As my last post talked about, I have had a breakthrough with my journaling journey lately. I let it all out on the page, I explain myself and let myself grieve and talk kindly to myself. It is a cool journey to go through in finding yourself.
But alongside the brain dump of thoughts and opinions I spill, I use the journal for both functional and organizational ways too. This blog post is going to be journal spread ideas to kickstart your writing breakthrough, based on what inspired me.
Brain Dump. As I said before, a journal is great to get your thoughts out. Whether it be what you did that day, what made you upset or happy, your opinion on a certain matter at hand, and anything else that pops into your mind at random. My writing when it comes to brain dumps is short spanned, I jump fro, one topic to another sentence after sentence, I just let it flow and get out on the page. It’s refreshing, really.
To-Do Lists. Before compounding my journals into one cohesive book, I wrote my lists for anything my brain thought I needed to visually see on different sticky notes, scrap paper, and planners. I still have a planner, but my to do list for the day, week, month, and so on go in my journal now. And it’s so nice to see it in one place.
Doodles & Sketches. I used to draw a lot, but not as much anymore. I had a dedicated sketchbook, but that doesn’t make sense anymore. So whenever I feel like getting something on a page without focusing too hard, I’ll pop on a YouTube video or music and just draw on a blank journal page. Adds character.
Quotes & Elaboration… or just quotes. I use Pinterest as a big inspiration to my journaling. I save prompts and quotes. But I have been using quotes as my prompts lately. We the Urban, a brand that posts on social media, has great single sentence quotes that spark inspiration. I save them to my board, and then I’ll go through them and write them down and elaborate on each as they pertain to me in my life.
Dreams. I like to journal in the morning, so if I had a dream, I make sure that’s the first thing I recall and jot down in my journal. At first I saw no point in writing down my plain dreams, but it is cool to look back and see a pattern of people, places, and things I recall in multiple dreams.
Goals List. One page in my journal is a goals list. I have what I want to do someday, in five years, in one year, in a month, a week, today, and in the present moment.
Story Ideas. I write stories, but I also just have random story ideas in my head that never get anywhere past that single thought. But what if that’s because I just don’t let it? So now every time any sort of idea that could tell a story comes into mind, I jot it down.
Notes on Ted Talks and Advice. I love listening to the 15-20 minute Ted Talks on YouTube about mindfulness and turning dreams into reality and breakthroughs people have. I almost always have something g I want to write down. Same goes for motivational podcasts. I keep my phone notes open, because usually I’m on a walk while listening, and then I’ll transcribe it into my journal and think about it later on.
Observations. Don’t tell me you’ve never eavesdropped while sitting at the coffee shop or dinner table or while strolling through Target. It’s natural, and honestly, I learn more about people and widen my understanding g of life that way. And if it’s good enough, I’ll write it down. Use it in story.
Scrap Collage. I like to take movie tickets, the tracing of my latest tattoo, and scrap pictures I bought from Hobby Lobby even to tape into my journal. It gives some thickness to the bind and adds a pop of character. It releases that inner child to just tape in some cute pictures and scrap pieces from memories. It’s fun.
Journaling is fun. Don’t let it become a chore. When you open your mind to the different ideas and ways journaling can help you and become a habit and hobby, it’s refreshing!
I hope you took something from this, and I’ll see you next time!