How Journaling Can Help Organize Your Life

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Life can be busy. Especially if you run a household, have a job, have children, or all of the above. Especially if you’re also the top volunteer parent for your child’s school or sports team, involved with organizations you care about, want to hang out with friends, etc., etc., etc.

There’s no way around it, everyone has responsibilities. So how do you get everything organized to fit within your busy life?

Let me tell you about something that has helped me immensely. Ready for it?

Journaling!

Yes, journaling. I’m not talking the old “Dear Diary” stuff. I’m talking about taking a moment for yourself, preferably in the morning, and writing about your intentions for the day. Let me give you some helpful tips to get started.

1. Pick out the perfect journal

First, you’ll want to pick out the perfect journal for you. If you’re a minimalist, choose something simple.

If you love gardening, choose one with pretty flowers on the cover. If you are creative, choose one with blank pages so you can draw illustrations.

I prefer mine with lines and boxes since I like to make lists and express my thoughts about the day. Choose a journal that makes you smile and speaks to you. You’ll know it when you see it.

2. Set a time to journal

It’s super important to carve out alone time while you write in your journal. Journaling is personal and it’s only for you.

I like to have my warm lemon water as I sit quietly with my journal. It’s early when everyone is either still asleep or slowing stirring and there’s nothing to interrupt me. It’s a calm and quiet moment just for me so that I can focus on my day ahead.

3. Express yourself

During the quiet time, I start off by writing about what I’m thankful for in my life. I write about the wonderful things that happened yesterday.

And then I share what I look forward to in the new day and what I would love to happen. This sets your intentions. I am a firm believer of focusing on what you want in life not what you don’t want.

Sometimes I share my dreams from the night before and what I think they mean. It’s your right to share and it feels good. No one can judge your thoughts. This time is just for you.

4. Plan your day

In one of the boxes, I list the things I need to take care of for the day. Even if it’s simple tasks like stop at the store, do a load of laundry, pay bills, exercise, or to help your daughter with a project.

Whatever you need to do that day, write it down. This helps keep your thoughts aligned and organized. You have a plan. There’s nothing to stress over.

I have gotten into the habit of checking my list during midday to make sure I’m on track and haven’t forgotten anything important. If you have too many things to do to fit into one day, take care of priorities first and then list the lesser tasks for the next day.

5. Set goals

Write down your goals, whether they are personal or home related. Goal: Make time for a nice hot bath tonight! Goal: Work on project. Goal: Finish painting the bathroom. Goal: Go for a walk. Goal: Write!

These are your goals, so create them as you will. Writing down your goals gives you something to aim for. Do make your goals achievable. You want to feel good for succeeding, not the opposite.

6. Go back to the journal at the end of day

At the end of the day, go back to your journal. Check off the things you were able to complete. Circle the things you didn’t get to and need to get done tomorrow.

Did you make your goal for the day? If you did, good for you. If you didn’t, there’s always tomorrow. Journaling is not to make you feel guilty. It’s to help organize your thoughts on what can be a busy lifestyle.

There is no right or wrong way to journal. Journaling can be customized to your preferences. I’m just here to give you a starting point and share how it has helped me to organize my thoughts and accomplish goals.

So what do you think? Want to give it try? You’ll discover just how much it can help to organize your daily life.

Originally published January 31, 2019