If you are new to the world of journaling I will explain in a short cut what it is and why I decided to give it a go. It is a combination of keeping a diary and everyday organizational journal. It is a way to keep yourself organized, less stressed, creative, tracking your habits and day to day activities. You could use it to store some memories from traveling, organize your taxes and payments or even just to doodle. The range of options is huge!
With that said , I did not just jump right into it. The thought came to me through last years Christmas. I watched videos after videos and read blog posts about it up until August, till I actually grabbed my journal and pen. Maybe I did overthink it a bit too much, per usual. But as I said there are so many options and things you can do, I found it hard to just start up not being sure what to track and write down.
I made it work now and few months later I do see a benefit of it and big improvement. So with all that said, here are few things it helped me with.
1. Not one week is the same
I like having a little routine. Days I work, days I dont work. Me time and time with friends. But not all of that needs a whole double page to keep organized. Some weeks get so hectic and crazy, I could not be without writing all of the plans and meetings down. Those are days when I like to make a nice clean spread and make sure I feel on top of things. Helps me remember when and where I have to be. The week after you might be nice and chill (like I am this week) and have only two things to do. Take care of yourself and go to work when the time comes. Which means there is no need to spend 30 minutes writing stuff down that you already have in your head. Instead you can use the space to glue in photos from the weekend or put down some ideas on a new blog post.
This might at first make you feel, like what even is the point of keeping a journal. But dont worry, you will realize that it actually is okay. Once you see that every week of your life has been little different and exciting in its own way, you will see that you really lived. One day you will be able to say you lived and all those memories will be here to look back at. Or you might be in middle of mental breakdown and check your planner, tracker, journal and calm down a little.
I like having a little routine. Days I work, days I dont work. Me time and time with friends. But not all of that needs a whole double page to keep organized. Some weeks get so hectic and crazy, I could not be without writing all of the plans and meetings down. Those are days when I like to make a nice clean spread and make sure I feel on top of things. Helps me remember when and where I have to be. The week after you might be nice and chill (like I am this week) and have only two things to do. Take care of yourself and go to work when the time comes. Which means there is no need to spend 30 minutes writing stuff down that you already have in your head. Instead you can use the space to glue in photos from the weekend or put down some ideas on a new blog post.
This might at first make you feel, like what even is the point of keeping a journal. But dont worry, you will realize that it actually is okay. Once you see that every week of your life has been little different and exciting in its own way, you will see that you really lived. One day you will be able to say you lived and all those memories will be here to look back at. Or you might be in middle of mental breakdown and check your planner, tracker, journal and calm down a little.
There are 3 main things I make sure to stay on top of. My work and what I bring into business I work for, my health and how active I am each day, my mental state and moods I go through each month.
All of this makes me improve myself. Helps me get better as a person and see the difference I am making in my life.
1) As a hairdresser I try to bring more clientelle to a business everyday. Staying consistent with my hours, income and customers. The only way is up for me. So tracking myself as a professional has helped me understand what I need to focus on. What services people like the most and if I keep improving what I bring to my boss and her business.
2) My physical health. One thing I told myself to track every single day, were my steps and kilometers I walk. Living in a big city, you get used to public transport. I can get from right outside my house pretty much anywhere with minimum of walking. Which after a while is obviously not healthy. Seeing the numbers on my phone and trying to improve myself has been big help. Back in august when I first started I had way to many lazy days. I set my goal to something as little as 2km a day. Which seems easy. The numbers were saying something else. Back in summer I would have not even half of my days where I would hit a target. Now I am so much better. I actually am really aware of my daily movement. I make sure to get up of my bum and go for walk almost every day. In 20 days of this month so far I only have 4 days when the 2km were not reached. And even that was so close. Seeing such little improvement in your life makes a huge difference.
3) My mood trackers. I have assigned 4 colors to 4 different moods I usually would go through. Seeing the finished result at the end of a month and thinking bout what I can do to improve myself and the way I am thinking or reacting to things around me is amazing. As much as I believe that having a bad day or being sad and feeling all that is good for you. We all need a day to feel little sorry for ourselves. Noone can be happy 24/7. But the change of colors I use in my tracker these days make s me feel so much happier. I am in a much better place and I believe that being that aware of my mood and seeing it down on paper has been a good wake up call to me.
Another thing I wanted to incorporate in my journal. Finding few minutes every day to sit down and think about what I am thankful for and what made my day little better. Even on a day when I feel like everything and everyone sucks, I try to see at least one good thing. Something that helped me get through it. It might be something as small as food or that one nice and polite bus driver. Keeping a page for one or just few words a day of gratitude has helped me see things differently. Thanks to this I end every day on a better note. I end up focusing on that tiny piece of good rather then the negativity. Just give it a go and see how you feel.
Over all I noticed a big change in myself. I see things little different, I do things in another way and I find time for myself. Where I would always think about other before me, now I make sure to give myself a moment and reflect or plan or create. Without feeling too cheezy, I really am happier with myself.
Did you give this a go before? Are you currently journaling? What are your thoughts?
Let me know
Until next time, keep safe and live your life to the fullest
DeniVev
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