5 Basic and Easy Ways To Start A Journal

When I initially wanted to start a journal a few months back, I didn't know where to begin. I read so many articles, and even attended a "How to Start A Journal" seminar about it. I was totally clueless hahahaha. But after continuously writing for a month, I'm gonna share the top 3 things I learned about starting a journal.

1. Decide on which medium to use. Whatever puts you in a state of flow is what will work best for you.

• Pen to paper is the traditional route.

• If you wanna write digitally - on your tablets - that's totally okay too!

• You can type - like what I do - because my hands can't keep up with my thoughts. This is the ideal method for me as I don't want to keep a ton of notebooks in the future and my train of thought won't get bulldozed by my hand cramps.

• Voice notes work as well.

• Video logging or a vlog is something that works too. And no, it's not mandatory for you to upload it on the web if you don't want to. It is your journal after all.

2. Start by writing anything.

You don't know where to begin? You don't know what to write? That's okay. Simply start with whatever's in your head. Do you wanna talk about your day? Go ahead and do that. You wanna reminisce? Jot it down. Or maybe you feel like you wanna voice out your feelings, then do just that. You wanna write a one liner? Yup, totally valid. Can't put your thoughts in a sentence? A single word will do.

3. Consistency is key.

Believe it or note, journaling takes practice and is a habit. Which is why I recommend working on your journal everyday for at least a week or two. This will help you get in touch with yourself on a deeper level. Soon enough, you'll know exactly what to write and when to write (and you'll also know which medium works best for you) - which brings me to my next point.

4. When to write.

Once you've gotten the hang of it, you don't have to pressure yourself to write everyday. A journal is there to be your guide, your help, your confidant. It's not something that's supposed to stress you out. So you write whenever you feel like it. I previously mentioned that journaling is a habit, but it's a habit that you develop for your soul and sanity when you need it. Whether you write in the morning, evening, midnight etc, it's all up to you.

5. Be yourself. Don't be afraid.

Don't be afraid of what, you might ask... Well, I read a couple of articles that said, if you wanna start a journal, you have to know WHY you wanna start, WHAT you wanna achieve and WHAT you wanna get out of it. When I read that, I already felt so anxious before I even began...because I don't know the answers to those questions! To be completely honest and candid, the only reason I wanted to start a journal was because I just wanted to hhahaha. What did I wanna achieve? I don't know. What do I wanna get out of it? I don't know either 🤣

So I say, SCREW THAT. If you wanna start a journal just because, then go ahead and do that. Why?? Because more often than not, you'll only find the answers to those questions once you start DOING it. Be yourself. Sometimes, you just gotta jump. Sometimes, you don't need a why or a what and another what. Because most of the time, all you need is yourself and that desire to do something. Sometimes, your desire is enough...and eventually, you'll find the answers to questions that you never knew you needed. In fact, everything I've learned about journaling, I only came to know about a month later!

If you've been wanting to start a journal, then this is your sign and I hope these tips helped you. Happy journaling!

🤎 Bea