5 Strategies to Make Journaling a Daily Habit

Journaling is often belittled by many, dreaded by lazies and ignored by those who do not believe in the power of writing. It is one of the most underrated tools for self-discovery, achieving goals, and healing from mental and emotional issues. It’s no wonder many people find it hard to journal daily because of the little understanding of its purpose and how it makes our lives more grounded.

Our reasons and intentions for journaling depend on the situation, needs, and resources. Months ago, a friend told me that his psychologist required him to keep a journal of his thoughts and emotions to cope with anxiety disorder. The idea of writing every day daunted him because he was not good at it and found it boring. (He changed his mind about it a few weeks later.)

It isn’t the case for me. As a writer, I always find writing therapeutic, pleasurable, and worthwhile and journaling was one of my earliest forms of practice. I’d be honest, however, that even for someone like me who loves to journal, doing it daily or regularly can be burdensome if not executed strategically. In this article, I’ll share some tips on how to journal daily so you can avoid the mistakes I made in the past. I also include daily journal ideas and prompts to help you start.

Tips on How to Journal Daily (or regularly)

Even the great writer Stephen King said that if you want to succeed in long-term writing, you have to give yourself a break one day each week. Daily journaling doesn’t have to be every day. It is about incorporating the habit of journaling into your life. Here are five tips to help you do that.

1. Set your mind that you really want to journal daily.

In any goal you want to achieve or commit to take into your heart, success depends on how you program your mind, and journaling is not an exemption. Writing could be tedious and repetitive if you are not coming from a strong reason and motivation. To add journaling to your daily activities, you have to be serious about it and treat it as an important goal.

Set your mind that you really want to make journaling a part of your life and not just a hobby you can do only when it’s convenient. My first tip is to condition your mind that journaling will be part of your life like taking a bath or brushing your teeth.

Ask yourself the following questions to reinforce your desire and intention.

• Why do I want to embrace journaling in my life?

• How will it help me grow and evolve as a person?

Reflecting on these questions will help align your mind, heart, and soul into this new habit.

2. Focus on journaling for a week and do not obsess over the months ahead.

One strategy that really helped me to journal daily was I focus on it for a week and not think of the months ahead. Just one week, I told myself. If I can be consistent for an entire week, I can repeat it in the coming weeks. It makes the task more bearable. Trimming your journaling goal into a shorter duration heightens focus and removes the overwhelming feeling that long-term visioning may bring. 

Writing every day for an entire week is challenging but doable. At the end of the week, you will feel fulfilled and confident that 5 to 10 minutes of journaling a day is not as difficult as you think.

Yes, you can journal as quickly as 5 to 10 minutes each day. The beautiful thing about journaling is there are no rules on how long you should write, what you should express, or whether your grammar and sentence structure are correct. The only thing you need to do is show up with your pen and paper and be your truest and vulnerable self.

[Note: I’ll post a separate article about ideas and tips on how to journal effectively and naturally soon. Subscribe to my e-letters to get updated on my future posts. It’s free.]

3. Take a one-day journaling break each week.

Rest or break is an essential element of any creative process. Our bodies and entire psyche need to rest to function properly and thrive. This principle should also apply to simple habits like journaling.

A day break each week should be part of your daily journaling practice. It gives you time and space to breathe from logging into your journal. Consider this daybreak as a weekly reward for yourself. Journaling can be exhausting and not rewarding yourself with breaks might drown you, and quit later on.

I used to see having breaks in my journaling lifestyle as an incompetent and weak strategy because of my wrong perception about rest — that resting means laziness and irresponsibility. Because of this, I made a mistake by pushing myself too much, which resulted in losing my enthusiasm for journaling.

Choose a specific day in the week as your journaling break. We have different responsibilities at work and home and it is best to find the break-day that suits your schedule. For example, I love starting my active days by writing in my journal as a warm-up and to stimulate my focus. I do this from Sundays to Fridays. On Saturdays, I put aside all my work-related activities, including journaling, because it is the day I often feel lazy and carefree.

Observe how your days run. Then figure out which day you think breaking will serve you the most, and stick to it.

4. Take longer quarter breaks (optional)

My fourth tip is connected to the third. Once you establish a strong journaling habit, you will feel more confident that you are most unlikely to relapse. It is the time you consider having a two-week to a month break from journaling, given that you are confident you can easily go back to the habit afterward.

Imagine a year of writing in your journal with only one day break each week. Would you be exhausted after three months? I would. Taking quarterly breaks from journaling is an opportunity to loosen up and recharge your enthusiasm for documenting the narratives of your soul.

You can rest from writing for as long as one month, depending on how your conscious and subconscious minds can hold it without losing the habit you’ve worked hard for.

To journal daily does not mean you should strictly write every day. It is a long-term habit and regular breaks are important to maintain enthusiasm.

Journaling is a pleasurable way of listening and honoring your inner voice, not a task to comply with because you said so. Self-discovery and healing take place when you embrace it with a balance between discipline and enthusiasm.

Note: This tip works wonders for those who need it. However, it is not necessary for everyone. Make proper discernment of whether it would be beneficial to you or not. It is just a good option.

5. Choose a pen and journal pad that suits you.

Journaling should be a meaningful experience regardless of your spiritual, emotional, or emotional state. Picking the right tools (pen and notebook) contributes to the overall journaling experience. Most men like simple and plain journal covers, while women prefer creative-styled journals. Artistic people prefer blank or unlined notebooks to write or doodle with freedom. Some are more comfortable with conventional lined notebooks.

Choose what fits your personality. You can buy new or upcycle unfinished notebooks. As long as you consciously approve of them to serve and stick with you, you can give them a go. I created a guide for choosing and blessing your journaling tools in my Write To Heal Diary program. You can view it here.

As you practice journaling, you will discover more things about yourself that may change you in unexpected ways. You might start with a guided journal, but as you get better at composing your thoughts you may shift to a blank journal. It happened to me many times.

I used to dislike guided journals with ready-made prompts that I needed to follow. However, after many years of freeform journaling, I felt like using other people’s prompts would give me new insights. I wanted to experience humility by allowing other’s ideas to lead me to something I am already good at.

Always remember that if you want to journal daily, the most important thing is you show up consistently with whatever tools you have. Pen and paper may or may not matter as long as the experience of writing flows inside your soul.

Daily Journal Ideas and Prompts

To help you kickstart with journaling, I included daily journal ideas you can use as a guide.

Be In Gratitude:

• What are the five things that you are most grateful for in life? And why?
• Start your sentences with “I am grateful for/that _______.”

Know Yourself More:

• What positive character do you like the most about yourself? And why? (Example: I love that I am a responsible person because… )
• What negative habit do you want to unlearn? (Example: I easily judge others based on what I see, and I want to unlearn this… )

Dream More:

• What hobby or interest did you have when you were younger that you want to do again?

Feel Your Feelings:

• What emotion is governing your mood and thoughts lately? (Example: I feel lonely because… )
• How is it affecting the way you act and see yourself?

Recall Your Day

• What routines made up your day? Tell a story as if you are talking to a friend.

Daily journal ideas can go endless. Listen and connect more with the whispers of your inner voice because it is your perfect journaling guide.