If you want to build a new habit in 2024, journaling should be the one.
As per Harvard Business Review, writing can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance; bring greater focus and clarity; and even heal from trauma. Journaling has emerged as a potent instrument for enhancing productivity, self-awareness, and success in the professional realm.
There are no perfect ways for journaling: journaling is actually a tool to unwind your own way. Simply start and see what works best for you.
I wanted to offer some journal prompts to start your journaling practice today. Feel free to use any or all of these in your writing practice.
Keep in mind your writing does not need you to perform or fix. Let the pages of your journal bear witness to you. This is your practice, and I hope you lean in with grace, self-compassion, curiosity, and openness.
Gratitude:
List five small moments from today that made you smile. Why did they matter?
What memory fills you with gratitude every time you think about it?
How has expressing gratitude changed the way you see the world around you?
Which person in your life are you most thankful for and why?
Think about a challenge you've overcome. How did this experience deepen your gratitude practice?
Growth:
Reflect on a recent mistake. How has it helped you grow, or what have you learned from it?
How have you changed in the last year? What prompted this change?
Describe when stepping out of your comfort zone resulted in deeper evolution.
What are three micro ways you'd like to grow this month?
Who or what has been your most influential teacher as you’ve healed, changed, and grown?
Finding Joy:
What activities or hobbies make you lose track of time?
Describe a time when you found joy in the unexpected. How did that make you feel?
How do you cultivate joy in your daily routine?
What's a simple pleasure that always brings a smile to your face?
When did you last laugh heartily? What was the reason?
Deep Reflections:
What is one thing you want to let go of to grow and find more joy?
Imagine your best self a year from now. Where would you like to see more growth and joy?
How can you better integrate gratitude and joy into your daily habits?
Reflect on the connection between gratitude, growth, and joy. How have they shaped who you are today?
Journaling is one of my daily practices to uncover answers, find out the truth, tap into the inner workings of my soul, build self-awareness, calm down my nervous system, and regulate myself when experience difficult emotions.
Sit in a quiet space, take some deep breaths, and allow your pen to hit the paper and write whatever naturally wishes to come out. There is no right or wrong way to do this, all you need is an open mind, and and blank page!
Happy journaling!