How Much Time Do I Need to Spend Journaling? (journaling for creators and entrepreneurs series)

When it comes to how often and for how long you should journal, my answer is how often you need and want.

Lots of people start pushing themselves to write a few pages every day. 

If you are not a professional writer and use a journal for personal development, it can take you from a few sentences to one page a day of writing.

But often, people begin stressing themselves out by writing many pages in one day and then stop opening a journal for months.

In my opinion, it is the wrong approach. 

Journaling can be extraordinary leverage for personal development and life success. 

But a journal is just a tool, not a destination. 

Your better thinking and better life experience, in general, are essential. 

Journaling should be an enjoyable process that you like to do. 

Your friend should be ready to capture your thoughts, listen to your emotions, and help you brainstorm ideas. 

But as any good friend, he knows that you have other things to do in your life. 

So occasionally you meet together, have a great time and do other things. 

You should avoid two extremes: not writing at all and writing all the time. 

Somewhere in the middle, there is a perfect balance that will help you not to burn out.

When you do reflection exercises once a week and think about important questions to help you plan your next week better, you will need more than 10 minutes. 

The same can happen if you get stuck on a project or goal you want to achieve and want to take some time and brainstorm. 

Or you want to express your emotions and need some quiet time to ponder. 

In all other situations, research and my experience show that 10,15, or 30 minutes a day of journaling is enough for most people. 

When you overeat food, it can be unhealthy. 

The same goes for journaling. 

My rule is to journal to the moment when I still have some hunger left to journal, and then I intentionally stop. 

This makes me want to return more often.

It would be best to feel yourself when you want to open your journal and reread it or put in new entries. That's why it is a good habit to keep your journal with yourself wherever you go. 

This way, you can capture ideas or thoughts you come up with or hear somewhere during the day. 

Also, there can be different periods: more or less intensive journaling. 

So don't feel guilty when you are not journaling for some time. 

Nowadays, I plan my next day in a journal, capture ideas, draw diagrams, and brainstorm almost every day. 

I reread my previous entries regularly. 

But there were periods when I did not open a journal for days or weeks. 

Sometimes life gets busy. 

During such periods I try to return to my journal. 

Then I review what is going on in my life to organize it. 

It is an excellent habit to have too. 

So, establish a daily journal ritual for at least 5 minutes in the morning and evening. 

It is better to start small and make it a habit, which we will discuss in more detail in the following chapters. 

At this point in the book, you should be equipped with all the necessary ideas and understanding to help start your journaling challenge. 

So I'll see you in the next part and discuss the journaling challenges.