Make Your 2021 Journal Work for You
Throw away the rules when it comes to your personal journal
For years I had an on-again-off-again relationship with my journal. I would start a journal with such great intentions. But because of the rules I created about how my journal had to look, my effort would flop. I would write for a few days, or a few weeks, then get off track, unable to meet my self-imposed perfectionistic standards. I had rules for how often, what, and how neatly I wrote in my journal.
The problem was, I was making journaling hard because I had set up expectations that were totally unrealistic and unnecessary. It didn’t help that I was reading articles about how to do it “right.” That was my first mistake.
There was handwriting. Have you ever seen magazine spreads of famous journals? The handwriting is always gorgeous. I have really nice handwriting, but when I am in the middle of pouring out my heartache or rage or frustration or even my joy on a page, it can start looking like a bird set free from its cage. Wild and erratic. And not pretty. That isn’t what my journal should look like, right?
I read an article once about a woman’s lifetime of journals. She managed, somehow, to always use the exact same notebook. They were a lovely shade of blue and were all lined up on a shelf and they made…
