4 Tips to Reduce the Empty Pages in your Journal

Every so often I hear from my super special readers who say something along the lines of;

“Jawwad, it’s been a month [weeks or days] and I still haven’t written in my daily journal! Do you have any tips for me?” – Elizabeth K.

My reply to all of them (which may not be very assuring) is that it’s OK to have blank pages in your journal.

When I started journaling about 5 to 6 years ago, I would have an average of one Journal entry a week which have now increased to a lot more than that – spanning across different types of journals. If my example is not very convincing, you’d be pleased to find out that even the journals of Bruce Lee had many empty pages.

Simply put, journals are an extension of you – a  human – and its only human to forget or get caught up in temporary worries for a bit. What matters is that you keep trying 🙂 

If you have found yourself to be in the same boat, the following tips may be helpful – which I myself follow;

Step One – Write a journal entry on “Why you don’t get time to write in your daily journal”?

Yes, what better way to improve your habit of journaling by journaling about why you’re not able to do that. Simply, just pick up a pen and start writing the reasons you are unable to write in your daily Journal. For example, by writing in talking to yourself you may realize that you haven’t created a habit or a ritual which makes it easy for you (and almost automatic) to write in your journal daily.

Step Two – Brainstorm ways to make it easier for you to write in your Journal daily

Your goal should be to make the task of writing in your journal an automated habit so its effortless. What are some small improvements you can do to make that happen? Here are some of my tips;

• At home, keep your journal and a pen at your table this way it will be in your view and you will less likely forget
• Outside the house, carry it with you all the time by putting it in your purse, bag, or even jacket’s pocket.
• Write the templates for the future days ahead of time
• Write at the same time each day (for me, I try my best to write first thing in the morning)
• Develop self-love so you have greater motivation to write daily

Step Three – Pick one small improvement to increase your chances of writing a journal entry next time

Copy the one small improvement that you identified in Step 1 or 2 above on the next 10-14 days of your journal. This way each time you come back to your journal for next 10-14 days, you will remember as to what small improvement you are trying to make to get into a habit of writing daily.

Step Four – Repeat Steps 1-3 Until Satisfied

Don’t beat yourself up if it takes you months or even a year to get into the proper routine – as long as you are trying your best and making small improvements along the way (i-e forever learning ;))! Just keep repeating these steps until you have become a daily journaling zen master!

Onwards!