Mindfulness Journaling and How it Helps

If you are interested in improving your mental health, whether you deal with a lot of 
stress, anxiety, or other mental health disorders, journaling is a great place to start. Not 
only does journaling help with your mental health, but specific types of journaling, like 
mindful journaling, can be crucial. Here are some things to know about mindfulness 
journaling and how it can help you.

What to Write About

The first thing to understand about mindful journaling or journaling for mindfulness 
purposes is that it is a little different than regular journaling. You are not just writing what 
you did during the day, but really taking the time to analyze how you felt, your moods, 
your motivations, and reflect on what occurred during the day. You can write in the 
mindful journal at the end of the day, early in the morning before your day starts, or 
bring it with you and make notes as the day progresses. There are many ways to use a 
journal for mindfulness and help your mental health in the process.

Use the Reflection Method

This is probably one of the most important elements of a mindful journal. This is when 
you write about your day and allow yourself to reflect on what happened, from 
something that happened to you, or the actions you made during the day. You want to 
spend time thinking about the different bullet points of your day, whether you had a work 
meeting or you met a friend for coffee, and next to each bullet point, reflect on those 
moments. Was it happy or sad? How did you feel? What would you have done 
differently? Are you okay with any mistakes you made and ready to move on? This 
practice not only lets you experience and reflect on your decisions and actions, but gets 
you into the mindset of moving on and doing better tomorrow.

Start a Mindful Journaling Habit

The best way to use mindful journaling for your mental health and to really benefit from 
it is to start a habit. Don’t overthink it when you first start using a journal for mindfulness. 
Just get a journal or notebook and get into the habit of using it every day. Choose a type 
of the day when you want to write, and can be alone to do so. This might be in the 
morning before the household has woken up, at night just before bed, or during your 
lunch break. Once you are in the habit, it becomes easier to start using it for 
mindfulness.
