Confession time, I am a journaler. I have notebooks and journals everywhere. I love to write down ideas and notes that will help me remember things I have done, things I want to do, inspirational thoughts, new ideas and more. Are you a journaler, too? In this post, let’s talk about how to start journaling.
I started journaling when I was a teenager. I had a journal (or diary) I would keep in my bedside drawer and every night before I would go to sleep I would write in my journal something that happened that day. I still have those journals I wrote as a teenager, they are so much fun to read. Sometimes as I read the pages, it’s almost like being there again.
If you want to start journaling, here’s how to start journaling in 4 easy steps.
Note: I would like to thank Erin Condren for providing me with notebooks to review for this post. All opinions in this post are my own. For your convenience, links in this post are affiliate links, if you make a purchase, I will receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure policy here.
How to Start Journaling
Choose a journal
To get started journaling, the first step is you need to choose a journal. I recommend Erin Condren notebooks. They come in coil-bound or softbound. Coil-bound also comes in 2 different sizes and 3 different page styles.
I personally love the Erin Condren coil-bound notebooks. They are perfect to open up and layout and write down your thoughts.
Here are a few reasons why I love these notebooks:
- 2 Different sizes (7″X9″ and the larger 8″x10″)
- 3 Different page formats
- Thick pages so ink doesn’t bleed through
If you use the Erin Condren Life Planner, the covers for the 7″X9″ notebook are interchangeable with the planner. If you have both, you can switch your covers.
Erin Condren also released a smaller softbound notebook that’s 5″X8″. This notebook is the perfect purse-sized journal. The softbound notebooks include:
- Multiple different cover styles
- May be customized with your name
- The classic lined or dot-grid format
- Thick 80# paper (awesome for writing)
Pick a journaling format
After you choose your journal, you’ll want to choose a journaling format. Erin Condren notebooks offer 3 different formats: bullet journal/dot grid notebook, To-do list notebook, or a page notebook.
- The bullet journal format with a dot grid to design beautiful bullet journal pages.
- The productivity format with a to-do list format is a blend of the classic lined page and a “to-do” list on each page so you can write your daily task list.
- The classic lined format is my favorite layout. It’s a simple notebook page perfect for journaling.
Here are some journaling formats to get you started.
Write about your day
One of my favorite things to write in my journal are just my daily experiences, memories and thoughts for the day. As you reflect on your day, you can write one sentence, a few sentences or a page or two of reflection.
Be sure to include things you want to remember as you write about your day. I always include things my kids say or do that I want to remember, important events, special moments and milestones.
Plan the Future
Another popular journaling format is goal setting and future planning. You can use your journal to set goals and plan 1 year, 5 years and even 10 years. Then you can break down your goals into smaller tasks.
You can write down your insights, inspirations and ideas. Even if you can’t implement all your dreams and ideas immediately, you have a record of your ideas and you can always come back to them.
Use Journaling Prompts
If you are new to journaling, you may find journaling prompts are helpful to get you started.
Here are some journaling prompts you might like:
- Bible journaling prompts
- Over 1,000 Journal Writing Prompts from Filling the Jars
A variation of the journaling prompt is a sentence starter. For example, a sentence starter prompt might be the following:
- My favorite holiday is… because I love….
- The best day of my life was …. (then describe everything that happened)
- My best childhood memory was …
- My favorite movie is … because …
Find a place to journal
Next, it’s time to choose a place to journal. If you want to be consistent with daily journaling, choose a place to journal. At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that I would write in my journal as a teenager before bed each night. Every night I would sit in bed a write in my journal.
You might want to write in your journal in bed, too. Or, you might prefer to journal at your desk, sitting a the dining room table or even in your favorite chair.
Having a place to journal will make it more likely that you will write in your journal each day. Take some time right now and pick your place to journal.
Set a time to journal
Finally, set a time to journal. Pick a time each day for journaling and then set aside the same time every day to journal. Journaling time can be morning time or evening time or even during your lunch break or when the kids are napping.
I still like to write in my journal at night. Writing in my journal at night allows me to reflect on the day and write down memories I don’t want to forget.
It doesn’t matter what time of the day you choose for journaling, it just matters that you pick a time that works for you and allows you to be consistent writing every day.
Once you decide on your journaling time, make a commitment to write in your journal every day at this time.
Favorite Journaling Accessories
What are my favorite journaling supplies? Here are my of my must-have accessories.
- Erin Condren Dual-tip Pens
- Erin Condren Coil Bound Notebook
- Erin Condren Softbound Notebook
- Erin Condren Stickers (to make your notebooks pretty & fun)
- Erin Condren Snapin Dashboards (great bookmarks)
- Erin Condren Gratitude journal
- Erin Condren Calligraphy Stencil (perfect if you like to bullet journal)
- Erin Condren PetitePlanners
- Erin Condren Pencil
PIN IT FOR LATER:
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