How to start journaling

Why it usually falls apart

Most new journals die in the first fortnight. The blank page is intimidating, the first entries try to be profound, and on a tired evening there is nothing to say. Journaling sticks when the bar is low and the prompt is ready, so you never sit staring at the page wondering what counts as worth writing.

How to start journaling

1. Write three lines

   Set the minimum at three lines. Most days you will write more. On the days you do not, three lines still counts.

2. Use a fixed prompt

   Start each entry with the same question: What happened today? What am I thinking about? What went well? A prompt removes the blank-page problem.

3. Same time, same place

   Attach it to something you already do, like after brushing your teeth or with the morning coffee. Leave the notebook and pen where you will do it.

4. Write badly

   Nobody will read it. Spelling, grammar and sense do not matter. The value is in getting thoughts out of your head.

5. Try expressive writing for hard days

   When something is bothering you, write about it for fifteen minutes without stopping. Research on expressive writing, going back to James Pennebaker in the 1980s, links it with reduced stress for many people.

6. Read back monthly

   Once a month, read the past few weeks. Patterns jump out, and seeing progress is motivating.

What to track

Track the smallest version you would still count on your worst day. A row you can clear when tired is a row you keep:

• Three lines written
• Notebook by the bed
• Monthly read-back

Print a tracker with these 3 habits or open them in a spreadsheet.

Your first week

1. Day 1. Put a notebook and pen where you will journal.
2. Day 2. Write three lines: what happened today?
3. Day 3. Write three lines: what am I thinking about?
4. Day 4. Write three lines: what went well?
5. Day 5. Write for fifteen minutes about something bothering you.
6. Day 6. Write three lines with any prompt.
7. Day 7. Read back the week.