Behind the scenes of my journaling practice - part 1

Disclaimer: What I’m about to share with you is my current journaling practice. It is not the way I’ve always journaled. It is likely not the way I’ll always journal. It is not, by any means, the “right” way to journal. If any part of this resonates, wonderful! Take it and leave the rest.

Amanda’s journaling tote. If you happen to visit Columbus, Ohio, like she did a couple of months ago, be sure to visit Fox in the Snow. Not only do the have the World’s Best egg sandwich, but their cinnamon rolls are to die for! Also, this tote bag is amazingly well-made and surprisingly soft. And the perfect size!

Each morning when I get up, I carry a tote bag full of stuff downstairs for my morning journaling practice. It contains:

• My journal

• Three clipboards with printable worksheets I created

• At least one deck of tarot cards, usually more than one

• A notepad for jotting down extra thoughts

• Several pens and pencils

I sit sideways on the loveseat in the living room, in front of the east-facing window so I can have the rising sun on my face as I journal.

I take a few deep breaths and consider what it is that I need from my journaling that day. This helps guide me to what tools I need to reach for and in what order.

Usually I start with my journal. I write the date first (always longhand - Monday, 3 June 2024 - to orient myself in time. It’s amazing how easy it is to lose track of what day it is if I don’t write it!)

I then generally do some stream of consciousness journaling - putting whatever is in my brain onto the page. This could be an interesting dream I had, comments about how sore my body is after a day in the garden, what I’m excited or anxious about.

Sometimes I write a sentence or two, sometimes a paragraph or two, sometimes a page or two. I never give myself a quota. I write until I’m done.

Amanda’s journal. She’s been using this particular type of journal for the last three years or so. There’s nothing precious about it; she just likes it. It’s about 10x7, hardcover, lies flat when opened, and has smooth, thinly ruled pages. And it costs less than $8 at the local everything store.

Then I reach for my one-pager.

Amanda created her first one-pager out of a need to have more structure in her journaling. This is the 12th, and current, iteration.

This is a sheet I created for myself years ago when I felt that my journaling needed more structure. It’s been through many iterations, and this is what’s working well for me now.

I start at the top, writing in the date, my word of the year, my Ikigai verse, and my new moon intention. (Writing them out each morning helps me remember their importance and to integrate them into my life each day.) I also make a note about the weather in the square in the top right corner, sketch out the phase of the moon in the circle in the top right, and note something I’m grateful for in the top left corner.

I then jump to the bottom, writing out my schedule, jotting down any to-dos that I think of, and list any people I want to remember to reach out to that day. I also remind myself of the habits I want to work on.

I finally come back to the middle and answer six intention setting questions that help me determine how I want my day to go. I’m currently using these questions:

• How will I live my Ikigai today?

• What does my new moon intention look like in action?

• What do I love about myself?

• What does success look and feel like today?

• How will I enjoy living in my body today?

• What do I need today?

These questions help me gauge where I’m at each day, to identify patterns (guess how many days last week I needed more sleep!), and keep my values and goals front and center as I move throughout my day.

When I’m done with my one-pager, I take a couple of minutes doing an exercise called What do I want? (And because I’m apparently a sucker for a printable on a clipboard, I created one for this too!)

The sheet Amanda created to help give her a place and process to think about what she wants.

My new moon intention this month has been I choose to ask for what I want and to allow myself to receive. And I quickly learned that it’s hard for me to ask for what I want when I don’t know what I want!

This sheet contains nine boxes: Health & Wellness, Family Relationships, Community & Connection, Work, Finances, Spirituality, Learning & Growth & Hobbies, Home, Other Wants.

I give myself 2-3 minutes, max to fill out this sheet, challenging myself to come up with at least one thing in each category that I want. I’m finding it’s just enough time to listen to my intuition, but not so long that I’ll overthink it.

All of these activities take me anywhere between 7-15 minutes, depending on how much I write in my journal. If I have A LOT to write about, I feel free to give myself as much time as I need.

Next week I’ll share with you part two of my journaling practice, including my intuitive tarot journaling sessions.

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We’d love to journal with you!

My friend, did you know that I have spots available this month in my Journaling for Growth Membership Program? If you are open-hearted and interested in using journaling as a way to grow in self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-love, this could be for you.

We’re focusing on Meaningful Work (from 9-5 and beyond) through a blend of solo reflection using curated journal prompts you’ll receive daily by email, and together in our magical group journaling sessions.

Learn more and register here. Have questions? Send me an email.

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This week’s journal prompt:

How well is your journaling practice meeting your needs? What do you need to add, subtract, or do differently so it’s truly helpful for you?

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Happy Journaling!