I believe in continuously learning and improving quality of my life. I believe in getting healthier, happier and as stress-free as I can. As I prepare for better habits for the next year, I have been reviewing my own way of journaling. My usual way of journaling is the most common one - the brain dump way of doing it whenever I feel like it or in case of any extreme emotions. To get better at journaling and to make it really helpful to my health, I have been reading a lot about effective and constructive journaling. Below are my 2 key learnings for making my journaling constructive - 1. Reflect on and measure what you write - There is an extremely simple tool called Muryo for this. It helps you -
Find Everything: Catalog and find all your notes, ideas, drawings, and more.
Mood Tracking: Visualize your mood over time. Plus monitor your sleep, miles run, or anything else.
Log Milestones: Track your milestones and important events.
Stay Focused: Muryō pops up on your desk and isn't hidden deep in your notebook.
Achieve More: Create a mission, check off monthly goals, and build daily habits.
You can support Muryo and be an early adapter of constructive journaling here. 2. When you journal, remember the simple acronym: WRITE (from Center for Journal Therapy)
W – What do you want to write about? What’s going on? How do you feel? What are you thinking about? What do you want? Name it.
R – Review or reflect on it. Close your eyes. Take three deep breaths. Focus. You can start with “I feel…” or “I want…” or “I think…” or “Today….” or “Right now…” or “In this moment…”
I – Investigate your thoughts and feelings. Start writing and keep writing. Follow the pen/keyboard. If you get stuck or run out of juice, close your eyes and re-center yourself. Re-read what you’ve already written and continue writing.
T – Time yourself. Write for 5-15 minutes. Write the start time and the projected end time at the top of the page. If you have an alarm/timer on your cellphone, set it.
E – Exit smart by re-reading what you’ve written and reflecting on it in a sentence or two: “As I read this, I notice—” or “I’m aware of—” or “I feel—”. Note any action steps to take.
Maybe we will start our effective journaling in 2022 by writing about our awesome Bollywood Dance Workout class experience!