Staying Active in Your Journal

Writing About Everything & Staying Connected to the Practice

There’s a quiet magic in staying active in your journal—not in writing perfectly, or poetically, or even consistently every day—but in staying connected. Your journal isn’t meant to be a record of only the big moments or the beautifully worded thoughts. It’s meant to hold everything. The messy. The mundane. The half-formed ideas. The grocery lists that turn into grief. The joy that sneaks in sideways.

Staying active in your journal means letting it be a place where life is allowed to land exactly as it is.

Write About Everything (Yes, Everything)

One of the biggest reasons people drift away from journaling is the belief that they need something important to say. But the truth is—writing about everything is what keeps the practice alive.

Write about:

• What you’re worried about

• What made you laugh today

• What annoyed you more than it should have

• What you’re craving (emotionally or literally)

• What you don’t have words for yet

Some days your journal will hold deep reflections. Other days it might just be a few sentences, a list, a quote, or a scribble in the margin. All of it counts. All of it keeps the door open.

Let Go of “Doing It Right”

Your journal does not need to be pretty.
It does not need to be profound.
It does not need to make sense to anyone else.

Staying connected to the practice means releasing the pressure to perform. This is not content creation. This is communion—with yourself. When you remove the rules, writing becomes an act of listening instead of proving.

Try this gentle shift:
Instead of asking “What should I write about?”
Ask “What is asking to be written today?”

Keep the Thread, Even When It’s Thin

There will be seasons when journaling flows easily—and seasons when it feels distant. Staying active doesn’t always mean writing pages. Sometimes it looks like:

• One sentence a day

• A single word

• Taping in a receipt or photo

• Writing the date and how your body feels

Think of it as keeping a thread between you and the page. Even the smallest gesture says, I’m still here. I’m still listening.

Use Your Journal as a Companion, Not a Container

Your journal isn’t just a place to put things—it’s a place to be with things. Sit with your thoughts. Ask questions on the page. Respond to yourself. Circle words. Come back later and add a note in the margin.

This is how a journal becomes a relationship instead of a task.

Come Back Gently (Again and Again)

If you’ve fallen away from your journal, you don’t need to apologize to it. Simply come back. Open to a fresh page and write:

“I’m here again.”

That’s enough.

Staying active in your journal isn’t about streaks or structure—it’s about trust. Trust that your life, exactly as it is, is worthy of being written. Trust that the page will meet you where you are. And trust that each time you return, you are practicing presence.

Your journal isn’t asking for perfection.
It’s just asking for you.

Just a reminder I have class to help you stay connected to your Journal.

The Power of Journal Writing - A year long journal course

Monday Pages - An easy, low pressure way of journaling