I don’t have time. I’m not a writer. I didn’t even keep a diary as a kid! These are all comments I’ve heard when I’ve asked people, “Do you journal?” It’s a rare occasion when I come across someone, at least in my “circles”, who keeps a journal. But…when they do, they are 100% devoted to their journal time. I set out on a quest to start a journal as a way to boost my creativity, challenge my focus, expand my thinking, and perhaps “exorcise” some worrisome thoughts from my head. Join my 30-Days of Journaling Challenge, the easiest get-started path.
Fear of Starting
Starting a journal can be a challenging. What do I write about? Can I keep it up? When will I do it? Will people ask me to read it? What will I say? I think from younger days of locking diaries and nosy brothers, I came to fear writing anything personal down. What would people think if they read what I’d written? Silly, really. You see, I seem to be thinking the only use for a journal is for writing the most private of feelings and thoughts. The reality is, you can journal ANYTHING…and that’s a beautiful thing! And, who can’t give just 5 minutes a day to 30-Days of Journaling?
It’s Just Paper & Pen
If you’ve followed my blog for any period of time, you may have picked up that I’m a master planner. No really, I’m a master at it. In order for me to launch into something new, I need to have all the right tools in place….and perfect planetary alignment to start. What’s so silly about that is I have no problem whatsoever in my professional life. But boy oh boy, don’t push me to hard into a new habit or something that’s actually good for me. Lordy Lordy…talk about puttin’ it off for another lifetime!
So, if you’re like me, we’ll just nip that little creep in the butt right here and I’ll say…just get a damn notebook, heck, a sheet of paper will do. And if you’re really disgusted with the newspaper, grab a page and journal on that! That’s it – just a piece of paper and a pen, pencil, marker, crayon, lipstick…well, you get the drift. You don’t need a fancy book, although if that inspires you then get a fancy book. Grab your favorite pen if that’ll get you going.
No Fancy Schmancy Necessary
If you’ve been following the more recent Bullet Journal craze and that has you freaked out…join the club! I just love those beautiful journal page layouts. Some must take days to create, seriously! But the thought of having to put all that “technical work” into a journal, especially since I’m a cross out, white out, scribble, terrible handwriting kind of person, turns my blood cold. I’m here to tell you, you don’t need to do all that fancy schmancy stuff to journal. A plain old white page is all you need. If you’re a doodler, have at it. If you like to do fancy lettering, God bless you, I wish I had your talent. But for me, I’m just using a hard-covered, unlined book I found at a local craft store, cheap on clearance. But, here are a couple great, inexpensive journal options get get you started.
I will say I’m picky about my pens. As I’ve gotten older and my dear friend Arth-Ritis has paid a call, I need to watch how small the barrel is or I get hand cramps pretty easy. I’ve actually migrated to markers of various styles for the simple fact I don’t have to press very hard. My favorites are right here:
What Do I Journal About?
Yeah, I used to think that, too. What the heck am I going to write about? While I am the type to go through my day, figure out what I’ve accomplished, and plan for the next day (yes, I’m a Stephen Covey method fan, and have been for 30+ years), I’m not the type to write thoughts, feelings, experiences…I’m not really a squishy person like that, truth be told. But I think age has a way of mellowing a person, and in the interest of growing, learning, doing new things, I started these 30-Day Challenges. I’m right in it with you, and rather than all of us looking at a blank page, scratching our heads, then choosing to chew on tinfoil instead of writing, I’ve developed a 30-Day of Journaling Prompts sheet to get us all started. See…super easy, no excuses!
Now that you have all these little pointers, not rocket science really, it’s time we get started. Try to set aside just five minutes a day to work on your daily prompt. Yup, just five minutes. At first, it might feel like pulling teeth for the words to come. But I guarantee within a few days the words will flow freely. Don’t worry about sentence structure, grammar or punctuation yet. Just try to capture what comes to mind when you read the day’s prompt. Over time, you’ll find that not only do the words flow freely but just five minutes won’t seem nearly enough!
Daily Assignment
Now, when you’ve completed your prompt for the day, head on over to Untamed Parody on Facebook, locate the day’s prompt, and comment DONE! I can’t wait to celebrate with you! And, be sure to sign up for my weekly updates to stay on top of what’s new at Untamed Parody. Head on up to the top of this page, or over to the right side lineup for a simple signup form, and join me in Living Life with Humor and Grace. Now, if you’ll excuse me…I see a prompt calling my name.
PSSST! Click this pretty picture to get your own 30-Days of Journaling download! 🙂
