Maneuvering through school jitters can be overwhelming; I find it so easy to stress myself out trying to keep up with all the deadlines! To cope with all the stress, I decided to try incorporating journaling into my daily routine to see how it would help me.
What is Journaling?
Journaling is the process of writing down thoughts and emotions to help understand them more clearly. Journaling can be done by responding to specific prompts or by writing down everything that is on your mind without using any structure whatsoever. I like to use prompts to get me started and write my responses down on my iPad for 10 to 15 minutes every morning as soon as I wake up to set the tone of my day. This allows me to spend some time with myself before I have to start working on all those deadlines!
Journal Prompts
Want to start journaling but don’t know where to begin? I find great prompts online – here are a couple of my favourites that I use to get started:
- I am grateful for…
- Something I did today that I am proud of is…
- The highlight of my day is…
- How do I treat myself after I have a bad day?
When I started to journal, I struggled with trying to make my responses “good” or “deep”, which made the process of journaling significantly less enjoyable. Answers do not need to live up to any expectations or standards, they just have to be honest answers. These responses are not seen by anyone so there is no need to stress about feeling judged. One of my moments of gratitude for today is that the sun is shining and I can go for a walk!
I found that journaling has helped me understand myself and think of ways that I can take better care of myself. For example, when journaling about how stressed out I am about school, work, and keeping up with all the deadlines, I realized I would greatly benefit from spending time doing something I love like watching a show – even if it is just for a couple of hours.
Give these journal prompts a try and see what works! If you have any interesting journal prompts, I would love to hear them in the comments below!
Muy bueno/very good