Journal, boon companion

#Journaling is like having a partner to whom you can share anything. In simple words, it is to #Pendown your daily life in a book the same way as you would share with your best buddy.Every single human should do it after all we all have tons of thoughts rushing in our mind every second. Putting it down on paper calms your nerves. So let’s get started with this writing-based therapy.

The foremost thing is to remember that journaling doesn’t have to follow a particular way except that it has to be written in first person. Journaling is something that needs to be done on a regular basis. “Regular” is a subjective term here, it can vary from person to person. One needs to decide on the basis of what benefits they are seeking in their life right now. For some it can be daily, for others it can be monthly and for people like me, it can be occasionally, based on incidences of my life. Well, there was a time when I had journaled every day.

To all the writers out there I want to #ShoutOutLoud and recommend them journalling. I still remember my tuition tutor recommended keeping a personal book and write daily. And that’s how I got introduced to journalling in 9th Grade which directed many benefits to me.

Journalling will inculcate the habit of writing daily and improve your writing speed. If you are aiming to write a book you can simply sit at a place and pen down whatever you observe around you. This is gonna prepare you a lot of content for your book and also keep you indulged in writing despite your mood, circumstances in life, and other distractions. To prepare the content as per the flow requirement of the book you will work to manipulate and mend the content every day. And Eureka! You see that you are sitting with your pen and paper even on days when you thought It wouldn’t be possible as you might have felt down. And going in the same flow will naturally complete your book. That’s how one gets habituated to write on a regular basis without feeling the pressure of completing it like a task. On days when you literally don’t feel like writing you can go to your journal book to catch your faults and correct them. Also, you can improvise your writing style better than before by keeping in mind your mistakes and the updated ways together.

If you’ve never experienced the benefits of journaling, read the steps to journal and start it by today.

SETTLE A TIME:- Fixing a time would help you to form this habit faster. Insert a time before going to bed for starting days. Night-time would be better so you can simply write down happenings of your entire day with least distractions.

BE DETERMINED:- how much time you need to dedicate to your journal book? Try your best to take out those moments to update your journal. dedicate the time spent with your diary as #metime and make sure you spend those moments as per the previously fixed time of the day.

MOULD YOUR JOURNAL:- yes, shape it according to your needs. Getting started with this habit you can use the topic “my day”. A journal can be used for a broader perspective so you can set your topic as “my writing journey”, “my emotional self”, “ a memory”, “ a progress in boxing”, “ a healthy me”, “my exam preparations” etc.

PRE-FIX YOUR JOURNALING PERIOD:- choose it based on the goal you started journaling (4months, a year etc). And see yourself benefited by it by the end of the determined time.

DIFFERENT GOALS DIFFERENT JOURNALS:-If you are setting up multiple goals at a time you need to separate your journal for tracking progress in all those different areas. In such case, you can write it short and also keep your writing schedule different for each. The best way would be to update about one goal right after finishing the task.

GOT BLANK? TRY PROMPTS:- if you have just started journaling and you are finding it difficult to write enough you can check for journaling prompts on Google for example

How do you feel?,

What happiness you boxed up today?,

Who was extra kind to you?,

Did you notice anything good around you?,

What Memory flash in your brain today?

7. REVIEW IT:- Whatever topic you choose to write about, you have to review it. Setting up a reviewing schedule is as important as writing schedule. You can fix it as per 15 entries, per 30 entries. This will track your progress in real-time.

8.PLAN AHEAD:- If you are dedicated to writing regularly then you have to plan it ahead to avoid random things causing distractions and keeping you away from your journal.

I am sure now you must be feeling very confident to start with your journal. You just need a few more tips that you have to keep in mind while creating your journal.

You have to write in first person using “I”, “my”. Don’t forget you are talking about yourself.

Mention the date, location, and also the time. At the time of #Reviewing the content, you get the context and also relate to the emotion when you remind yourself of the specific details.

There are no hard and fast rules that you have to follow. If you are writing for an assignment or competition there you have to go with the topic given.

You can write whenever you want, however you want. Special tips are just to help you improve your writing skill and make it a habit.

Do not fix a length. You can fix a topic but do not limit your journal by length there might be days when you got a lot of things to write like special occasions whereas there might be days very usual as others which have very few activities to talk about.

Every time when you start writing do not try to sequence the incidents and write. Rather choose to go with the flow of your mind. After all, the purpose of a journal is to speak your mind out.

you have to be real about your thoughts. Journal means expressing a part of your life so write naturally.

Keep your journal handy with you. This gives you the opportunity to stroll right into your journal any moment

Make journaling a pleasurable habit. I am sure after a few days of starting you would love this.

Mention your emotions associated with the experiences under the topic.

If you are a newbie do not worry about the grammar spelling for handwriting. You can work on these later when you are reviewing it, for now just start writing.