when you’re sick, when you’re happy, when you’re sad, and when you’re tired or hung over.

31. Are you working towards something big? If so, document your progress.

32. Use your journal to plan future events. Planning a vacation? Getting married?

33. Document your goals, if you have any and your progress as you work towards them.

34. Record details such as conversations, time, date, location, weather, mood, reactions to something, and more.

35. Use your journal to document your bucket list(s).

36. Journal about things that make you feel good or feel bad.

37. Journal your most secret thoughts and ideas.

38. Journal about others in your life; your friends, family, co-workers, pets, etc.

39. Document lessons you’ve learned.

40. Journal about the dreams you have at night as well as your dreams and aspirations.

41. Never miss more than a few days of journaling at one time. It could create a stall that might last much longer.

42. Keep your journal within sight so you can write things down as they come to you. Your handbag comes in handy to achieve this.

43. Become one with nature. Grab your journal and take a walk. Stop somewhere safe and quiet to document the sights and sounds you hear and see.

44. Before you start writing, relax and breathe deeply. Clear your mind about everything except what you plan to write about at that moment.

45. Use a timer if necessary to take the pressure of having to write off your shoulders.

46. When trying to solve a problem, consider the outcomes of each scenario. If that happens, then what? If it doesn’t happen, what then? What If it happens another way, how will that affect things? How likely is this to happen? This a great journaling tip as it gives you different possible scenarios.

47. You may want to conduct a having a total mind dump. When this happens just start writing. Don’t worry if it makes sense, just write everything that comes to mind. You’ll feel like a new person getting those thoughts off of your mind and you can explore individual pieces of the mind dump at a later time if you feel like it.

48. Consider writing “Top Ten” lists. “Top 10 Things I Worry About”, “Top 10 Things I Love About Myself” and so forth.

49. Don’t forget to include perspective. Consider getting perspective from how others would see, think or feel as this allows you to consider things from a different point of view. This may be reflecting back on past things, considering how another person feels, or imagining how things might look, feel or be different in the future.

50. Be authentic. Journaling is for your own well-being. Don’t be scared to share your core values, your joy, and love, your spirituality, creativity, fears, likes, and dislikes.

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Conclusion On Journaling Tips

These journaling tips will give you all you need to begin journaling right away. Journaling benefits you more when you are very “open” about your thoughts and feelings because that is the only you truly reap the benefits of journaling as enumerated above.

So go on and start keeping a journal beginning today if you haven’t used these awesome journaling tips.

If you find these journaling tips helpful, share them on your social media and help the Queens out there reap the benefits of journaling too. You can also check out my Journaling Board on Pinterest for ideas on journaling prompts that you can use right away.

Journaling Tips To Help You Effectively Journal Your Feelings Share on X