If you believe the internet, the average person now gets the amount of information in a day that a person in the 1800s would get in a week. Apparently, that’s one of the key reasons that we’ve become so anxious as a generation, because our brains get so overload with all of the stimulus, feelings, and news. One of the best ways to unwind and drop this neural load is to get it out of your brain, and into some paper. That’s why people like coming home and telling someone about their day, because once it’s out in the open it’s not in their head anymore. Today, we’re going to be looking at some journalling tips!
Personally, I like journalling on pen and paper, because I think there’s something more romantic about it, but there are lots of online alternatives. The Notes App is a good alternative, especially since it syncs with your Apple account, so you can access it on almost any device. OmmWriter is a cute little app for your desktop, which lets you write in a calming setting with snow falling to soothing glockenspiel music. I used to use it to write my essays in high school, but would often find myself getting distracted by how completely relaxed I felt by the whole interface, which wasn’t the best when I was trying to churn out four assignments a day, but is perfect for needing to unwind!
If you are part of the more old-fashioned brigade (nothing wrong with it!), there are a few things you can do to make the experience more calming. Try to have a set time you like to journal. Some people prefer the morning, when their head is clear an they can best lay out their plan for the day and address what they want to do, but other people prefer the evening before bed, when they can best reflect on everything that has happened and parse their emotions. I’m definitely a bedtime person, least of all because I find it difficult to keep my eyes open before 10am!
One thing that really helped me with staying committed to journalling was not staying committed to journalling. The pressure of having to write something every day would often lead me to dropping the endeavour entirely, either because I forgot about it in the throes of work, or just not considering my day to be interesting enough to write about. Writing when you want to write, without any conditions or rules, is often the best way forward. Remember, you’re journalling for yourself and your mental health, so there’s no reason to force yourself to if you don’t want to!
Photo by Matthew Henry from Burst.
