Congrats! You’ve started a journal. Now you need to know how to journal consistently. It’s pretty common for people to start then stop, start then stop and keep on that cycle. But journaling can be kinda tricky in that aspect because there is an important factor you need to take into consideration before you determine if you are actually consistent or not. So in this post, I’ll be telling you exactly what that is, plus 4 simple tips that will help you build a consistent journaling practice.

Journal Consistently – What You Need To Know

One huge thing you need to take into consideration is what consistent journaling is to you. I hear lots of people talk about journaling everyday or every other day or some type of pattern like this. (and side note I’m not a fan of daily journaling) But the truth is that journaling is a very personal activity. And because it’s so personal, the act of being consistent doesn’t really mean what we would normally think.

Let me explain.

I have been journaling consistently since I was about 12 years old. And over the years, my journaling habits changed depending on the stage of life I was in or what i had going on. There were times in my journaling practice that I would write every day. And there were times I went months without writing a single word. But the act of journaling has always been a consistent part of my life even though I didn’t keep the same pattern for any particular time.

So, with that being said, try not to predetermine how often you should write. Instead, overtime, start to identify when the need to write arises. When you do this, you will start to see natural patterns in your journaling.

An example for me would be that I tends to write a whole lot more in the fall. I believe it’s because fall usually brings out a creative feeling in me. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I tend to write less in the summer. I really haven’t figured this out, but it’s just a natural pattern I’ve had over the years.

So if you’re just starting out or trying to be more consistent, move your focus away from how often you journal, and try to focus on things you can do to make journaling an actual part of your life whether you write everyday or once a month.

Are you new to journaling? This post could helpful!

How To Journal – 6 Tips For Beginners

How To Journal Consistently After You’ve Started

  • Be intentional- this means you are making things as convienent as possible for yourself. You are keeping your journal and pen insight and preferably have a place in your home where you know you can sit and write. This place should be as comfortable as possible for you and quite.
  • Start Slow – this means letting go of the idea of journaling daily. You want to learn exactly how journaling fits into your lifestyle and how often you are realistically able to write. Journaling is not a race to doing more, but its an activity that should enrich your life somehow. And setting unrealestic expecations and making it inconvient will not do that for you.
  • Try A Journaling Challenge- this can be a great way to kick start your journaling practice and start making it apart of your life. A challenge may require you to journal daily, but it is only for a certain period of time, such as 7 days, or 30 days.
  • Associate Journaling With A Specific Part Of Your Day- with this, you’ll determine a time of day that you are usually freed up and its quiet. This can be a time you can take to journal. To be clear, you don’t have to journal during this time. But if you are wanting you journal that day or have a need to write, you have already predetermined the best time to do so.

Your Journaling Practice

Hopefully you have found this post helpful in guiding you in how to journal consistently. Because remember, its not about how much or how often you’re writing, but its about building a meaning journaling practice that enriches your in some way.