Holidays are a source of stress for most of us. We feel a special sense of responsibility to our families and loved ones around the holiday season — we want to make the time special, get them the perfect gift, all while finding time to have those perfect holiday memories…
In a recent survey 31% of Americans described the holiday season as “frantic.” That’s not a great number when you stop and consider that the holidays are supposed to be a chance for us to stop, reflect, and cherish what we have.
Journaling for Holiday Sanity
In the midst of the craziness of the holidays it’s important to slow down, and take time for yourself. Spend plenty of time enjoying your loved ones, but don’t get too caught up in just being a “family member” —it can be easy to lose your sense of self.
Journaling is a moment that’s entirely for you to reflect on your day, your feelings, your needs. Find a quiet time and place to journal during the holidays is extremely valuable. Journaling is a form of therapy that you can do on-demand.
Start by just taking stock of how you feel, both physically and mentally. Scan your body for sensations, tightness, or whatever else you’re feeling. Then describe it. Don’t be in a rush to “get through it,” just try to enjoy the process. Tune into what you are feeling or thinking, and write it down in stream-of-consciousness style.
Take some time to reflect on what’s stressing you out. Is it rational to be so stressed? Is stressing helping you in any way? If you were a totally objective person, detached from your emotions, would you choose to feel “frantic?”
You can use these journal tactics whenever you feel stressed, or as a preventative measure.
But Why Stop There?
Daily journal writing has been shown to make you happier, healthier, and a better writer. Why not continue the practice beyond the holidays? We Built Writely for that exact purpose. Writely gives you guidance and structure to help you write more often, whether it’s journaling or creative writing.
More About Writely
You can learn more and get your free 14-day trial with access to all our lessons, all our prompts, and a growing community of other writers by going HERE.
About The Author:
Alex was a frustrated wanna-be-writer who is now the founder of Writely. Alex started working on Writely after hearing about “morning pages” on Tim Ferriss’ podcast, and realizing that there wasn’t an app that made daily writing as fun and easy as he thought it should be. Go to www.writelyapp.com to learn more.
