How can journaling improve your wellbeing
Thoughts can often be overwhelming. Journaling is a great way to slow down your thoughts and develop a deeper understanding of why you are feeling a certain way. Understanding your headspace better is an essential part of boosting your wellbeing and journaling is a great way to do that. It can be done in almost any place at any time, all you need is something to write with, and something to write on! From work, home, or even during your commute (As long as you’re not driving!)
A few journaling exercises to help you get started.
Free Association writing
No structure is needed here, just start writing. A couple of words end up turning into quite a few. Sometimes all you need is a physical representation of these thoughts that you can read back on to process properly, and develop a better understanding of what’s causing you stress.
Focus on Solutions
Quite often stress can be caused and increased by numerous problems that create an overwhelming sense of dread. When journaling try to focus on the solutions to your problems and break the chain of thought that is amplifying that sense of dread. Journaling is a great opportunity to rationalise thoughts. Focusing on solutions is something that can be hard to do when you're solely doing it in your head!
Journal a ‘to do List’
To-do lists are a great organising tool, and an easy way to visualise your day, break it down, and reduce the stress of thinking about everything at once. They allow you to tick tasks off and have the satisfaction of seeing not only what you’ve got to do but how much you’ve already got done!
Use prompts
Using prompts can be a great way to help when you're struggling to write about what’s going on in your head. Below we’ve listed a few prompts related to common stress and other wellbeing issues people tend to have working in a corporate environment and in life generally.
Some prompts that may help you journal more effectively.
- What’s specifically causing me stress at work?
- What tasks can I put on the back burner, and which need to get done ASAP?
- What accomplishments have I made today?
- How can I better manage this situation?
- What do I have to look forward to after this stressful period?
- Am I looking at the situation rationally?
- Ask questions to yourself you think a friend may ask about your situation.
- Write down everything causing you stress, and work through the list one by one to help create solutions.
- What’s one thing you can do today that would make you feel more organized?
- What would an ideal workday look like, and how can you get closer to that ideal day?
- What are my strengths? Am I making the most of them?
Brown Paper Packages
If you were looking to help someone you know start journaling, there are plenty of notepads on our box builder. Perhaps if you're an employer you could get notepads for all staff. Helping them maintain mental clarity and stay organised. Check out the box below as an example:
