7 Daily Journaling Ideas For Productive Journaling
Getting in the habit of writing in a journal daily can be a good way to organize your thoughts and release your emotions.
Starting a daily journaling routine begins with just opening your journal and writing whatever comes to your mind down.
But for some people, it might be a little difficult to think of anything to write. Sometimes you may just have not much on your mind, which even that’s fine to write too.
But if you’re really struggling with thinking of anything to write, then these ideas might help you write more.
1. Write about your day
If nothing else deep comes to mind, you can always detail the things that happened in your day.
It’s probably the simplest way you could get something down in your journal.
Even if not much happened, we experience some kind of sequence of events.
Example:
- “Today, I woke up early this morning. I checked my phone and was happy to progress in something I’m working on. I got on to my laptop and wrote an article on the importance of spending time alone. My partner came into the room as I was writing, and I said “good morning.” I worked out and enjoyed a delicious banana bread my partner baked.”
As you can see, I simply gave a few descriptions about what happened in my day yesterday. Try doing the same in your journal every day.
2. Talk about how you want to improve
We all have moments in our day where we make mistakes or do things we wish hadn’t done.
Your journal could be a perfect opportunity to remind yourself of how you want to improve moving forward.
With any mistake you make in your day, write down a constructive lesson you learned from it and how you’ll do better next time.
Example:
- “I spent a long time working this evening. As a result, I ended up working later than I wanted to and not getting much sleep. The lesson I’ve learned from this is that I’m going to start on my work earlier, so that way I can finish early and get the amount of sleep I need.”
Remember to do three things when completing this writing exercise:
- Explain the mistake you made
- Describe how the mistake affected your day
- Express the lesson you’ve learned moving forward
3. Put down tasks you hope to accomplish
Your journal can be a great source of motivation for you by putting down tasks you hope to accomplish in your day.
It’s a great feeling whenever you can check off something that you’ve listed for your day.
Example:
- “I hope to complete multiple articles today.”
- “I plan to work out today.”
- “My hope is to get to bed early.”
Research has shown writing things down helps you to remember what you want to do in your day and makes you more likely to accomplish your goals.
4. Ponder why you feel the way you feel today
I look at writing about how you feel as the next best thing you can do if you can’t find someone to talk to.
In times I’ve been upset about something in my day, after I wrote about how I was feeling, I usually felt a little better.
Example:
- “Today I was unhappy with the way things went in my day. I expected more to happen and was very disappointed. But I know that it’s okay to feel sad, and that good things can always happen tomorrow.”
Here are three tips in going about this writing exercise:
- Describe what might be causing you to feel a certain way.
- Go into detail about why something might be affecting you.
- Come to a positive perspective about what you’re feeling.
5. Write down what you’re grateful for
Writing down what you’re grateful for is a great exercise for when you’re feeling down or having a bad day.
The things that are going well in our lives often gets lost when times are challenging. But as a Harvard study on gratitude has proven, being thankful makes us happier.
Example:
- “I’m grateful for my family and my partner.”
- “I’m grateful that I have food, water, and shelter.”
- “My body feels grateful to have a soft bed at night.”
6. Put down affirmations
Affirmations help you to focus more on the desires you hope to bring to reality some day.
By writing down affirmations, you’ll help yourself be more motivated to make things happen, and more aware of opportunities that can help you succeed.
Example:
- “I will own my home.”
- “I will have happy relationships in my life.”
- “My body will be in the best shape I desire.”
7. Describe the dream life you want in the future
Similar to affirmations, describing your dream life can be a great way to motivate you and make yourself feel good.
You’re essentially writing out the story of your future. Be as descriptive as possible through detailing what you see, what you hear, and how you’re feeling.
Example:
- “I see myself walking out the door of my brand new home and enjoying the beautiful nature scenery around me. I take in a deep breath and feel myself experiencing gratitude for all the hard work it took to get me here. The sound of the birds are pleasant and the green trees are soothing to my eyes.”
Final thoughts on writing in your journal
Journals can be useful in a variety of ways that can make your life better. Writing in your journal daily could be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.
But the only way you’ll find out is by getting started. Find a journal in your home or buy one.
Then, try writing in it everyday for one month. Use one or all of these exercises as a part of your journaling.
At the end of the month, you’ll hopefully see your life improve drastically as a result of all the writing you’ve done.
