Need some journaling tips

[fox006]

hello everyone. I want to do expressive writing. I am a perfectionist and I research a lot. I haven't found the "Perfect" way to journal. Is there anyone who has experience in expressive writing? I need some help regarding this.

[Michdau1]

What you choose to write about should be extremely personal and important to you and dont worry about punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Just write! ❤️ The main blocker u have from what u have stated is your over thinking. Just write continuously and freely and the more u write, the more u will relax. The more u relax, the more u will write XXX Go with however your feeling. Even if u start by writing that you're a perfectionist etc and see where it takes you x

[fox006 in reply to Michdau1]

ok, so there will be no topic. it is like free writing right???

[Dolphin14 in reply to fox006]

My therapist told me to just write. No worries no boundaries no punctuation unless you feel like it.

My journals are totally an "F" grade in punctuation and grammar lol

I agree with Mitchdau1. Put pen to paper and just go.

[fox006 in reply to Dolphin14]

I am gonna try this. It sounds awesome. Its like there are no rules,you can write whatever you want.

[Michdau1 in reply to fox006]

Yes xxx

[snow_queen]

I am also a perfectionist, and I love journaling in part because it is one place I allow myself to be imperfect. everything can be a mess in my journal, and it's ok because no one but me will ever see it. some things that help me with writing are:

1. I only write when and what I want to, this makes it so I always feel good about journaling. if I treated it as "I have to journal every day and explain what my day was like" I would never journal. that said, you can't make something a habit without trying to do it regularly. figure out what works for you.

2. I don't put pressure on myself to explain things or make sense. I can panic in the middle of the night and write down my feelings and if I try to read it in the morning it won't even be coherent. and that's ok, because it helped me.

3. I sometimes write notes to other people that I never plan on sending. this isn't exclusive to journaling, but it helps me sort out my feelings and determine what I should (or shouldn't) do, much like my regular journaling does.

of course, what works for me might not work for anybody else just put some time in, and be kind to yourself, and you'll figure out what the perfect way is for you

[fox006 in reply to snow_queen]

the unsent letter technique, i know about this. I haven't tried it but I am going to give it a try.Thank you for your suggestion.

[EleanorRose]

I’m a bit of a perfectionist too, in this respect. There are some really good journalling ideas on Pinterest.

I used to buy ringbound notebooks - that way pages could be easily pulled out if I didn’t like something in them.

I then moved to only buying plain paper notebooks and writing in pencil. I do now write in pen and sometimes have to force myself initially to choose a different colour /cross something out. Once the initial ‘perfection’ is lost and it’s already ‘ruined’ I find it much easier to just continue to be free about it.

Now, I love the freedom of writing/drawing (mostly diagrams, rather than pictures) whatever comes into my head and whatever I need to write about in that moment. More often than not I write in bullet points rather than in full sentences. Sometimes I have a ‘topic’ I need to write about - sometimes it’s just about my day/feelings. I still only write on plain paper though because I love the freedom it gives.

[fox006 in reply to EleanorRose]

Can I write in a piece of paper and then burn it? have you ever tried it?

[EleanorRose in reply to fox006]

I have a bit of a fear of fire, so it’s not something I’d personally do, but I don’t see why not. I’ve certainly written things and ripped them up and binned them in the past.

I prefer to keep things nowadays - they can sometimes be useful to look back on for me but it is an intensely personal thing. Do what feels right for you. If the purpose of your journaling is just to get your thoughts ‘out of your head’, then it doesn’t really matter what you do with it afterwards.

[Kkimm]

Great advice from everyone here.