What is Journaling?
Journaling, in its simplest form, is a practice of writing or maintaining a ‘journal’. To journal means to sit down, reflect, and articulate your thoughts and feelings into words. The beauty of journaling lies in its flexibility—you get to choose how you express yourself with its types of Journaling. It can be doodling, painting, writing, crafting, and so much more; the only rule there is to follow is to let yourself go.
In addition to being an excellent creative outlet, journals help in tracking and assessing moods, thoughts, and feelings. This awareness is necessary to better manage your priorities and safeguard your mental health.
How to Start Journaling?
The first step to journaling is…picking the right journal, based on what you have in mind for your journaling sessions. For instance, if your interest lies in art journaling, pick a journal with good quality pages and that’s handy to carry around. If you’re clueless about how to start journaling, head over to Pinterest for some inspiration and create a board that you can use as a reference. You can also find several journal prompts on the internet to plan your journaling session. Types of habits to track in a journal include your relationship patterns, social media usage, work-related to-dos, health and fitness goals, any habits that you want to change, or any habits that you think are necessary to achieve your goals and help you stay happy.
Types of Journaling
The world of journaling is vast. Let’s explore the types of journaling that you can try to switch up your journaling sessions:
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Art Journaling:
Art journaling is a practice of using art as a form of expression. You can include sketches, doodles, paintings, and any other art form that suits you in these journals. Art journals can also be a good way to explore new art styles and document your progress. Whip out your crayons, watercolours, sketchpens, and let the artist in you shine.
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Junk Journaling:
For the hoarders out there, this one’s for you. If you have a drawer overflowing with a little bit of everything because there is nothing as trash, and “what if you need it the moment you throw it away?”. Junk journaling uses found and recycled materials as a form of creative expression, saving memories, or recording your thoughts and feelings. Gather your collection of old magazine or newspaper scraps, fabrics, buttons, all the other little trinkets, and get ready to junk journal.
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Nature Journaling:
Nature journaling can range from capturing personal moments to scientific observations. The idea is to get off the screens, become more aware and observant of our surroundings, and appreciate the little moments that we often tend to overlook. You can use this journal as a herbarium, a sketchbook, collect photographs, or to record any observations important to you. For instance, any recurrent bird sightings in or near your home. You could also make sketches with notes, for instance: you could document the growth of a plant in your surroundings.
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Self-care Journal:
We all have had our “Dear Diary” days where we would confess everything to our diaries. A self-care journal is just that. It is a safe space where you can express yourself freely and honestly. While quite a bit of fluff has come to surround “self-care” today, activities like journaling are what truly capture its essence. A self-care journal will probe you to look into yourself. This is one of the most preferred types of journaling and this reflection helps you understand your emotions, thoughts, and feelings, reduces stress and anxiety, and enables you to better respond to situations.
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Manifestation Journal:
We often underestimate the power of positive thinking. You might have often been advised to maintain a positive outlook, look at the positive side of things, and keep a check on your negative thoughts. This is because thoughts can impact our actions significantly. When you nourish positive thoughts, you signal your mind to focus on solutions and finding a way out of tough situations. On the other hand, consistent negative thinking only results in anxiety. Manifestation journal helps you focus your energy and intentions in the right direction. A manifestation journal is unique because not only are you listing down your goals and dreams, but you’re listing them in a way that shows your belief in them—a “can-do” attitude. Experience the magic of the law of attraction for yourself!
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Gratitude Journal:
The key to staying happy and positive in life is being aware and appreciative of the little things. Yes, life is tough. But it’s so for everyone—to different extents, in different ways. That’s no reason to overlook or take for granted the little joys and privileges in our day-to-day life. Of all the different types of habits to track in a journal, gratitude is one of the most crucial ones. As your day ends, take out a few minutes to reflect on all the little moments you might have taken for granted. It can be something as simple as how refreshing the first sip of coffee felt during a busy workday or the fragrance of rain hanging in the air. You’ll be surprised to find a smile on your face.
Now that you’re all geared up with types of Journaling for your journaling journey, remember to make it an everyday habit and immerse in what you do. Meanwhile, we’ll head out to hunt for some exciting and refreshing journal prompts for you!