What is The Best Time to Journal for Increasing Motivation and Accountability for Making Change?
You’ve heard me talk about the benefits of journaling many times, such as:
This time around, we’re focused on using journaling to help stick with a new lifestyle change or habit. The ongoing reflection helps you to:
dream big about and become grounded in where you are headed;
think through and gain perspective on situations, emotions and priorities;
track your progress while reflecting on wins and lessons learned;
and plan how to take strength and value-based actions to keep moving.
When to journal, and what to journal about, to help keep motivation and accountability?
Different times of day for journaling might be more helpful than others depending on your focus and personality. For instance:
Morning is known to be a great time for creativity and looking ahead with a fresh mind, so it’s a good time to prepare for your day.
Journal about how you will use your strengths to approach your goals of the day and brainstorm how you might deal with potential challenges related to your change using “If _____, then ______” statements. If I’m offered a glass of wine then I’ll ask for sparkling water. If I am not feeling motivated to go to the gym, then I’ll call my best friend and ask for a pep talk. Have fun visualizing and capturing the details of you in action, forward savoring your success.
Evenings are known to be good for emotional release and reflection when your mind and emotions are turning after a long day, so gratitude journaling in detail about how your day went in relation to your desired change can be powerful.
Capture the little wins knowing they add up. Did you spend a few minutes more on the treadmill? Did you find yourself listening and not interrupting? Celebrate! Capture how you felt before/after you took action. The act of capturing your efforts is a great reward to increase motivation, and by reviewing your journal you can see how far you have actually come when you might not be feeling it yet.
You’ll want to experiment to find the best time, or combinations, that work for you. You might even find yourself with your journal around all the time, your best friend and accountability buddy!