Is it bad that I felt sooooo basic writing the title of this blog post and even thinking to write it?! That sounds silly, because it’s a damn journal. Literally a bunch of paper bounded together and something I’ve been doing for years and that we’ve all been doing forever.

I’ve seen so many bloggers/influencers/motivational speakers talk about this, so for me, writing it felt a little “conforming”, but at the same time, they’re talking about it for a reason. Because it HELPS!

We’re talking about journaling. A good ol’ diary or something that just gets thoughts on paper. I’ve always been the type that absorbs information better when I’m physically writing it down. Even when I was in school and the cool kids were taking notes on their laptops and cute Macbook Pros, I was still sitting at my desk with a pen and paper because I swore that me taking pen-to-paper notes got the info into my brain. It did.

So think about how writing something down helps it stick. When you write a to-do list, you have it to reference. You probably remember the items on your to-do list a little bit better because they’ve stuck in a way.

I’ve seen soooo many people talk about the benefits of a gratitude journal in the morning. The same as above applies —- when you write something down, whatever that something is, it helps put that energy out, get the content into your brain, and helps you remember it.

I liked the sound of a gratitude journal but was like…am I really going to do this EVERY MORNING? Probably not. I’d “think” of things in the morning when I remembered to try and be grateful, but I wouldn’t write them down.

I have a weird obsession with buying notebooks. I always have…IDK I just love supplies. I bought this super cute black notebook a while back and was saving it for something. Why not use it for a gratitude journal? GENIUS IDEA! Make use of it.

So, I started using this journal to simply write down 3 things that I’m grateful for every morning. Yes, there will be mornings where I don’t do it or if I’m not home, I probably won’t bring the journal with me. I have too much other crap to carry around honestly.

If you’re like me and justify reasons to not implement beneficial into your routine, STOP DOING THAT! Don’t put pressure on yourself — Just make it a habit to do it when you’re at home and in your routine groove. When I’m home, I make the effort to grab my journal in the morning and quickly jot down 3 things I’m grateful for. It takes me about a minute, and it starts the day off with a positive note.

Think about it. If you wake up and you’re checking your phone, stressed about emails, anxious about a text you got, or a text you didn’t get…EW. That’s way too much negative energy to start my day, and trust me I’ve started a whole lot that way. It gets tiring, and it becomes a habit.

Getting myself into the habit of starting the day POSITIVELY rather than grabbing my phone and wasting time just makes me feel better about my day. I’m putting positive energy onto paper, and it’s putting that positive energy into my head and reminding me that I have so much to be grateful for.

We can get so caught up in our days with the junk that happens throughout the day at work, personal life, in traffic…it’s easy to get caught up. Simply writing these 3 things down really helps me put sh*t into perspective, and sometimes I REALLY need that.

If you’re like me and have a journal fetish, here are some of my favorites that I found. Grab one for yourself and start making some good habits for yourself with it.