Journaling

Some people think about journaling as a drudgery, and that it must be in a ‘dear diary’ format. Not so. Creative Self-Care Journaling has a plethora of ways to journal that will inspire you, allowing you to engage your natural creative impulses while improving your self-care. You can use journaling as a creative tool to collect ideas, thoughts, research, and get inspired by further exploring questions, issues, thought patterns, and decisions you make. You can also use it achieve your goals, as writing down your dreams can assist you to gain clarity on what you want and what you need to do to get there, somewhat like a vision board.

Whether you use an online self-care journal, or write in a plain or fancy exercise book, creative journaling doesn’t have to be bound to the written word. For example, you can explore techniques like coloring, drawing, doodling, or mind-mapping/stream-of-consciousness writing, using fancy-colored pens or markers and adding words and images or even stickers to the page – anything that meaningfully engages your senses and imagination. If you would rather create an online journal, there are many resources that allow you to make one using voice recordings, links, gifs, photos, and so on.

You can use your journal not only to capture your day, but you can add affirmations, famous quotes you love, memories…really anything you want as it is unique to you. Unleashing your creative self can spark joy, bringing more meaning and enjoyment into your life. Imagine your journal to be your own artistic sanctuary!

While it all sounds like a fabulous idea, it can be a daunting task to begin. There are numerous ideas and techniques available to help you get started. Remember that something that works for you one day may not the next. The most important thing to remember is to be kind to yourself. Nurturing your self is crucial, but you also have to enjoy doing it, rather than it becoming a task you resent.

Here are some self-care journal ideas to spark your imagination.

Just write. There’s no need to censor yourself; your journal is meant to be private. You’re free to write down anything you feel, even the things you wouldn’t want to share with your best friend or significant other. Write the good parts of your day, the bad parts of your day, whatever you’re in the mood to put down to paper. Did you have a great workout? Did you and a colleague share a laugh? Did you have a bad moment? Talk about how you felt in that moment and what you wished had happened differently. Writing down negative emotions can release them so they’re not weighing on you. Just the act of writing often triggers your mind to keep going – let your writing lead you, there is no right or wrong in this. Sometimes if nothing comes to you or you have trouble starting, you can use writing prompts.

You can find tons of writing prompts online by just searching for ‘self-care writing prompts’. Be sure to add in the ‘self-care’ part, you’re not wanting ideas to write that novel, at least not yet 😉.  One resource further delineates the prompts into the 8 Dimensions of Wellness, offering 142 Self Care Journal Prompts For Self Discovery, Self Love, and Wellbeing. So, for example, a Mental health prompt could be “What have you done lately that you are proud of?” and “What are 3 things that I’m currently doing that no longer serve me…and how can I stop doing these things?”.  An Emotional prompt could be to “List 10 things that make you smile”.  An Intellectual prompt might be “What have I learned today?” A Social prompt might say “What makes you a good friend?” or “List 3 people in your life who are hard to get along with—and write down at least one quality for each that you are grateful for”. Physical prompts could be “If my body could talk, it would say…”. A Financial prompt might say “I am grateful to money because…” and an Environmental prompt could be “I couldn’t imagine living without…”.

Getting the idea? You could even print or write down ones that delight you and cut them into strips to pick out from a special jar or box and just choose one or two to explore when it’s journal time.

Another suggestion is to think of the first thing that makes you smile. It can be a person, place, or thing. Then, dedicate your journal entry to that which gives you joy.

Inspirational memes are abundant on social media and some just speak to us and move our soul. Recreate one in your creative journal or adapt it with your artistic touch. Do music lyrics inspire you? Write your favorite ones down.

You don’t necessarily have to journal every day, either. Life happens. Making a once-a-week commitment works better for some people. Here is a list of 52 prompts for a year of self-discovery that might inspire you. ^[5]

Gratitude Is the Best Vitamin for the Soul

Of course, no discussion about journaling would be complete without discussing gratitude.

One thing that I’m grateful for today is…

Research suggests that drawing your attention to aspects of your life that makes you feel blessed, increases your positivity, well-being and affect, and can give you a new perspective on what is important to you and what you truly appreciate in your life. ^[6]

Most people find success in keeping a gratitude journal by keeping it on their nightstand and writing in it before bed, so you can include things you are grateful for that day.  However, clearly don’t wait ‘for the right time’. Do it when you have inspiration to. Your gratitude journal doesn’t have to be deep. What you are thankful for can be as simple as the beautiful sunset, the text from a loved one just checking in, your dogs playing together in the yard. Write as many things as you want – it can be one or it can be ten.

Once again, there is an app for that! If you prefer online journaling, a quick app search yields numerous gratitude apps, from no-frills to all the bells and whistles. Most offer prompts, some even analyzing your entries to develop prompts personalized for you. Whatever you’re comfortable with 😉. There are also numerous gratitude journal templates online to download if you’d rather not have your ‘stuff’ in the cloud.

The Gratitude Experiment

The 5-minute The Gratitude Experiment video explores how gratitude is related to increased happiness. Check it out!

Have time for something a little longer? This 10-minute talk from photographer Louie Schwartzberg entitled Nature. Beauty. Gratitude is a visual delight, as gorgeous photos and videos of nature provide the background to a story about life from a child’s perspective as well as life from an elderly man’s perspective.

Brain Dump

How often do you lie in bed trying to sleep but all you do is ruminate about your day? This is when we have so many thoughts running through our head that it’s overwhelming and we can’t relax or sleep due to thinking about all that we have to do. Sometimes we just need to have a “brain dump” of everything that went on during our day so we can process it. A brain dump is a way to declutter your mind and clear your thoughts by writing it out. It doesn’t have to be neat, in any kind of order, or even make any sense at all. You can write lists of things running through your mind or just doodle, make mind maps or write random thoughts and tasks. By getting these excessive thoughts and worries out of your brain and onto paper before bed, research has shown that you can fall asleep faster.^[7] So if you’re one of those people that find it difficult to fall asleep, doing a quick brain dump before bed can be super beneficial in helping you reduce stress and anxiety – because after all, it is a mindfulness exercise. You don’t have to do a brain dump every day, but you should do it whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or feeling stuck with a problem.

Some brain dump prompts that might be useful to help you get started include: What have you been worried about? What do you keep forgetting to do? Was there something you didn’t get time to do? Is there an upcoming event or special occasion? Is there someone you keep meaning to contact? Are there maintenance tasks you keep meaning to do around the home, the car, or other places?

Bullet Journal

Let’s bring it up a notch! Have you heard of a bullet journal? Instead of blank or lined pages, a bullet journal, also called BuJo, has sections for daily to-dos, monthly or weekly calendars, lets you keep notes, track your physical and mental health, and record your short- and long-term goals. Essentially, the bullet journal is anything you want it to be, as it’s basically a customizable planner system. Many people using bullet journals have embraced the idea to track their self-care. To learn a bit more about a bullet journal, watch this 4 minute video on How to Bullet Journal:

 

One last journaling idea for you.

Do you have something big in your life that needs to be examined? Think about a situation in your life that has led you to experience considerable joy, sadness, conflict, or anger. Reflect on it, and ask yourself:

What were the circumstances? Did anything happen before the situation that haunts you? How has it affected you or your relationships with others?

It would be helpful to write all of this down, leave it for awhile, then reread it later. When you do, ask yourself:

How did reflecting on this situation impact you now? Did it churn up the old feelings or were you able to view it with detachment? What do these memories reveal to you about who you are right now? Have you grown or do you need to learn some skills to let go?