On Instagram I asked the question, “what keeps you from journaling?”. Time. It was the number one reason that was given for not keeping a journal. Time and discipline. They’re interwoven, aren’t they? If you are disciplined around a habit, you make the time.

Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time’, is like saying, ‘I don’t want to’.

Lao Tzu

So with a nod to Lao, how do you start the habit of journaling if you aren’t keeping one today and you want to? If you google it, you’ll find loads of advice on creating a new habit such as, how it takes 30 days to stick and how you should make it daily and maybe lean on a friend to hold you accountable.

If you really want to go deep on this, I recommend you check out, “The Power of Habit – Why we do what we do in life and business” by Charles Duhigg. https://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/ This is a fascinating read about why habits are an effort-saving instinct humans have developed and why it’s so hard for most of us to change our habits. You have to start by understanding the habit loop.

Advertising firms understand the habit loop. It starts with a cue, which triggers your brain to the habit, then the routine which can be physical, mental or emotional, and finally the reward, which cements the habit. One example in the book is how Proctor & Gamble failed at first to market the air freshener Febreze until they focused on the habit loop and the reward aspect to cleaning a house. Through focus groups they learned that some consumers were using Febreze at the end of cleaning as a reward for their efforts. The ads got reworked highlighting Febreze as a reward for the effort of cleaning and sales skyrocketed.

In the context of the habit loop, what’s the reward to journaling mean for you? Introducing a new habit in your life isn’t easy and as Mr. Duhigg writes in his book,

The problem is that there isn’t one formula for changing habits. There are thousands. Individuals and habits are all different, and so the specifics of diagnosing and changing the patterns in our lives differ from person to person and behavior to behavior.

Charles Duhigg

What’s your reward?

Ask yourself what you want to get out of journaling so that you can figure our what your reward would be. Are you interested in keeping a record for posterity, i.e. something for your kids to have when they are adults? Are you trying to be a more mindful person? Or practice gratitude? The answers will guide the frequency of your journaling and the manner in which you write.

For me, it’s the pleasure of reflection and having the documentation, not just of the good times, but the low points, too. Once on a girls trip, I brought along a few journals from college. A few pages in and we were crying, we were laughing so hard. Many of our shenanigans from those days have been forgotten, but came alive in the pages of my journals. The low points are just as important to record, also. Going back over them reminds me that I can make it through tough times.

Start with baby steps. One day at a time. But to create the habit, you’ll need to set a pattern at the onset. I don’t journal everyday. Generally, I journal at least once a week. I always bring a journal on a vacation. Nothing makes a flight go by faster than writing in your journal. Don’t let a lapse in time derail you. I experienced a 3 year gap in journaling in my late 20’s. I don’t have an easy answer as to why I stopped, but I will tell you I’m so grateful I picked up the pen and got back into it.

Your story is worth writing down!

It’s November – right before the Holidays. If you’re not journaling already, it’s the perfect time to start. You can take time to reflect on 2021. Record how much has happened to you over the course of the year. Imagine how happy you’ll be to have documented these crazy times. Consider this entry I made in my journal on Thursday, March 12, 2020:

Coronavirus (Covid-19) is turning the entire world upside down. It’s hard to keep up with the ever-changing info and predictions. Containment seems to be failing.

That line about containment is laughable now. The point is – you will forget. You’ll forget the date something happened to you or who was present. You may be saying, ‘Who doesn’t want to forget the last 18 months?’. I hear you! But throughout the pandemic and especially at the beginning when no one knew what was going on, I managed my worries and anxieties through journaling. Whatever you’re going through, journaling will help alleviate the stress you’re feeling. Consider it your paper therapist.

Future you will appreciate the time you took today to begin a new habit. Future you will thank you!

Tell me what you’re thinking.

I‘m really interested in hearing from you. Do you journal now? What’s your reward? What do you love about it? And if you don’t, is the lack of time (real or perceived) keeping your from it? Is there another reason? Let me know.