Tips for Making Journaling Part of Your Daily Routine

August 28, 2019 in Writing Tools and Information, Secondhand Inspiration

The way to ensure that journaling works for you is to do it long term. Long-term journaling gives you more insight into your life because you’ll be able to reflect on the past, present, and even the future (sort of) to try to get answers in your life.

But first, you must dive in and do it steadily. And you need to do it daily to make it a consistent habit. Below are some simple tips for making journaling part of your daily routine.

Make It Easy – If you don’t make it a huge deal, it’ll be simpler to get done. For example, it’s easier to use a pen and paper rather than a computer for most people. You can have the book in your bag or on your bedside table or wherever you plan to write. I personally find it useful to keep it nearby at all times in case inspiration strikes at some random moment.

Select a Time That Works For You – The best times to journal are early morning or right before you go to bed. However, these times might not work for some people. If you know a better time, do it. For example, some people like journaling while on lunch at work. It’s up to you. Think of what part of the day that you have the most creative energy and opportunity, and then try to include doing some journaling during that time.

Get a Drink and Eat a Snack – Don’t allow your mind to manufacture any excuses or extraneous thoughts while you’re journaling. Make sure you’re fed and hydrated before you get started.

Create a Comfortable and Accessible Space – It’s easier to delve into your thoughts if you’re comfortable and not thinking about how bad your backside hurts on a chair or how uncomfortable your wrist feels. Some people like sitting at a desk, some in a comfy chair, while others prefer relaxing in their bed while journaling. Choose wisely.

Combine It with Something Else You Enjoy Doing – If you enjoy working out, why not journal right after you are done? If you have a daily activity, add journaling to it. It’s a variation of habit stacking and it’ll help to establish your new journaling habit quickly.

Use Relaxing Music to Set the Mood – I know that some people prefer silence, and that’s okay if you do. But consider trying some music that doesn’t have words and that you find relaxing. It might help you to gather your thoughts and to remain calm and focused.

Utilize a Particular Type of Journal – For some people, using a style of journaling like bullet journaling, prayer journaling, project journaling, and more, works better since it defines some rules for entry. The constraints can help guide you towards your goal.

Consider Using Prompts – With a simple Google search, you can discover journaling prompts for any type of journal you want to use.

Reward Yourself – When you have been diligent for a month writing in your journal, take some time to read what you wrote, then reward yourself for succeeding.

To truly experience the full benefits of journaling, it needs to be done nearly every day. Therefore you need to find savvy ways to incorporate journaling into your daily life. The best way to accomplish this is to make it easy and turn it into a habit.

Writing the Perfect Blog Post.

March 10, 2018 in Writing Tools and Information

If you’ve ever struggled with establishing a strong methodology for creating content on your blog, then you should check out this awesome post from Jeff Goins’ blog called “4 Essential Elements to Writing a Great Blog Post.”

Goins contends that by establishing a little bit of structure in your blog writing process, you will become more creative within the constraints and be easily able to produce great articles and ideas for your blog, Check it out.

https://goinswriter.com/great-blog-post/?inf_contact_key=a694018da6be3a2bfe50ab0764726b362c9514135db615b95b291840f52c2b73

Creativity in 100 Words.

January 31, 2018 in Secondhand Inspiration

Nowadays creativity has become a grab-bag term, like diversity and hope, that can mean so many things that it runs the risk of meaning nothing at all. To me, creativity is the genesis of original concepts or innovations that relies primarily on our imagination. It’s our subconscious forming a representation of what’s not obvious to the traditional senses. I don’t think creativity starts with a eureka moment; I don’t believe ideas are spontaneously generated inside an intellectual vacuum. We mentally wander down a long and winding road while interacting with the world in order to produce a groundbreaking new idea.

So How Can You Improve Your Creativity?

January 23, 2018 in Secondhand Inspiration

Listen to your inner voice. Grab your markers and create.

Maybe it's silly, but I believe that everyone is born creative. We all get handed a box of markers in pre-school or kindergarten. But then we mature and the world snatches away our markers and replaces them with textbooks, bills, and responsibilities. Ugh. Years later we recall how fun creativity is. It's that little kid inside...and we want our damn markers back.

