Tips & Tricks On How To Journal By Baraa El Sabbagh, Personal Trainer & Nutritionist

How To Start Journaling 🖊️

Do you ever sit down to journal, but are unsure of where to start? Do you write pages and pages some days, but can’t think of a single word on other days? Whether you’re confused about what journaling is or you just need some help getting started, I’m glad you’re reading this, because I truly believe my techniques and tricks can help.  

I’ve been journaling for a few years now and I’d be lying if I said it was effortless every time. Sometimes, I’m in a completely blah mood and don’t even know where or why I should even bother with journaling on that day. Other days, I run to it for rescue in order to get my 101 thoughts on paper. Most of my entries would be free writing about what's bothering me and what would make me feel better.  I also look to therapy, meditation, and self help books to keep me in tune with my feelings. 

I’ve benefited a lot from journaling: it’s helped me with anxiety, keeps me calm when I’m stressed, makes me focus on old goals and set new ones, and most importantly allows me to be myself. 

I’ve come up with a few templates and prompts to use when I’m at a loss for words that I wanted to share with you. 

First, What Is Journaling? 🤔

It’s basically writing down what you’re feeling at the moment. It can be in note form, in sentences, in a story, whatever gets you writing. It gives you a chance to notice how you’re feeling and organizes your thoughts. 

Maybe you’re unhappy with work but you can’t pinpoint exactly what’s wrong. Writing down why you’re unhappy can help you find a connection between the problem and a solution. So you could write down stuff like, “I don’t have time to workout with this job”, or “I don’t see potential to grow, it’s pissing me off”. 

Why Should You Journal?

You sit down to journal and you might write things like: unhappy with work, feeling constrained with time, can’t workout so I can’t get fit so I stay unhappy, if only I had more time, maybe I could wake up earlier? Or join a gym, if I pay someone I’ll probably commit, etc. 

➡️ When you write out your thoughts and feelings, solutions start rolling out naturally! 📝

The solutions could be working out earlier in the morning before going into the office or finding a trainer you like and buying a package so you commit to the schedule he or she lays out for you. Writing releases a lot of thoughts and emotions you have bottled up inside that you didn’t know you had! 

➡️ It also lets out the solutions that you had in you all along, but you just never sat down and thought them through. 😌

How To Start Journaling 🏁

If you have trouble getting started, answer one of these questions in your first couple of journal entries:

1. What are 3 things I’m grateful for this morning? 
2. Name 3 people I’m grateful for and why. (I usually write my sister, my nephew, and my husband)
3. What’s one thing I want to achieve today?
4. What’s a distraction that’s keeping me from my goals?
5. What are the big 3’s of the day? (i.e. for me it could be review an article, record a podcast episode, get sister’s birthday gift)

Questions to ask yourself in your journal when you’re feeling low:

1. What’s the main problem on my mind today? What are possible solutions? 
2. What hurts right now and what can bring me relief?
3. What happened before I felt a negative shift in my mood?
4. When I look in the mirror, what do I see?
5. What emotion am I holding on to?

Starting The Habit

Journaling is just another habit you have to get used to, so try to practice it as much as you can so it can become a regular part of your life. Keep a notebook by your bed so you can either wake up and quickly jot down some of your thoughts or do it at night before you go to bed.

Hope this guide comes in handy. Good luck!