Gratitude Journaling - A Journaling Routine

Welcome to the first newsletter about Gratitude Journaling.

Last week, we gave you a small insight into what our newsletters would look like moving forward.

To add to those insights, we have decided on one additional point.

We will lighten up the newsletter and make it a little easier to read. We felt at UG (Unbound Gratitude) that we were slightly robotic in delivering information. Moving forward, we will embark on a more storytelling mindset and delivery.

With that done, let’s jump into today’s topic: A journaling routine.

 Recognise our routine.

There is so much information about journaling—the ‘why’ to journaling has lots of information scattered over the internet.

The how and when, though, is sorely lacking in our view.

To start gratitude journaling, we need to begin with the when.

Our research showed that our routines are significant in how and when we journal.

The how-to journal is a learned activity that takes some time to discover. (more in future publications)

The when, though, is the real crux of the issue and can make or break whether we get into journaling.

‘I need to find the time’ is such a universal statement in our busy lives, yet we hardly really look into it. We don’t recognise our time and where it goes.

For this week, we would like you to recognise your routine. It’s the first step we need to take to add a new activity to our lives. 

… ‘I have to find the time.’ … is precisely what we need to do, however, to do so … ‘I have to know my time’ …

Try to recognise 3-5 minute gaps where time to journal could be used. See if those 3-5 minutes are consistent throughout your routine. At first, 3 minutes is all you will need to journal.

Here is a nice hack for you … write down your routine, but do it daily…at exactly the same time. (Look, you’re accidentally journaling) ✍️

That’s it. Our first step to gratitude journaling.

Next week, we will look at basic journaling, our tools and writing our first journal entry.

For further information, hop over to our site for a deeper dive.

Gratitude Gem

Conversation Corner

‘Hey, Jill, guess what? I started journaling,’ Jack said.

‘Really? I didn't know you could spell well enough to journal,’ Jill said, smirking.

‘Ha funny ha, Jill,’ Jack said. ‘I’ll have you know my spelling has improved. Autocorrect says so.’

‘So, what do you journal about? "Dear Diary, today I climbed a hill and fell down again”?’ Jill said.

Jack smiled. ‘Exactly! But I make it sound epic. "Today, I embarked on an arduous ascent, battling gravity itself, only to engage in a swift tactical retreat."

‘Tactical retreat, huh?’ Jill said, raising an eyebrow. ‘Is that what we're calling tumbling down hills these days?

‘Absolutely. And I've learned so much. Like, never trust a hill that's been known to drop people.’

‘Groundbreaking discovery. I'm sure the scientific community is shaking,’ Jill said with a shrug.

‘They should be!’ Jack said. ‘But seriously, it's been great for self-reflection. I even journaled why we keep fetching water from that same dangerous hill.’

‘And?’ Jill said

‘We need a water filter. Climbing hills is not a sustainable long-term water fetching strategy,’ Jack said.

‘Wow, journaling does lead to life-changing insights,’ Jill said, nodding. ‘Next, you'll tell me you've found a safer way to bake bread.’

‘One step at a time, Jill,’ Jack said. ‘First the hill, then the world.’

‘Oh boy,’ Jill said.

Last week

Here is the link to last week’s newsletter.

We at Unbound Gratitude wish you a wonderful week,
Take Care.