From irishexaminer.com
It is easy to feel gloomy at this time of year. Lockdown is not pleasant. We would prefer to be out and about meeting for coffee or a drink. There is a monotony to our lives. But you can still get out and exercise even in the rain, I promise! Every day is a chance to make new discoveries in your immediate surroundings and take this time as a phase in our lives that we can use to do other things. This week I’ll chat about journaling...
I have always loved journaling. Even before my training days, I used to keep a journal and have always found that writing down your thoughts and goals makes them seem so much more achievable. There’s something about having your goals down on paper that makes them real and more tangible. The world seems clearer. Journaling is good for keeping the spirit upbeat and focused.
Recently I launched my own journal! I’ve always wanted to do it but could never quite get my head around why my journal would be special. Then about two months ago I had a lightbulb moment where it started to come together in my head as a really practical but beautiful healthy lifestyle journal.
I used lots of practical resources such as portioning, shopping lists and goal setting but combined these with the beautiful illustrations of Belinda Northcote. My journal was designed and printed locally which I’m so proud of.
You may have stopped using a diary once you reached adulthood. But the concept and its benefits still apply. Now it’s called journaling. It's simply writing down your thoughts to understand them more clearly. And if you struggle with stress, losing focus or the feeling of 'too many thoughts' in your head, keeping a journal is a great idea. It can help you gain control of your emotions and improve your mental health.
One of the ways to deal with any overwhelming emotion is to find a healthy way to express yourself. This makes a journal a helpful tool in managing your mental health.
Journaling can help you:
Once you have some clear goals, you then start working towards them. Revisit the journal throughout the day, but do not worry if you haven’t managed to achieve everything on the list. Be proud of what you have achieved and tackle what you can.
By writing down all the thoughts in your head, you are putting them down on plain paper and this makes it 10 times easier to start organising them. Most of us have a near-endless list of tasks to get done every day and sometimes it can be overwhelming and difficult to know where to start. Seeing them written down, allows you to allocate a certain amount of time to them and set a realistic deadline to achieve.
By becoming aware of your thoughts and feelings, it becomes easier to take action. Recognising what is causing stress allows you to tackle it much easier. Journals help us to make our troubles clearer by identifying them and give us a sense of what needs to be dealt with, to help us feel our very best. Once you’ve identified your stressors, you can work on a plan to resolve the problems and reduce your stress.
Writing down your thoughts and feelings might not sound appealing to you, or you might be very new to the idea of it and not know how to start. If that’s the case, you can try out a few other ways to use a journal to boost your productivity and wellbeing.
- Simplify the journal and use bullet-point format.
- Buy a journal that makes you want to write in it. I know when I have a fresh journal, I can’t wait to fill the pages with all my plans, tasks, and exciting projects.
- Track something of interest to you. Maybe log your sleep, how long you slept, how you felt going to bed and waking up. Start small.
- Bring your journal everywhere and jot down any random thoughts you have. Then at the end of the day, piece these smaller entries into a bigger one and summarise your day.
- Have a space for a fun list. This could be a list of dinner recipes you want to try or a list of fun activities you’ve always wanted to try — a bit like a bucket list.
- If your mind goes really blank and you have no idea what to write, look up some journaling prompts. Usually, by searching a topic and adding 'journal prompts' you’ll find a list of them. Pick your 3 favorite ones and answer them!
Try to see if you can squeeze in a short workout before you go to work or your day starts. You can be so surprised with how much energy it will give you — and it can provide you with some mental clarity too.
Treat yourself to a new journal and aim to write something small into it every day. Plan your days and write down your tasks to stay focused and reach your goals. I have a lovely journal on my online shop, available for purchase for €15. Visit my new exciting online shop Shop.Derval.ie
https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/food/arid-40080824.html
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