But we doubt ourselves because that's what adults do. We overthink everything. Can I really write a screenplay? But I don't know anything about sculpting? My recipe for cookies can't be good enough to sell, can it?

But asking whether you can do something or if there is a pot of gold at the end of the creative rainbow isn't that kid voice begging for markers. That's your adult voice who wants to tediously analyze the situation and find a way to get your inner child to shut the hell up.

The kid inside is not trying to hard sell you on the merits of creativity or trying to calculate the benefit/cost ratio of following your passion. He or she just wants to make something. Something freaking awesome that will amaze anyone who sees it. That voice doesn't care if an idea fails, or if it doesn't fit the needs of some hypothetical market. It wants you to make something honest and real, and it believes you'll succeed if you try. It knows there's something you haven't sketched, or sang, or stitched that needs to be spawned, some match that needs to be struck into a new flame, and that fire needs to burn. Now.

So improve your creativity by listening to that little kid talking inside of you...before he or she loses their voice. That voice will die if you don't listen, and it will take a piece of your soul with it when it does. Reach for your markers. Make something new. Don't second guess the impulse or doubt the merits of trying. Allow yourself a chance to be creative. They're just markers. You weren't scared of them as a kid...so don't fear them now.

How To Be Creative.

October 23, 2017 in Secondhand Inspiration, Random Thoughts

So you want to be more creative in art, writing, work, or whatever. Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years.

Ignore others. The more original your ideas, the less good advice other folks will be able to provide. Plus, people tend to naysay and undermine new ideas, whether out of jealousy or fear. If you truly have a new idea, it’s often best to cultivate it internally before getting the opinions of others.
Your idea doesn’t have to be huge – it just has to invoke a change in the world. The two are not necessarily the same, even though we often assume they are.
Put in the hours and effort. Doing anything worthwhile takes an extra push. What separates the success stories from failed people is time, effort, and stamina.
Everyone is born creative. We all doodled with crayons in kindergarten. We imagined impossible things and were happy doing so. In high school, society stole our markers and construction paper and replaced it with algebra and textbooks….and then our workplaces replaced them with mundane memos and company policies. Blah. Deciding that you want to be creative is just you taking back your crayons – the crayons you should have been able to keep all along.
Don’t stand out from the crowd. Avoid the crowd altogether. Your plan to showcase your creativity needs to be as creative as your work itself. Don’t blindly follow the same methods others follow just because it’s “what you’re supposed to do.” Find your own path, even if it I winding.
If you accept rejection, it cannot hurt you. You will hear “no” often. If you hear it enough, you’ll become numb to it. You might hear no because people don’t understand your ideas, or what you are doing is so different that they think it must fail. Accept rejection as collateral damage. Their rebuffs won’t sting for long if you are certain you’re destined for greater things.
The world is changing. Your creative vision needs to change as well.
Sing in your own voice. People can recognize a knockoff a mile away. Once you’ve been pigeonholed as a bootleg version of someone else, you’ll never crawl out from under that label.
Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It will arrive, eventually. You’re better off not pushing the deal. If you really want to write but it’s not coming easy, go read for a while. If you really want to draw but have no ideas, scroll through some artistic photos. Your body requires food to have enough energy to workout. Similarly, reading or studying the creative work of others can fuel your own creativity.
Always create from the heart.

These creative tenets seem to work for me. Maybe one or two of these ideas will ring true for you. Safe travels as you embark on your creative journey!

So what should you blog about when you’re blogging on your blog?

October 07, 2017 in Writing Tools and Information

Just like with any form of creative writing, blogging presents the challenge of generating ideas. This is especially true if you want to keep a steady flow of new content for readers.

So how should you go about creating new ideas for blog posts? This article by Vicki Krueger on the Poynter website provides some examples of basic constructs that can be used to spark successful blogging. Read them, implement them, then bask in the glory of your awesome blog!

https://www.poynter.org/news/7-ideas-writing-blog-posts