Journal Challenge Week 4: Building a Habit that Lasts

We are now three weeks into the journal challenge and this is the point where new habits can sometimes become more engrained or fall by the wayside.  Today we’ll talk about habit-building strategies.  I’ll cover them in the context of journaling but it can apply to anything and may be helpful if your journaling tends to focus on goals and changes.

Here are some basic tips to start and maintain a new habit:

1.      Start small!  Setting a goal of journaling for an hour a day may be neither achievable nor sustainable.  Starting with a small behavioral goal allows us to establish a new routine with less effort.  So maybe you want to journal for five minutes per day.  Or even take five minutes to sit in a comfortable spot where you could journal to establish the routine and space.

2.      Try “habit stacking.”  This means tying a new behavior to one you already do.  For example, sitting down to write after you’ve made your cup of coffee in the morning.  Or journal after you brush your teeth in the evening.  Over time, with repetition, your brain will develop stronger connections between the two behaviors.

3.      Make completion of the behavior rewarding.  Some of us are very happy to mark a daily checkbox or put a sticker on a calendar.  Or maybe that much anticipated cup of coffee comes after you write.  Your brain will associate the new behavior with feeling rewarded.

4.      Cue the new behavior.  A cue is a prompt to do something. This can be something like a setting reminder on your phone, leaving your journal in plain sight somewhere, or having a reliable “journal buddy” who’s working on this with you and is happy to prompt you.

5.      Be patient.  And forgiving.  There will be days you miss, forget, or don’t feel like journaling.  Be kind to yourself and know tomorrow is another day.  This process is not about proving whether or not you can commit to something.  It is about developing and maintaining a meaningful practice that can promote mental health and wellness.

Week 4 Journal Prompt- The Unexpected: What’s something unexpected that has happened in your life or that you’ve learned about yourself?  What was the experience like and has it had a lasting impact?  How?  What were your takeaways from it?