How to Start Journaling: Simple Tips to Help You Stick With It
A journal is like a secret garden that belongs only to you. You don’t need to be a great writer. You just need to be honest with yourself. Don’t overthink it. It doesn’t have to be picture-perfect, you don’t need to present a polished image or mood, and it’s fine to ramble about things that make no sense at all.
Being busy often makes us overlook a lot, but journaling is like looking in a mirror. It lets you see yourself from an observer’s point of view and treat yourself with more kindness and understanding.
How to Start Journaling
1. Sign Up for an Account
Start by creating an account! Once you have one, you’ll own a journal that never fades and is easy to keep safe. You can even choose a cover and background you love, so every time you open it, it feels like stepping into your own little world.
You can also make the most of spare moments to journal, whether you’re at the office, at home, on your commute, or lying in bed. Write whenever you feel like it, with no limits on time or place.
2. Decide What You Want to Write About
Before you start, think about what you’d like to record. If nothing comes to mind right away, start with some simple questions: What stood out most to me today? What have I been especially into or obsessed with lately?
You can also focus on a specific theme, like reflections on work, little hobbies, or your eating or exercise habits …… When you stick with something over time and record the whole journey, you’ll clearly see your own progress, and it’s incredibly satisfying.
Or you can write down the moments that make you feel truly alive: What happened, and what strong emotions did it stir up? Or capture a memory you never want to forget.
Whether it’s the small stuff of everyday life or a special experience, a journal can hold on to how you felt in the moment.
- 👉 Drawing a blank? Check out the message board to see what other journalers are writing about
3. Write Your First Entry
Why do you want to start journaling? Maybe you feel lost and want to sort out your thoughts. Maybe you have a new goal in life. Or maybe there are just people or moments you don’t want to forget. Once you understand why you journal, nothing you write will ever be meaningless. Write that reason down as your very first entry! Let it remind you not to give up halfway.
Tips for Building a Journaling Habit and Sticking With It
1. Save All Your Good Experiences
Many people start journaling because they’re feeling low and need an outlet. Then the journal turns into an emotional dumping ground, and every time they open it, the pain only deepens, so naturally they don’t want to keep going. Your journal is your most loyal, closest friend. It can keep you company through hard times, and it can also hold on to the little joys that are so easily forgotten:
- The care your family and friends show you
- A meal that was especially delicious
- Healing moments spent on your own
- The focus and satisfaction of getting lost in a hobby
- All kinds of interesting life experiences (traveling, going to a concert, trying something for the first time)
When you write these into your journal too, opening it won’t just be about venting. You’ll discover that “there are so many people and things in my life worth cherishing.”
2. Choose the Right Journaling Tool for You
Does this sound like you? You agonize for days over which planner to buy, you want to start over the moment you see a crossed-out word, and your drawer is full of half-finished notebooks …… Maybe it’s time to try a digital journal.
The benefits of a digital journal include:
- 🖥️ Write anytime, anywhere: with your phone or laptop, you can journal on your commute, at a café, or in bed
- ✍️ Easy editing: no messy corrections (perfect for perfectionists who want to tear out the whole page over one typo)
- 📖 Make it your own: upload photos you love as your cover and background, so every time you open it, you’re back in your own secret little world
- 🔖 Easy to save and organize: no more fading, and you can sort entries with tags, making it easier to look back
- 🔒 Very secure: syncs across all your devices and can be locked, so you never have to worry about people around you peeking
Picking a journaling companion that’s easy to use and that you genuinely like will give you a big boost of motivation to keep writing.
3. Make Use of Spare Moments
On your commute, before bed, or while waiting for food, you can jot down bits of inspiration. Don’t wait until you “have time to write,” and you’ll be less likely to procrastinate. During the day, note a few keywords or thoughts on your phone, then turn them into a full entry on your computer when you get home. It makes looking back easier and solves the problem of running out of ideas. This way, journaling naturally becomes part of your life, and you’ll slowly build a lasting habit.
- 📝 Further reading: Always Giving Up on Journaling? Gentle Ways to Build the Habit
Journaling is simple. It’s not a writing contest, and it doesn’t need to be fancy. Just write down how you honestly feel in the moment.
One day, when you open your journal again, you’ll see that the confusion, the anxiety, even the hurdles you thought you’d never get past years ago are all behind you now. And the moments that lit you up, a great meal or any small bit of happiness, can be brought back and felt all over again.
The most beautiful reward of journaling is the moment you “meet yourself again.”
Start today and write your first entry! May you keep meeting yourself in new ways in the days ahead.
You might also need:
👉 How to Journal: 9 Journaling Ideas to Get You Unstuck!
👉 What to Write in a Journal: 8 Practical and Fun Ideas
