I arrived at the youth centre that morning feeling full of trepidation. There was a gang of 12 helpers including me and each pair had been allocated a particular age group. Mine was the 10 to 11 year olds. Even with the planning meeting I had attended the week before, I worried about whether I was up to the task. Why hadn't I read through the copious lesson plans we were given beforehand? And wasn't the average 10-year-old more interested in the latest Play Station game than making things with paper and glue? There are many other journal writing techniques and methods such as mind maps, cluster drawings, dialogue writing, captured moments, poetic writing and more that you can learn about and use to keep your journal writing fresh and interesting.

Who doesn’t experience difficult times? Consider the time that you write in your journal as an oasis of self-nurturing in your day. It’s a time to vent, rant, reflect, and process just for you. You can write about anything you want to write about. For example write about your day including your thoughts, feelings, problems, challenges, upsets, joys, successes and dreams. Here are some journaling prompts to help you get started: There are many evidence-based benefits of journal writing from over 30 years of research in the expressive writing field. Yes, journal writing is a field of work! It’s a challenge to come up with that one word. You can think about it while you are doing some mindless life maintenance activity—like flossing your teeth, taking out the garbage, or folding clothes.Begin with several minutes of a meditation or a prayer. You can write just for the occasion or create something spontaneously each time. Journaling is a fun, nourishing and creative practice that simply requires something to write with and write on. Whether it’s a pen and notebook, loose paper, cue cards, you get to choose your journaling tools!

You could gain a sense of relief, renewal and replenishment from just 10 minutes of writing about your thoughts, feelings and life observations. Journal Regularly Much like any other activity that’s good for you like brushing your teeth, meditating or eating a healthy diet, journaling can also be done regularly. Journaling makes a great healthy daily habit. Set a Timer Improve your writing. Generally, the more you write, the better a writer you become. Writing regularly makes writing easier, and it helps you develop your own writing voice. Even if your journal is just for yourself and it doesn't matter how "good" it is, journaling builds muscles that you can use for other kinds of writing. And the fact that it is, generally, for your eyes only makes your journal an ideal laboratory for experimenting with new styles, techniques, and subject matter, increasing your range as a writer.Your journal is also a place to collect ideas and material for creative writing. All of the sights, sounds, tastes, and feelings you record, the overheard pieces of conversation, the people you were watching in the street -- all of these can be recycled in stories and poems. These observed details will give your creative writing the texture of reality.

How to Journal – Creating Writing Rituals

Brew a cup of tea or coffee, or pour yourself some fresh juice. Perhaps a glass of wine? Spend a few minutes holding the cup, feeling the warmth, smelling the aromas of your drink and deeply enjoy those sensations. This doesn’t have to be at the same hour each day, but it’s helpful if it’s at the same time in your daily routine. For example half an hour before bed, which will work whether you go to bed at 10pm or at midnight.

Review the good things that have happened in your day—your attitude, your progress toward a goal, a minor victory, even a two-minute interaction with someone that went well. People use journal writing in different ways for a variety of reasons. One person might journal to heal a broken heart writing an unsent letter sharing what they wish they’d said to that person. Someone else might journal to celebrate their accomplishments and make a list of their recent successes in their journal.

FCE Reading and Use of English Part 5: Multiple Choice

I often facilitate timed journal writing exercises in workshops and retreats that I offer. It’s a core part of my Transformational Writing for Wellness Salon, a 6 week group coaching program that takes people into the heart and art of transformational journaling. Of course there were also moments of great poignancy. I found it difficult to stop thinking of one little girl, who mentioned oh-so-casually that her mum was in hospital and would be there for a long time. It's easy for us adults to idealise childhood and forget that some children have their own burden of anxieties and concerns. When I got home utterly exhausted, still with modelling clay under my fingernails, I reflected on what a privilege it had been. Think of writing a journal entry as the lowest cost and highest benefit way of taking care of your health. Remember that writing about meaningful events or activities in your life has been proven to positively impact your overall health without major cost of time or money and without having to leave your home!