How to Start Journaling

A Simple Guide for Beginners

Intro

This guide is meant for absolute journaling beginners who may not exactly know where to start, how to stay consistent, or what to write about.

It is split into journal prompts that you can complete each week, along with an extra monthly overview section.

You can use the monthly recap section of this guide, even though you might not need the weekly prompts once you’re an intermediate journaler.

So, let’s get started!

First Week’s Tasks

A list to get to know yourself better: Everything you love about yourself and your life. Think about what’s great about being you!

Self-improvement/development: What did you learn this week? How can you implement it in the future to benefit from it long-term?

Weekly reflection: What was the most challenging thing you faced this week? How did you overcome it? Did you fully overcome the challenge, or do you still need to work on it? If so, how are you planning on doing that?

Second Week’s Tasks

A list to get to know yourself better: A list of your favorite things: favorite movies, books, celebs, songs, sports, food, perfume, skincare products, or beauty products in general.

Self-improvement: What are you most grateful for this week? Do you show your gratitude towards yourself and others?

Weekly reflection: What is the one thing you could have done better this week?

Third Week’s Tasks

List to get to know myself better: A list of things to do more often. Once you’ve kept going with your good habits, stick to them (for me, it’s Pilates 6x a week).

Self-improvement: Have you achieved your goals for this week? What are your future goals?

Weekly reflection: What have you done so far that you’re proud of? It can be something you did this week, or something from the past that still makes you feel like a winner.

🔴 Extra: Some Journaling Romantization

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Fourth Week’s Tasks

A list to get to know yourself better: A list of things to do less often (bad habits or things you want to change replace bad habits with good ones, and avoid falling into the bad habit trap).

Self-improvement: How do you feel right here, right now? What thoughts are passing through your head?

Weekly Reflection: What are all the things that made you smile this week? (I hope you’ve been smiling a lot; if not, try it! It will make you feel better.)

Monthly Recap

Monthly Reflections

What is the best thing that happened this month?
What are some other highlights of this month?
What is the worst thing that happened this month?
What did you learn this month? Maybe something about yourself, or a new hobby you picked up?
Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

Monthly Goals

Which of my goals have you achieved this month? How did it feel achieving them?
What goals do you want to achieve next month? (If it’s a bigger goal, break it down step by step and give yourself a timeline.)

Monthly Affirmations

A list of affirmations for the coming months to help you stay positive and motivated.

If you don’t have yours ready right now, you can always draw inspiration from mine. Some of my affirmations for the coming months are:

Spending time with me is a privilege, so don’t waste it.
My energy speaks louder than words ever could.
Today, it might be in my mind; tomorrow, it will be my empire.
I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. External pressure isn’t what motivates me. I don’t do it for others; I do it for myself to prove my past self wrong and to silence the moments when I doubted myself. That discipline keeps me going.
What I crave, craves me more. It just wants me, can’t you hear this? It’s my destiny calling.
Everything might not always work out for me, but trust me, honey, I’ll make it work.

Outro + Final Thoughts

I tried to keep it short and easy to follow, as the most important thing is staying consistent to unlock the benefits of journaling. Starting out step by step is what might help you do just that.

I recommend keeping a to-do list for your daily tasks and focusing particularly on your mental well-being some days.

Grab your journal and start writing!

I wish you all the best and lots of love,
Sabrina.

Thank you so much for sticking around!

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