A lot of journalers want to write every day and that is just fine. But for me, I can’t make journaling a chore or a daily task. That’s an easy way for me to make myself hate journaling.
I’m already hard on myself for not being the most “adulty” adult.
I already have perfectionist tendencies so if there’s anywhere in the world where I have permission to be imperfect, it’s my journal.
Plus, allowing myself to be sporadic is a part of my journaling… When I notice a gap in my writing, that tells me something…
It tells me I’ve been thrown off for a little while. It tells me that I’ve been emotionally overwhelmed or distracted.
Which is fine.
I’m going to feel like 💩 sometimes. That’s life, and I’m not going to make myself feel bad for not writing.
How does that help? How does that serve me? Where would that lead me?
A journal is one of the few places I can be fully free and not have any self-applied standards to meet. I don’t have any rules when it comes to my journaling practice so I don’t have anything to be upset with myself for. I allow my journal to be raw and I let the entries fall as they may…
I’ll put it like this — a therapist never forces me to talk, so why should I force myself to write?
If I know that’ll throw me off my practice and pull me away from journaling, why would I do it? Why would I make something I love a chore or a challenge?
Who am I trying to prove myself to?
Who am I writing for?
What’s gonna happen if I don’t write every day??
Unless the world will implode on itself, I’m not interested in applying unnecessary performance pressure to something that’s supposed to benefit me. That just seems like a stress endurance test to me.
“Stressful journaling” feels like an oxymoron. Don’t you think?
I’ll make it a point to write daily when it becomes something I truly want to do and something I value. As of right now, the only reason I have for writing every day would be because I “should” and a “should” just is not good enough for me… My inner perfectionists feeds off being guided by “shoulds” and I’m not looking to keep her alive…
This is not to suggest that making a point to write every day is a bad thing — It’s not. You might be using your journal for a purpose that requires you to write every day and I can’t tell you what’s best for you. I’m not you, and I’m not in charge of your journaling style.
You do you!
But, if your reason for making yourself write everyday is because you “should”, then I recommend you think deeply about why you’re journaling and decide if daily journaling is really that important. Is it imperative to meeting the root goal behind your choice to keep a journal?
Listen, your journal is for you, and you don’t have to prove anything to anybody — including your inner perfectionist.
You are allowed to be sporadic. It is okay, to NOT write every day.