5 Minutes to Happiness
A five-minute happiness fix? We're highlighting a few ways to get started unlocking the benefits of daily journaling.
Firstly -- why journaling for an already-busy mom?
Journaling has numerous physical, emotional, and mental health benefits. The process of journaling can reduce stress, which in turn promotes lower blood pressure and improved memory -- mom brain be gone!
Journaling can also help you become more self-aware. You'll be able to track patterns in your moods, thoughts, and behaviors which will help you work through any personal struggles or goals.
Finally, daily journaling allows for some much needed 'me time'. Even if it's just a five minute break each day, carving out a dedicated time and place to journal gives you a ritual unto yourself.
But how do I start?
There are so many ways to journal, and finding the approach that best fits your lifestyle, goals, and schedule is key to journaling happiness. Gratitude journals prompt you each day to reflect on things in your life for which you're grateful; daily prompt journals remove writer's block by giving you a head start on what to write each day; and free-form journals may remind you of your teenage "Dear Diary" days, giving you a place to record any and all thoughts in a free-flow format.
Make the act of journaling feel special by indulging in a beautiful journal, a special set of writing utensils, or -- if you're heading down the path of bullet journaling -- some personalized stamps, stickers and washi tape to get your creative fix.
And find the right time of day to incorporate journaling into your self-care routine. Morning when the kids are off to school or daycare? A mid-afternoon break alongside a cup of tea or snack? Or at night, in lieu of scrolling through Instagram or TikTok?
The important thing is to find what works for you and stick with it.
Let us give you a helping hand.
We know you're short on time, so we're helping you kickstart your journey to positive journaling with these tips, thanks to Psychology Today:
- Write about your joy, focusing on a moment when you especially felt joy
- Write with serenity, envisioning serenity as a gift you are giving yourself
- Write about interest, and what interest feels like to you
- Write about hope, including what gives you hope and how you share hope with others
- Write about love -- and don't limit it to romantic love. Think about feelings of goodness to all creatures, and focus especially on self-love.
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