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7 prompts to start journaling

10.26.2016

One of my favorite products in the shop is our “A Guide to” Journal. The funny things is, I don’t think I’ve ever really share WHY I love it so much. The short version? They’ve changed my life in a different way than the prayer journals do. I kept hearing people talk about journaling, not prayer journaling or Bible journaling, but just journaling. Each person emphasized how life-changing the process was. It helped them to slow down and actually think about what they were doing.

I originally designed the journal as a companion guide to The Finishing School so if there was a particular chapter that you really wanted to dig deep into, you could write the journey of it. I did this when I was learning about margin and journaling as I learned more and made decisions helped the concept stick. There are so many ways it can be used though and I have about 3 of these journals right now that I use for different things. If you want to get into journaling but aren’t really sure where to start, here are 7 prompts to start journaling:

7 Topics to journal about | Val Marie Paper1. A Guide to The Everyday

This is a simple journal where I write about my day, the struggles, the victories, everything. I have been doing this since around the time Vana was born and it has been so helpful to help me articulate thoughts and get honest with myself. I’ll discover truths about things when the pen hits the paper that I wouldn’t have discovered if I had kept going about my day and not taking the time to stop and think. Here’s a post by Michael Hyatt on 7 benefits to journaling daily

2. A Guide to Goals

I’ve got my powersheets where I have all the goals, but in this journal I have notes from webinars or podcasts about goal setting. I’ve got my verses that I pair with each goal. I have my monthly goals along with three action steps to get me started each month. 

3. A Guide to My 32nd Year

Keep a journal and jot down your favorite memories from each year. I think this would make a fun gift for a friend’s birthday. How cool to have one for each year! 

4. A Guide to Health

If you are on a health journey, I love the idea of having a place for your game plan, verses and quotes of encouragement and those victories and struggles. 

5. A Guide to Books

The whole premise behind The Finishing School is that I was reading a ton and not letting it stick. I have done this in the past, as I read a book, I would have a notebook handy to jot down favorite quotes and write the thoughts that came to mind while I was reading? It would be perfect to go back to later when the concept wore off a bit and you needed a refresher! 

6. A Guide to Learning

Do you want to learn how to use a camera or learn to cook? Use one of these as “A Guide to Cooking” and write out everything you are learning about cooking. Your own personal textbook with just the info you need! 

7. A Guide to “Word of the Year”

I wrote about my word for the year being small. It has come up countless times this year (and here!) and I honestly wished I had been keeping a journal to follow the thread of it throughout my year! My friend Rhi blogged once a week on her word of the year last year and I think journaling once a week would help you stick with your word looong after January ended! 

So truth, you can use any notebook for these things. But the nerd in me loves the collection I’m…well…collecting and how the cover has the name of all the different topics! Have any other ideas of what’d you’d like to journal about?

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