Journaling is everywhere at the moment and there’s a good reason why—the results are so powerful. Want to learn how to start a daily journaling habit successfully without having to stare at a blank page not knowing what to write? Today we are going to look at the best way to create your journaling habit plus go over all the amazing benefits you’ll get from it.

What is a Daily Journaling Habit?

A daily journaling habit is taking the time every day to get your thoughts out of your head and written down on paper. There are many different ways of doing it—using prompts or simply just going for it. Journaling doesn’t need to take a long time or be really complicated—it’s just taking the time out for yourself to check in with your thoughts and feelings. It can really help improve your self-awareness and mental clarity.

Benefits of a Daily Journaling Practice

There’s a reason so many people do journaling, and that is because there are tons of benefits. Journaling can improve mental health by reducing stress and offering stress relief, lowering anxiety. By spending time self-reflecting, you can easily see how to self-improve, giving you a better understanding of your goals and helping you increase your productivity.

The Best Time of Day to Journal

Creating a consistent journaling routine is the key to achieving results. There’s actually no best time of day to journal—it just depends on your schedule—but it’s important to make it fit in your routine so that you don’t skip it. Habit stacking is a great tool to use when trying to add a new habit to your routine. Try adding in your journaling after something you do every day without questioning—like brushing your teeth or getting dressed. Creating a peaceful, distraction-free zone is best to begin your journaling so you can get really in tune with yourself. You may find these times best first thing in the morning or in the evening after everyone has gone to bed and you have time to yourself.

Journaling Methods for Beginners

So you’ve found time and now it’s time to put pen to paper. It may feel daunting looking at how you are going to fill out the page, especially if you’re journaling for the first time. One of the easiest ways to start is with a simple brain dump! Just write down any thought or feeling you have noticed today. It doesn’t matter what it is—your breakfast, your to-do list, how you feel—literally anything to get the ball rolling. The best thing about doing a brain dump is that it helps you get clarity on what is actually going through your mind and can make you feel much lighter once it’s all down instead of constantly thinking about it. The downsides of this kind of journaling are that firstly, it can be hard to just write anything down without any guidance and it’s also not that deep, so it won’t lead to too much self-discovery.

Bullet journaling is another great place to start when building your daily journaling habit. Create short lists, plan your days, create calendars. Bullet journaling can be incredibly satisfying to get organized and express your creativity by making it look pretty. If you’re not really artistic, try making it simpler, as some bullet journaling—although really aesthetic—can be more time-consuming on the appearance than the journaling part. Also, if you change plans or make mistakes, it can ruin the vibe of your journal.

Gratitude journaling is another beginner-friendly technique—it’s so simple yet so effective. I personally prefer to do this in the evening and reflect on my day. All you need to do is write down 3 things you are grateful for. It can be something super small like watching a bird land in the garden or anything that puts a smile on your face. This way of journaling helps you become more grateful throughout your days and notice the good in everyday situations. The more positive things you notice, the happier you will be. This technique snowballs fast! Soon you will end up always being the most positive person in the room.

Prompt-based journaling is another one of the best ways to get you started. By answering the prompts, you start to reflect at a deeper level than you normally would. Often, the questions aren’t super deep to answer, but when you’ve never taken the time out to really think about them, you may struggle and not know what to write. Over time, you will get used to digging deeper and understand yourself better.

5 Daily Journal Prompts to Get You Started

• What makes me happy?
  
• How do I spend my free time?
  
• What did you learn today?
  
• What challenges did I face today?
  
• What am I looking forward to tomorrow?

How to Make Journaling a Habit

Starting your daily journaling habit is easy, but making it stick is where it can get hard. Like any other good habit, after a few days the struggle kicks in… then you miss a day and that day turns into 4, which quickly escalates into never doing that thing again. Habit stacking, like we mentioned earlier, is one of the best ways of actually sticking to what you said you were going to do. Setting reminders on your phone is also another quick and easy way to make sure you don’t forget to stick to your habits. Creating a reward system sends positive signals to your brain, linking your new habit to dopamine. The reward doesn’t need to be big—just something you enjoy, like a coffee after you journal.

Journaling may seem hard at first, but the rewards it creates are worth it. It helps you understand yourself, gain confidence, and become mindful. Start today with just an easy 5-minute session.