# How to Develop a Daily Journaling Habit

By [Galazio](https://paragraph.com/@galazio) · 2024-02-20

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![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/bd82372036e454eccfef9d6127e021bf.jpg)

### Why Journal?

I start each day by writing for a few minutes while I drink my coffee. 

In the short term, journaling helps me make sense of my thoughts and feelings. In the long term, it gives me a window into memories I likely would have forgotten.

Despite how much I love it, I used to find journaling consistently quite challenging. I’d start a new journal with enthusiasm, then let weeks or months go by without writing again. For me, the biggest blockers were 1.) finding a convenient time to write and 2.) worrying about creating the perfect entry.

### Here are the strategies that helped me create a consistent journaling habit:

1.  **Find a journal that makes you excited to write**
    

Is GSM important to you? Or a journal cover that matches your aesthetic? I think of my journal like an accessory since I bring it with me to most places. I love notebooks with bright colorful covers.

2.  **Skip the first page**
    

Perfectionism creeps in when I open a new journal and stare at the blank first page. Skipping the first page helps me to just start writing.

3.  **Journal about anything and everything**
    

Not every entry needs to be profound or goal-driven. Lists, stream of consciousness prose, doodles - all of it is journaling.

I write about the weather, the color of the light, how I’m feeling, what I expect my day to look like, and things I’m excited or anxious about. I write about the boring little details that don’t matter now but might be important to me later. I make lists of books read, places visited, and goals I’m setting. When I don’t feel like writing I draw doodles.

4.  **Take your journal with you everywhere**
    
    ![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/922be7bad5369b6e20e54e0d2d2c9c68.jpg)
    

This practice helped me discover that I love to write early in the morning. My favorite entries to re-read are the ones where I took out my journal in the most random places and wrote down a few thoughts.

4a. I recommend keeping your journal in a plastic bag when traveling to avoid mishaps like the time my journal ended up in a puddle of water on the floor of a rowboat.

Thank you for reading! Do you have any tips or strategies for journaling daily? I’d love to hear about them! :)

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*Originally published on [Galazio](https://paragraph.com/@galazio/daily-journaling-habit)*