30 Day Journaling Challenge to Build A Habit and Gain Clarity
The struggle of not knowing what to write in a journal is real. You open the book and suddenly, your mind goes blank.
Many find the blank pages intimidating. You might feel like it is judging or mocking you for not being able to write even a word.
Journaling is the best habit you can develop. It will help in self discovery, emotional clarity and personal growth.
This 30 day journaling challenge will help you to be consistent and overcome the blank page syndrome. Each day, you’ll explore a prompt or journaling technique to help you experiment with journaling.
30 Day Journaling Challenge to Develop Journaling Habit
Day 1
Prompt : Write about when you felt proud about yourself. It could be a recent event or something from long ago.
This prompt will help to boost your self confidence. It will remind you of the moments when you did something good. Take a break from self-criticism. Acknowledge your accomplishments and give yourself credit for being awesome.
Day 2
Journaling technique: Free Writing
Set a timer for 10 minutes. Write whatever comes to your mind. It could be a list of things to do or buy. Or things that are worrying you. Don’t try to structure or edit. Let your thoughts flow.
Free writing can help you to identify those worrying thoughts that is hidden deep in your mind. Once you start free writing, your thoughts will flow automatically.
You will start to discover subconscious patterns, worries, desires and thoughts. You may end up surprising yourself.
Day 3
Prompt: Write about 3 things that made you smile today.
It is the little moments that make life amazing. And it those precious moments that all of us fail to appreciate. Journaling about this prompt is helpful for shifting your focus on happiness and positivity
Day 4
Journaling Technique: Morning Pages
Write 3 pages of whatever comes into your mind after waking up in the morning. It might take anywhere between 30 to 40 minutes to complete this. So, plan your morning accordingly.
Day 5
Prompt: Write a letter to your future self.
Would you like to address your letter for your future self from 1 year or 5 years? The choice is yours. This letter will help you envision what you want to become in the future. It will motivate you to achieve your goals and live your dream.
Day 6
Journaling Technique: Art Journaling
Time to making journaling fun. Try to express your thoughts through drawing, sketching or painting. Make some doodles and enjoy.
Day 7
Prompt: What is the one self care activity that you enjoyed today?
You have to make self care practice a part of your daily routine. Its non-negotiable. Describe in detail what you did and how you felt before and after.
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Day 8
Journaling technique: Dream Journaling
Write in detail about the dreams you had. Its great to gain insights about your self conscious mind.
Didn’t dream last night? Write about any past dreams that you remember about.
Day 9
Prompt: Write about an affirmation that boost your confidence or makes you happy or comfort you.
Affirmations are great to become the best version of yourself. Which affirmation do you love the most? Why? Writing about it further deepens its effect on you.
Day 10
Journaling technique: Travel journaling
Do you commute to work or for attending college? Write about what did you experience during the commute. Did you observe anything special? Make it as detailed as possible – document about sights, sounds, feelings, smell etc.
Day 11
Prompt: Write about how you will achieve a long term goal.
What are your long term goals? What is your action plan to make you goals and dreams a reality? Write about it in detail. This will help you to stay on track.
Day 12
Journaling technique: One sentence journaling.
Write just one sentence in your journal. It could be about anything.
‘I don’t have time to journal’ – this can’t be your excuse!
Day 13
Prompt: Write about something that is bothering you.
Free your mind. Dump everything onto paper.
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Day 14
Journaling technique: Lists journaling
Write a list. It could be a list of things to do, or things to buy, or things you love about yourself etc.. The options are endless.
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Day 15
Prompt: Review your journaling progress.
You are half way through the 30 day journaling challenge. Are you enjoying this? Could you journal every day? Write about everything in as much detail as you can.
Day 16
Journaling technique: Sentence starter journaling
Begin with a sentence starter to move past the blank page syndrome.
Some sentence starters for you:
- Today, I feel __________ because __________
- One thing I am grateful for today is __________
- A habit I want to build (or break) is ___________ and I will start by ___________
Day 17
Prompt: Write about a challenge you are facing.
Are you currently facing any challenge? What is it? How can you overcome it? What can you learn from it? This prompt will help you to navigate through the challenge.
Day 18
Journaling technique: Bullet journaling
Try bullet journaling today. Bullet journaling is amazing for habit tracking, expense tracking, mood tracking and so on.
Day 19
Prompt: What is your favorite quote? Why is it close to your heart?
Everyone has a favorite quote. Which one is yours? Describe why it means a lot to you. How has this quote helped you in life.
Day 20
Journaling technique: Mood journaling
Write about how you are feeling today. Happy, sad, anxious? This journaling technique is helpful to recognize mood patterns and understand in depth about the same.
Day 21
Prompt: Write a letter to your younger self.
This is an excellent exercise to address your childhood regrets, guilts and fears. It is one of the best ways to show yourself grace.
Day 22
Journaling technique: Reading journal
To get the maximum benefit from what you are reading, you need to engage deeply with it. Which quotes did you like? What are your thoughts on the book?
A reading journal will help you gain immense insights from what you have read.
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Day 23
Prompt: What is something that you have been constantly procrastinating?
Laziness might not be the reason why you are procrastinating things. This prompt will help you understand the deep rooted cause why you are putting things off.
It might be due to fear of failure, or perfectionism, or something else. Journal to find out.
Day 24
My favorite gratitude journaling method is that of Tim Ferris’s.
Tim Ferris has his method of gratitude journaling. He asks himself what he is grateful for under four categories which are:
a. An old relationship that helped you.
b. An opportunity you have today.
c. Something great that happened yesterday.
d. Something simple near you or within your sight.
He picks his favorite three from the above for the day and journals about it.
You could try using this method.
Day 25
Prompt: Describe your ideal day.
What time would you like to wake up? What would your morning routine be? What would you do through out the day? Write about everything in detail.
Day 26
Journaling Technique: Dialogue Journaling
Write a conversation between you and your future self. Or your inner critic. Or an object around you.
This journaling technique helps to look at situations in a new perspective.
Day 27
Prompt: What is something you don’t believe anymore?
You must have heard statements like, ‘Everything happens for a reason’, ‘Time heals everything’. Do you still believe in these statements?
Or maybe you don’t believe something that was told to you in childhood. Write about it.
Day 28
Journaling Technique: Unsent Letter Journaling
Write a letter to someone, but you don’t have to send it. It could be someone who hurt you, left you alone. The person could be dead or alive.
This is a great technique to release emotions and gain clarity.
Day 29
Prompt: How can you practice self love?
You deserve your unconditional and unapologetic love. Are you doing that?
How can you love and accept yourself more? Write about it in detail.
Day 30
Journaling Technique: Reflection Journaling
Look back on the last 30 days of journaling.
Which journaling technique you enjoyed? Did you find it easier to journal with prompts?
What did you learn from this challenge? How can you build on the habit of journaling?
Reflect on the process.
Conclusion
Did this 30 day journaling challenge help you develop a journaling habit.
I hope you enjoyed exploring different methods of journaling, your emotions, thoughts and aspirations which might have been hidden deep in the chambers of your mind.
It is time to use those empty notebooks that’s collecting dust.
Happy journaling.
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