Why Can’t I stick to Journaling?

OK, so you’re on board with the fact that journaling can change your life.  

You’re on board with the fact you WANT to do it daily.

But, you manage a few days, a couple of weeks and you’re feeling good….then you skip a couple of days…then before you know it you’re frustrated and annoyed at yourself for not sticking to it….and the loop continues!

There are several things at play here.

You don’t realise you need to form a habit.

The thing with forming habits is you’re creating new neural pathways in your brain…that takes time.

SO at the beginning stages of forming a new habit you need some accountability, a little determination and to understand it’s tough at the beginning.  

Once you form your habit it becomes second nature and just something you ‘do’.  

It becomes automatic, it takes less energy and just doesn’t feel like ‘effort’ anymore.

BUT understanding and being conscious of the fact that you need to form this habit, that it will take time (at least a month), energy and effort, makes it that much easier to get through.  Then it’s plain sailing.

So…how do you get through the tough bit?

Get yourself a habit checker (here’s one) that you WILL see before going to bed or first thing in the morning (whichever one you choose)

Get yourself an accountability buddy.  Rope in a friend or mentor and be held accountable for doing it.

Decide WHEN you’re going to journal.  Would you prefer (and be more likely to) first thing in the morning or last thing at night? (you can choose both if you like!)

Whichever you choose you need to strategically place your journal somewhere where it will be the first thing or last thing you see.  

Make it as easy as possible on yourself! Take as much of the effort and energy out of it as you can.

You’re not connecting with why you want to do it in the first place.

What do you want to change about your life?  

Are you trying to be more positive, happier, less anxious?  Whatever it is, connect to your reason behind wanting to start it in the first place and really feel how it would feel in a few months time when you’re seeing all the benefits.  

How much do you want that feeling to be a reality? How important is it to you?  What would change in your life if you could shift your thinking?

Blank page syndrome!

I have so many people come to me saying they don’t know what to write, how do they just start?!  

They buy the pretty journal (you know…the one with the inspirational quote on the front!) then they sit down, ready to make a start and…brain crickets! DOH!

So here’s the thing…there is no set format for journaling.  It has to be what works for YOU.

If you’re not a ‘dear diary’ kind of a gal…don’t do it! (i’m not…and I don’t!)

I’m a HUGE fan of lists and prompts.  

It’s quick, you can dip in and out of lists and add to them all the time, it gives you structure and a format to follow.  

Once you’ve mastered what works for you you’ll naturally do it.  To work out the best prompts think about what you want to get out of it, what you want to achieve, where you want to be.  

If you struggle with confidence, use lists and prompts specifically for that.  

Don’t try and tackle everything at once.

Have a look at my printables here for some great prompts and exercises to get you started.

You’re using something that doesn’t work for you.

I’ve been there.  I used to use a journal that had a to do list, in between mindset stuff…I mean, to me that’s the definition of counter intuitive!  

Why you would put something that brings you stress and overwhelm in amongst your positive thinking and gratitude?!  

But…equally, someone else may want just that!

This is why I love printables and created my own, that way you can find ones that are perfect for you and essentially create your own perfect journal. And…you buy them once and you can print again and again and again!

So there are a few of the top reasons you’ve probably been struggling to form that habit of journaling.  

It’s 100% possible, there’s nothing wrong with you and you aren’t doing it wrong either.  

Give yourself a break and acknowledge forming a new habit is hard but I wholeheartedly believe that journaling can and will change your life if you stick with it.

If you want to explore this further, have any questions or want some accountability then come join me in my private community below!!

Fx

P.S – Question…Are you sick of getting IN YOUR OWN WAY and procrastinating on getting your business going?  Would you like to learn some practical strategies to stop you procrastinating WHEN it happens so you can FINALLY get the things you NEED to do DONE?  Download my FREE guide below and I’ll show you 5 simple strategies to stop procrastination in its tracks!

 

Fran Excell, Subconscious Success Mentor – Helping Business Owners Overcome Self Sabotage & Get More Done In Less Time at www.franexcell.com

RESOURCES:

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