Rethinking Journaling
I’m sure that by now everyone is aware of the emotional health benefits of journaling. I can attest to its calming effect and how it can help to process thoughts. However, anything, even journaling, can get out of hand. This is why I have modified my journaling habits.
I’ve often felt like Linus dragging his blanket around, except my security blanket is a notebook. When it comes to journaling, there have been times when I came to lean on it a bit too heavily. Yes, journaling in and of itself is great—but an overdose of therapeutic writing can mean a decline in (or complete lack of) progress for other writing projects. It can also do more harm than good when you’re struggling with RSIs.
In 2022 and 2023, I kept track of how many pages I wrote per day and what projects they pertained to in a freebie calendar. This year, when I looked back over these, I was annoyed to see that journaling dominated my writing more often than not. No wonder I wasn’t getting anything done. I was spending all my physical strength on journaling, depleting my body and rendering myself unable to tackle other writing goals most of the time.
Did all of that obsessive scribbling really help my emotions all that much? Not really. I knew I was happiest when I finally completed writing a story, chapter, or essay… not when spilling more journal pages. Something had to change.
This June I started to create some journaling boundaries, in part because I was hurting at the time, and in part to bring an end to my old and not-so-productive habits.
I currently journal only one day per week. I’ve chosen Sunday afternoon to be my official journaling time. I only allow myself 15 minutes to write my entry, during which I can write one page in a Staples notebook if I keep up with the flow of words.
It isn’t very reflective or emotional. It’s usually a pithy account of the week’s events or whatever is on my mind. Not too exciting. But my old near-daily entries were even less exciting, and longer. Looking back on those rambling entries made my life seem so stagnant and dull. Now… well, it hasn’t become exciting, but it is easier to see myself actually getting somewhere in life. I can look back on a previous entry and think, “Wow, I did that only a week ago? I’ve made so much progress since then!” It’s a great feeling!
I’ve even taken up underlining key words or using different ink colors as I switch topics so I can find things quicker when I look back on previous entries. This has been extremely helpful.
Having a designated journaling session seems to have freed up precious time for my writing and art—not that I have much time to begin with, so I need to take what I can get. Not only does it save time, but it also saves ink and my body. It’s great to be able to focus better on other things and feel well enough to do them a little bit more. If I only have the physical strength to do so much, then I clearly need to choose my tasks more carefully. Journaling, although it has its pluses, simply isn’t #1 on my list.
I do allow for some deviations in routine if something truly noteworthy occurs that I want to jot down right away or if I am in dire need of indulging in some emotional spillage. This doesn’t happen too much. I’ve managed to stay on schedule for the most part, and I’m better than I used to be at getting to the point quickly.
Emotionally, I feel that I am in a much better place with bare-bones entries than with dry, ruminative screeds. Journaling helps—but I need the right dosage. A smaller dosage.
How much journaling do you think would work best for you? Would cutting back make your life feel a little freer as well? Do you find yourself growing overly reliant on it at times?
BY THE WAY— My next post will be delayed one week. I want to take extra time to rest and take it easy because I’ll be getting a year older on a certain day soon. What a shock to the system! October 25 is now due to be my next update and I shall resume my every-other-Friday schedule from there.
