The truth is that journaling can take as much or as little time as you like, but some of types of journaling ARE time consuming.
I know when I started a morning pages practice back in the days when had a more-than-full-time job and two school-age kids, I liked what it did for me but I didn’t like the fact that it took so much time out of my frantic day before I even got going, so I dropped that after a while.
(Maybe I should take that up again now that I work for myself at home mmmh note to self…)
Anyway, journaling has so many benefits that it’s worth taking SOME time to do it. I find that if I take even five minutes here and there to write down my thoughts, it clarifies whatever is going on in my head and stays with me as I get on with my day. It gives my mind a chance to process whatever is going on and come up with solutions and ideas. So, the benefits don’t just come from the time spent journaling but in what happens afterwards.
Finding time may be as simple as remembering to do it. If you forget to journal because you’re so busy make it habit by attaching it to something you always do. You could journal
- before you open your email every day
- before you pick up your phone
- just after you brush your teeth in the morning or before bed
- with your first coffee in the morning.
You get the picture.
On the other hand, if you’re not up for journaling as a habit, always have your journal with you and add thoughts whenever you have a few spare moments. If carrying a notebook around with you is not practical, think about keeping a journal on your phone.
And you don’t need to write prose like Dickens. Keep it short and sweet. You can just jot down a few thoughts or ideas or problems you need a solution for. There’s no law that says you have to use full sentences either. Use bullet points or numbered lists if that helps. It’s your journal to use as you like.
Keep it short and sweet. You can just jot down a few thoughts or ideas or problems you need a solution for.
As you write, don’t worry about grammar or spelling. The point of journaling is to express yourself, not to produce a polished piece of writing. Your English teacher is not going to read it. Only you. You could even record your thoughts. Of course, you’d have to be alone for the sake of privacy which is not always possible. But it can be something you do while you’re driving. If you want to read your thoughts back in the future, use a tool like Otter.ai to transcribe them.
If you spend too much time thinking about what to write (the tyranny of the blank page is real). Use prompts to help you get started. It’s the difference between answering a question about your experience and that awful question at interviews “now, Miss Jones, tell me about yourself”.
Once you journal on a regular basis and reap the benefits, don’t be surprised if you find more time to do it. The clarity and self-awareness you gain means that journaling becomes a time saver rather than a consumer of precious minutes and sometimes it’s even a life and sanity saver. Journaling means you don’t take on projects that are wrong for you. You get solutions for things that have been baffling you. You figure out what’s important. You procrastinate less. And that saves so much time.
