Every so often I hear from my super special readers who say something along the lines of:
“Jawwad, it’s been a month [weeks or days] and I still haven’t written in my daily journal! Do you have any tips for me?” – Elizabeth K.
My reply to all of them (which may not be very reassuring) is that it’s OK to have blank pages in your journal.
When I started journaling about 5 to 6 years ago, I would have an average of one journal entry a week, which has now increased to a lot more than that – spanning across different types of journals. If my example is not very convincing, you’d be pleased to find out that even the journals of Bruce Lee had many empty pages.
Simply put, journals are an extension of you – a human – and it’s only human to forget or get caught up in temporary worries for a bit. What matters is that you keep trying :)
If you have found yourself to be in the same boat, the following tips may be helpful – which I myself follow:
Step One – Write a Journal Entry on Why You Don’t Have Time to Write in Your Daily Journal
Yes, what better way to improve your habit of journaling than by journaling about why you’re not able to do that. Simply, just pick up a pen and start writing the reasons you are unable to write in your daily journal. For example, by writing and talking to yourself, you may realize that you haven’t created a habit or a ritual which makes it easy for you (and almost automatic) to write in your journal daily.
Step Two – Brainstorm ways to make it easier for you to write in your journal daily
Your goal should be to make the task of writing in your journal an automated habit so it’s effortless. What small improvements can you make to automate the habit? Here are some of my tips:
- At home, keep your journal and a pen at your table. This way, it will be in your view, and you will be less likely to forget.
- Outside the house, carry it with you all the time by putting it in your purse, bag, or even jacket’s pocket.
- Write the templates for future days.
- Write at the same time each day (for me, I try my best to write first thing in the morning).
- Develop self-love so you have greater motivation to write daily.
Step Three – Pick one small improvement to increase your chances of writing a journal entry next time
Copy the one small improvement that you identified in Step 1 or 2 above onto the pages for the next 10-14 days in your journal. This way, each time you come back to your journal for the next 10-14 days, you will remember what small improvement you are trying to make to get into a habit of writing daily.
Step Four – Repeat Steps 1-3 Until Satisfied
Don’t beat yourself up if it takes you months or even a year to get into the proper routine – as long as you are trying your best and making small improvements along the way (i.e., forever learning ;))! Just keep repeating these steps until you have become a daily journaling zen master! If you’re still trying to get the habit off the ground entirely, these 4 tips to kickstart the journaling habit are a good place to start, and my newer guide on building a journaling habit that actually sticks goes deeper on the same problem.
Onwards!
If empty pages are the problem and you want a short restart sequence that does not guilt you into a streak, that is what my newsletter walks through. Subscribe here and the first email arrives within the hour.
1 comments On Empty Journal Pages? 4 Tips to Start Writing Again
The act of journaling is one of the few things you can do where you always win. No one is going to read what you wrote. No one is going to judge what you wrote, so just write something, anything, and you win.