How to Start Journaling — A Way That Sticks

The rules that make people quit

The classics: write every day, write a full page, write something important, reread it, make it good. Each one is extra weight. Stack them and the blank page becomes a test you'll eventually skip.

A way that sticks

• ·Pick one scene you genuinely like the sound of. The harbor is a good start.
• ·Write one sentence. That's a journal entry.
• ·Skip days. Days skipped don't count against you here.
• ·Don't reread for a month. Let it be private, even from your inner critic.
• ·If 'I don't know what to write' happens, write that — it's the door, not a wall.

What to journal about

Anything that's still moving in you when you sit down. A worry, a good moment you want to keep, a decision you're avoiding, the way the light looks. The good entries are almost always the ones you didn't plan.