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You might be thinking “how can there be ways you might be journaling wrong”? Journaling is a wonderful practice that can help you find clarity, reach your goals, and find your next direction in life. But if you feel bored with it, don’t know what to write about, or find that you aren’t being completely open and honest, you may be doing it wrong. While there are no rules with journaling, you could be unintentionally taking away from the many benefits it provides you.
Table of Contents
1. You Aren’t Enjoying the Process
Do you find journaling to be extremely tedious, boring, or just not beneficial to you at all? If so, this might come down to how you are journaling and what mindset you are in. Take a few minutes to meditate or practice mindfulness before you pick up your pen and start to write. Consider how you are feeling in this moment, what you are struggling with, what part of your life you are enjoying, and what your plans are. Get into a mindset of gratefulness, positivity, and kindness before you start writing.
2. You Keep Using it Like a Diary
While many people do actually benefit from using their journal just to write about their day, this isn’t the best option for everyone. Look at how you are journaling, and determine whether or not you are actually digging deep or just using it like a diary, where you list what you did today, and didn’t actually get to your thoughts or emotions.
3. You Never Have Anything to Say
If you feel like every time you open up your journal, you have nothing to say, there are a few quick ways to remedy this. The first way to fix this problem is to use journaling prompts. These are questions or statements that give you a topic to write about in your journal. These often lead to other ideas in your head about what you want to say in your journal.
Another option when you feel you don’t have anything to say is to make a list each day. It can change by the day, such as today writing down 3 of your best moments, then tomorrow write 5 goals you have for the next week.
4. Your Stress has Increased Since Journaling
Journaling should be helping your stress, not making it worse! It is meant to be a positive experience – not one filled with negative emotions! If you find it to be super stressful or the act of journaling is actually making things worse for you, it’s time to try and figure out why that is. Consider what you have been writing about, and whether or not you are being kind to yourself. If every journal entry is a rant or negative, and you beat yourself up a lot, that is probably the cause.
While it’s important to acknowledge difficult emotions as they come up, be sure not to dwell too much on them in your journal entries. Instead, focus on the positive aspects of life by noting moments of joy and gratitude in each entry—these will help put things into perspective when times are tough! Try to write at least one positive thing about yourself and express gratitude in your journal.
5. Not Trying Different Writing Styles
Journaling doesn’t have to mean traditional plain old writing; there are many different ways that people choose to express themselves through writing. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different styles such as poetry, lists, drawing/doodling, or free-writing exercises — this can help keep things interesting so that your journals don’t become stale!
6. Not Writing Regularly
One of the most important aspects of successful journaling is consistency. If you don’t write regularly, you won’t be able to track patterns in your thoughts and feelings over time. Try setting a specific time each day for writing so that it becomes part of your regular routine. If you’re not sure where to start, try jotting down three things that made you grateful today, or anything else that comes to mind!
7. You Find Yourself Holding Back Alot
The reason you want to keep your journal to yourself is because holding back and not being open and honest with yourself really halts your progress. You need to be able to be candid if you want to find any sort of clarity. Journaling is a process and one that can do amazing things, but not if you find that you are filtering out certain parts of your life because you fear who might find it one day.
8. Overthinking Entries Before Writing Them
Overthinking leads us down a rabbit hole of “what ifs” and “should haves,” taking away from our present moment experiences. Before putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), just let go of any expectations or preconceived notions about what should happen while you’re writing—just let the words flow freely!
9. Not Making Time
The biggest mistake you can make when it comes to journaling is not taking the time to do it. We lead busy lives and sometimes it can feel like there are just not enough hours in the day. But carving out even 10 minutes every day specifically for journaling can make all the difference. Even if it’s just jotting down your thoughts before bed or scribbling something during your morning coffee break, making “me time” is essential for both physical and mental wellness. Taking some time for yourself will also leave you feeling more energized and motivated throughout the day.
Given these 9 ways you might be journaling wrong, you should be on your way to journal effectively! If you find that you can’t stick to a regular journaling habit, don’t worry–just try again and keep trying until it becomes part of your daily routine. And if you need more inspiration or ideas, there are plenty of other resources out there to help you get started (or restarted) with journaling the right way.
Do you have a favorite journaling method? Let us know in the comments!
Here are some journals with prompts that I recommend:
