Ten Tips and Practices for Mindful Journaling

 

1. Find a notebook that you’ll use for nothing except your journaling. Make it your own—make it special. Write your name in it, decorate it in a way that feels good to you, and keep it just for your journaling practice. Put it in a place that feels safe, sacred, and yours alone.
2. If you have a hard time sticking to regular journaling, make time for it your daily schedule. Actually enter it into your calendar, and keep to that time every day. If a seven-day practice is too much, then do a five-day practice. Make it something you can and will stick to. 
3. Another option is to keep a journal in your purse, briefcase, or backpack. Bring it with you wherever you go, and write in it when you have small windows of time in your day. In this way, journaling will gradually become an integral part of your daily life.
4. Do your journaling in a place where you can find some uninterrupted stillness and quiet. If you only have ten minutes, that is enough. Just remind yourself that this time and this space is sacred for you. 
5. Remove all distractions. Put devices on do not disturb mode, and shut off television, music, etc.
6. Take some deep, cleansing breaths before you begin. Clear your mind of clutter and noise. Be sure your body is as comfortable as possible. 
7. If you tend to have a little critic who sits on your shoulder and tells you that your writing isn’t good enough, flick him/her off your shoulder and just let yourself write without stopping. Don’t worry about grammar or punctuation or penmanship or anything else. Just write, and see where it takes you.
8. Try to write for a minimum of ten minutes a day. This will give your brain time to let go of the noise and distractions of the day and begin to dive in. If you have 15 minutes, take those 15 minutes. If you have 20 or 30, all the better. But even if you’ve only got ten, that’s ten minutes of writing, which adds up to 70 minutes of writing a week. That’s enough to create a practice that can truly have an impact on your life.
9. If you go back and re-read the passages, do not judge your writing. Try to be an observer rather than a critic. This is journaling for growth and for transformation. Being able to step back and simply read it for deeper understanding of your own thoughts and heart is all that truly matters.
10. Every now and then, every 2 to 4 weeks, look back through your entries, and do a journal entry in which you write about your process. What are you learning as you write every day? How is your writing changing? How are your reasons for journaling changing? How is your life changing? What do you notice about the habits of your daily practice? Is there anything about it you would like to change? If so, make a goal for yourself that you will try implementing one or more of these changes.