Self-nurturing is always important in our lives, but it’s particularly significant during this ongoing pandemic. And one of the best ways to keep this priority in focus is to establish a self-nurture routine. This is an awesome practice to get started if you are in one of the caring professionals such as education, healthcare, or social work. Self-nurturing is as much a way of being as it is something we do. It includes all the ways you tend to your whole-person wellbeing, including your emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual health. Self-nurturing replenishes and renews you. It’s the act of doing something for you, and only you, to help with your overall health and wellness. Ultimately, self-nurturing is what you define it as—there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to how best to nurture yourself! So read on while we explore the power of routine, journaling for self-nurturing, I’ll give you 4 Tips to Create Your Journaling for Self-Nurture Routine, and then we will wrap it all up.
First Tip to Create Your Journaling for Self-Nurture Routine
So how can you take the simple act of journaling and turn it into a meaningful, super-powerful, self-nurture routine?
1. Choose the right time to journal
I believe any time is a good time to journal! But when it comes to creating habits and routines, it’s helpful to choose a dedicated time of day.
Many people like to journal at the beginning or end of the day. The best time for you is an individual choice and depends on your schedule.
When can you most easily take some time?
Can you wake up a bit earlier than normal to journal the first thing? If so, this might be a good way to start your day off in a reflective, self-expressed and grounded way. You can then transition into getting ready for your day. You may have heard of Julia Cameron’s “morning pages”. She describes this technique in The Artist’s Way, a book that was originally published in 1992 and is still a popular resource, if you haven’t I highly recommend it!!!
What about at the end of the day?
It can be very nourishing to unplug from all devices and settle into some quiet journaling time for a little self-nurture in the evening. It’s a replenishing and much higher-value activity than mindlessly scrolling through your Facebook feed or doing something else that may leave you depleted.
What time of day do you think you might want to add this to your routine?
2nd Tip- Use journaling to jumpstart your batteries
The reason journaling goes hand in hand with a self-nurture routine is that journaling will jumpstart your batteries. (Your mental, spiritual, and emotional batteries)
Journaling can be the spark for having a routine just for you each day. Initially, you may not see much reason to take a few minutes alone. But once you’re writing in your journal every day, you’ll come to cherish that time. You can take this time for yourself in whatever setting is most inspiring for you.
Consider the setting you will journal in: Most people prefer to write in their journal when they’re completely alone, whether it’s in the bedroom at night or early in the morning at the kitchen table. This becomes a very personal and private experience, so it can be good to not have outside distractions.
On the other hand, some people love to journal while sitting in a library, coffee shop, or outside. In these places, the activity and background of daily life, people, sounds, and a stimulating environment can wrap around you as you write. (This is something I look forward to doing again when we get past these COVID times!)
What location sounds most appealing to you??
3rd Tip- SPICE it up
Once you settle on a routine, it’s not necessarily set in stone. You can always switch it up by the day or week, depending on your schedule.
You might also add more things to your journaling for a self-nurture routine, or take away elements that aren’t working well for you.
For example, I like to create rituals around my journaling time, including lighting a candle, listening to relaxing music (alpha waves) or a guided meditation, sipping coffee, or having a glass of wine as I write.
Make your journaling practice your own. That’s part of the fun and creativity involved in this life-enriching self-nurture routine!
There are other ways to SPICE it up too. Your journaling for self-nurturing can also include all forms of creative self-expression. For example, try:
-Using a blank sketch pad book (Got mine at Dollar Store)
-Collaging/Vision Board (Paper or Digital)
-Drawing
-Adding photos or images
-Using different colored pens/markers/pencils/paint
-Adding quotes and affirmations
Honestly- Anything else you can think of! I’d also encourage you to keep your journals year after year. It is a tangible way to see how far you’ve grown and changed.
There is so much you can do in the pages of your journal to enhance the self-nurture benefits that you cultivate through this creative and personal wellness practice.
I especially recommend this tip to small groups, teams, and classrooms. Imagine having a group of students or employees coming together to create a visual representation of the culture they’d like to create for their classroom or work environment…pretty incredible right? What a way to gain buy-in and have your team feel seen and heard in such a meaningful way!!
4th tip- Journal about your self-nurturing
Not only is journaling a self-nurturing act, but you can also use journal writing exercises and prompts to actually explore your self-nurturing as you write.
Here are some self-nurture journaling prompts you can try:
Right now in my life, my self-nurturing is _____
When I think about my self-nurturing, I notice _____
When I think about my self-nurturing, I feel _____
If I were to tell someone why self-nurturing is so important, I would say _____
When I was young, I learned the following lessons about self-nurturing and taking time for myself _____ (without judgment, simply think back and write about what you remember about your early self-nurture lessons and role modeling)
Make a list of your favorite self-nurture activities. List making is a great journaling technique!
If you were to draw a picture of your self-nurturing, what would it look like?
What is the most self-loving thing you can do for yourself today?
What do you need? How can you meet that need?
How do you live a self-nurturing life? Not just as something you do, but as a way of being?
Wrap up
What did we cover?
-Journaling is a self-nurturing act because it is a practice of coming home to yourself.
-Get creative! Ditch the lined paper and use a sketch pad. Don’t let those lines dictate your creativity and flow.
-Make it a part of your day
-Make yourself a priority by taking time to journal. And give yourself permission to pause, write, reflect and replenish from within as you journal.
