Journal in Only 5 Minutes Each Day

Happy New Year! We’ve officially entered 2019 with a list of resolutions in one hand and great expectations in the other.

But every year, it seems like the New Year cycle goes something like this:

• Make resolution.
• Give resolution 110% effort for three weeks.
• Fail at resolution a couple of times.
• Decide resolution is too hard/unrealistic/impossible.
• Abandon all hope of keeping resolution and quit.

Maybe you are reading this because you decided journaling is something you want to commit to this year.

We applaud you.

And we want to help you keep your resolution this year.

One of the reasons we often give up on our resolutions is because we make them too hard. We want to lose weight so we vow to go to the gym every day and start an elimination diet. We want to save more money so we promise to stop dining out and eat beans and rice. It’s just too hard to live that way for very long.

But, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Journaling doesn’t have to be extreme.

No one expects you to turn into Hemingway, with a journal in hand all day long.

In fact, even if you only have 5 minutes per day to journal, that is enough.

Try this quick journaling technique. Tomorrow morning, set a timer for 5 minutes and answer all five questions or as many as you get to before the time runs out.

1. What is the 1 thing you were most grateful for yesterday?
2. What is the 1 thing you need to do for today to be a successful day?
3. What is 1 thing you are looking forward to today?
4. What is 1 thing you can do to be kind to someone else today? (Check out this blog post for ideas.)
5. What is 1 nice thing you will do for yourself today?

You can use this technique with any 5 questions you like. Include a specific prayer for the day, one of your affirmations or your favorite memory from the day before. The only rule is to choose questions that don’t require long answers.

This is just one technique for journaling when you don’t have a lot of time. You could also choose to journal exclusively about things you are grateful for, progress toward your goals, memorable moments with your kids or notes from books you’re reading.

What other ways have you found to journal with limited time? Share in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

Thanks again to our guest blogger, Ashley, for these great tips! And Happy New Year!