14 ways to build a journal habit

1 4 W AY S T O B U I L D A J O U R N A L H A B I T

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H AV E Y O U  E V E R W A N T E D T O K E E P  A J O U R N A L A N D D O N ’ T K N O W W H E R E T O B E G I N ?

1 4 W AY S T O B U I L D A J O U R N A L H A B I T

1. BUY A REALLY NICE JOURNALNot having a clean journal to write in really kills the momentum. You can even buy in bulk and have a stack of notebooks waiting for you on the shelf.

2. CARRY A NICE PEN EVERYWHERE

Nice doesn't necessarily mean beautiful to look at, just one with really nice flowing ink.

3. WRITE EVERYDAY

Some people journal as a daily diary, but stream-of-consciousness also tracks your life from day-to-day and taps into your subconscious.

4. BE THANKFULWe are surrounded by complaining and for most people, continually listing what is wrong with life is easier than celebrating what is right. Try making gratitude a daily habit.

5. ONE-LINE JOURNAL

For many, the idea of writing three full pages in their journal every morning is just too onerous a task. Why not start with one line journaling instead?

6. START A TWITTER JOURNAL

Continuing on from the one-line journal idea, write and publish 140 characters a day. 140 characters will keep you pretty lean and mean.

7. JOURNAL TO A TOPIC

If you find yourself getting stuck for ideas, look for a 31-day challenge online. Have someone else give you the daily catalyst for what to write about.

8. GET A JOURNAL BUDDY

Post on social media that you’re after a journaling buddy and see if any of your friends are interested in keeping you accountable.

9. INVENT A JOURNAL BUDDY

Sometimes talking to yourself in the third person, or naming your subconscious is a great way to journal. Your journal should really be your BFF.

10. 500 WORDS

Online accountability tools such as 500 words can be great. By committing to post everyday, the desire to not “break the chain” can keep you on track.

11. STEALING TIME

Is there a time when you often find yourself waiting for 20 minutes? This might be a great previously “wasted” time that you can utilise journaling.

12. HABIT STACKING

What habits are you currently maintaining without much effort? Is there a way to hijack some of these “good” habits and add a journaling habit on top?

13. HABIT SWAPPING

Is there a “bad” habit you’d like to replace? If you check your social media out of habit or boredom, why not open a journaling app instead?

14. USE A JOURNAL TEMPLATE

You may need a template to ask you questions and the process of answering them fills your journal. This works well if you plan to use a computer to journal.

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