Want to Sleep Better? Keep a Journal!

When I first built my journaling habit as an angsty teenager, I wrote at night before bed.

Each night I lightened my mind as I poured all of my scattered thoughts onto the page. My journal held my worries for me so I could rest from them overnight.

Ending the day by focusing on what I was grateful for redirected my mind past the obstacles and into the solutions.

And I always fell asleep faster and slept better on the nights when I journaled.

A couple of years ago, I switched my main journaling to the morning. I found it opened my creativity and allowed me to set my intentions for the day as I thought through how I wanted to show up and what I needed to be able to do so.

It works beautifully for me.

But I missed my evening journaling.

Life here is a little busy and chaotic some nights. I have teenagers who always seem to want to talk about important things at bedtime, and a husband who always seems to be doing something interesting when I am ready to go to bed, so it’s hard for me to carve out a big chunk of time for reflection and journaling.

So here’s what I do:

Each night before I go to bed, I capture the best parts of my day in my One Line a Day Journal*.

I might jot down that I got in a good workout, it was a quiet workday, we had a great family dinner, and I took a walk with my youngest.

Or that I finally finished folding and putting away the laundry, I talked to a friend on the phone, and I read a book.

Or that my husband made a delicious breakfast, I worked in my garden, and I saw the red-tailed hawk that sometimes visits my neighborhood.

You get the idea.

It only takes a minute or two, but it helps me end my day on a positive note AND helps me preserve my memories. I’m excited to see what five years of the best moments of my day looks like!

And, yes, it’s impacting my sleep!

I’m falling asleep faster, sleeping better, and waking more positive in the morning.

Do you journal at night?

Have you given it a go?

Today’s the perfect day to start!

*The One Line a Day Journal is the only journal to date that I’ve recommended. I love the layout - each page is labeled with the date, and has space for 5 years’ worth of entries. It’s small and compact, and the paper is both smooth and thick enough that my gel pen won’t bleed through.

I took a chance and bought mine off eBay for $5ish instead of paying $15ish anywhere else. And love it so much I bought a second one to use as my “What’s for Dinner?” journal. See below to hear more!

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Weekly Journal Prompts:

Use these prompts as written or as inspiration to uncover what you need in your life this week.

• What’s on your mind right now?

• What went well today?

• What lesson did you learn?

• What was the most memorable conversation?

• What did you take the time to notice?

• What brought you joy?

• What are you grateful for?

• What do you hope tomorrow will bring?

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One Journaling Idea I Love:

What’s for Dinner? Journal

I’ve said for ages that I should keep one of these, and this is the week I’m starting. Anyone in charge of making dinner (especially for a family) knows the ongoing struggle of deciding what’s for dinner. I’m forever running out of ideas or repeating the same meal so many times no one will eat it anymore.

I’ll be using a One Line a Day Journal to capture what we eat each night for dinner. Imagine five years’ worth of dinner ideas in one place? And I imagine I’ll probably be okay with eating the same meal every June 15 (or whatever day)! I also plan to note anything special or interesting that happens at dinner - any guests, memorable conversation, compliments on my cooking!

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Where You Can Find Me:

• I share journal related content on LinkedIn every day by 8 am Eastern. Visit me there for stories, journaling ideas, and more!

• I have a website! Visit me at GoodThingsComeToThoseWhoJournal.com

• I’m always reachable by email.

• My teenagers are doing their best to avoid me on TikTok…

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Interested in Helping Me?

I’m looking for a few more folks to help me with market research so I can make sure the new journaling coaching programs I’m crafting are aligned with what our community needs.

My ideal interviewee describes themselves as someone who:

• Carries a lot of responsibility and hates asking for help

• Sets really high expectations for themselves and beat themselves up if they fall short.

• Is overwhelmed and exhausted when they look at their calendar but have a hard time saying no to anything because they don’t want to let people down.

• Is the trustworthy go-to person for others who need help and reassurance, yet they wrestle with imposter syndrome.

They ultimately want to:

• find time to take better care of themselves

• build confidence and recognize their accomplishments

• and feel worthy of living the life they dream

but they haven’t been able to get there on their own yet.

The interview would only take between 15-30 minutes, and I promise, this is NOT a trick into asking people to be my clients. This is just market research, so I make sure my program is exactly what is needed.

So, if this is you, would you mind doing an interview with me? To make it super easy, here’s a link to book a call with me.

Thank you!

Happy Journaling!