Why I’m starting 2021 with a journal instead of resolutions.
What are you doing differently in 2021?
I don’t make New Year resolutions but I do like to go into January with a strong sense of direction and purpose; possibly even a short list of goals and an idea of what I would like to achieve by the end of the year. But the past few years I’ve done this less.
Whilst I’ve enjoyed being able to balance work and family since becoming a freelance consultant following the adoption of our eight year-old three years ago, I have lost the momentum of goal-setting, the direction and sense of achievement I used to have when in full time work.
However, being honest with myself; this is not because I’ve not been in full-time work these past three years. I have simply got out of the habit of being self-driven, of making goals, and then putting the plans into action. Being in work simply gave me the impetus, the mindset. And this has been painful to acknowledge.
For 2021 I need to start building and rebuilding some of those good habits. To help me stay on course I’ve decided to take up journaling.
Keeping a journal
Most people are familiar with keeping a diary. It usually involves writing out events that have happened and your feelings to these. Journaling is slightly different - it is more focused on recording stuff that is meaningful and that will help deliver outcomes.
Journaling has been around for a long time and has growing in popularity over recent years. As I’ve never kept a journal, I started to research options to help me. What I thought would be a speedy activity – maybe an hour’s research online - took over a week!
There are hundreds of journals that focus on different things.
There are scores of wellness journals offering a means of improving one’s mental wellbeing and happiness through mindfulness, positive thinking and self-awareness. Some contain tools to help deal with anxiety, stress, enabling you to keep track of your mental health with prompts and questions. Others are designed to help set goals, and focus on positivity and self-reflection.
And there are those that are more akin to diaries and planners, helping set and schedule new goals from planning activities, meals (keeping a food diary is an effective way to help you lose weight and improve diet by the way) through to fitness workouts.
Then there’s the Bullet Journal (‘BuJo’) Method. The BuJo seems to be the gold standard in helping you focus on ensuring your life is productive and meaningful; a whole new meaning to ‘short circuiting intentional living’!
Gratitude journaling - 2021’s selfcare trend
For 2021, ‘gratitude journaling’ seems to be having a moment. Merging selfcare and journaling, gratitude journaling involves jotting down a few things you’re grateful for every day or week. Using mindfulness, gratitude journaling is supported by studies that show that prove it works. It seems people who write regularly about gratitude really do end up feeling more optimistic and better about their lives (source).
I was quickly sucked into a new black hole of journal choices. From those offering inspirational quotes and meditations through to mindfulness colouring activities and comprehensive workbooks that help you identify improvements you can make, allowing you to reflect and track your progress.
Caught in a quagmire of journal land, my first critical goal for 2021 became remembering what I was looking for and identifying the best journal for me!
At this point I became very overwhelmed and decided to look for a very lovely notebook instead. But there’s the rub. I have a whole bookshelf of lovely notebooks of varying designs and sizes. They are also largely unused. I need help in focusing my journaling - using prompts that are designed to help journaling newbies like me.
And then I came across ‘The way of the tortoise’. Initially put off by the sub header ‘A Journal to Happiness’ (as to all intents and purposes I am already very happy) I researched it a bit further. Then decided to just get it and give it a go. I’d had enough!
My new journal arrived 2 days ago. It’s comprehensive and feels a tad overwhelming. I’ve read the first section on the objectives of the journal and I have flicked through the whole book. I have decided to give it a go.
I appreciate that it will not be the answer - but I am confident my new foray into journaling will be part of the solution.
I now need to start building those good habits of working on it for 5 minutes every morning and every evening.
I’m not quite there yet but the New Year is still young!
What are you doing differently in 2021?
Postscript
I am not in a position to recommend the perfect journal but there are some lovely options out there – large, small, colourful, classy, detailed, high level – and most not all that cheap! Etsy and Papier seemed to have some love ones. Below are sites with reviews I found helpful.
https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-gratitude-journals.html
https://www.reviewgeek.com/32670/the-9-best-wellness-journals-to-keep-track-of-your-health/
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/g25694091/fitness-journal/
