I’ve kept a journal on and off since elementary school, but over the years, I haven’t been able to keep my streaks going for very long, despite the many benefits of journaling.
But 12 weeks ago, I made it a goal to journal once daily, keeping track of my progress on a whiteboard. Today I penned my 82nd straight journal entry — my longest streak ever.
As I mentioned, journaling has many benefits, with research showing it can reduce stress and manage anxiety. In my experience, writing at night allows me to reflect on my day, or it helps me think of new goals and ideas for the day ahead if I’m writing in the morning, which is usually the case.
You can find many prompts and suggestions online to help develop topics to think about when writing.
But my approach so far has been to start by writing about something that happened recently (did I read an interesting article that morning?) or something happening later that day. It acts as a warm-up, and after a few minutes, I’m usually writing about anything that comes to mind.
I’m sure my 82-day streak won’t last, but that isn’t the point.
When pursuing our goals, we shouldn’t become overwhelmed with the act of being productive. Take breaks when you need them. Take days off when we need them. Just make sure the days off don’t outnumber the days on.
