Welcome to our three week journaling class, exploring the way others journal with tips to help you with yours! This class will take place at our blog, right here, for the next three weeks, with a new post everyday. So make sure you check in each day to see what’s new! Besides the amazing Sponsor’s Giveaway, we will also have some giveaways throughout the three weeks!
Let’s get started!
Do you know the best part about journaling besides capturing your memories? The best part about it is that there is no right or wrong way to journal! Journaling is all about capturing your memories in your own voice and writing style. Our journaling captures all those moments and details that we tend to forget about in or behind the photo, making them memories that will last forever.
The hardest part, when I first started scrapbooking, was that I always found myself judging what I wrote, how I wrote it, and if others were going to like it. It never felt good enough. It took awhile for me to understand that when others are reading my journaling they aren’t critiquing it! They are just thankful I took the extra time to sit down and record the details in writing!
After I stopped judging my own writing, I felt like I had been set free! I could write whatever I wanted, how ever I wanted… but what did I want? This is where goal setting comes in. You’ll need to decide what will make you happy and satisfied with the journaling on your layouts. To some people, it might just be the “date, place and reason” wrote in a sentence or two. Some people might decide that they don’t mind just having just the photos. And others might decide that they want enough journaling so when someone picks up the page 10 years from now, they know every detail and feel like they shared that moment with you.
The goal I set for myself was: a couple sentences on a page (or on the back) that explain what is going on in the layout, or behind the photo. And, to never put the page away before the journaling is finished. I tend to save the journaling portion until the very end and if I got stuck, I’d say that I’d do it later, but the truth is, I never did and now have a book full of layouts with no journaling, and memories missing.
Once you have your goal in place, start practicing! The saying practice makes perfect is true – the more I wrote, the more I became comfortable with my own writing. I still do not think of myself as a great writer, but I’m noticing that the stories are flowing on to paper a lot easier than they were a couple years ago. And, I’ve begun to enjoy the process of journaling, instead of dreading it. Practice also takes time – make sure you set aside extra time for you to journal. If you don’t, you’ll easily push it to the side. Hold yourself accountable!
Sounds pretty simple, right? Stop judging what and how you write, set a goal and practice!
How do you practice? Well, you can start simple! You don’t have to hold yourself to practicing just on your scrapbooking layouts – Here are some great ideas for practicing, that you can get started on today!:
-Keep a daily journal, jot down a couple sentences every night, before you go to bed, describing your favorite part of the day or what you are thankful for that day.
-One of my favorite apps is called “Gratitude Journal”. Everyday you can write down five things you are thankful for, rate the day and now you can even add a photo! It’s only 99 cents and 10% goes to charity! After I used this app for over a week it really made me start thinking about the little details in my day-to-day life, because I didn’t want to write the same five things everyday. I’ve also found myself referring back to it for a certain day a photo was taken and it’s helped spark some fun things to write about!
-Start a blog! If you don’t have a blog, this is a great way to get started with writing. It keeps you motivated to write because you’ll want to keep it updated.
-When you get your photos back, take time to run through them, quickly writing down short memories or words that you can use for journaling jumping points later on.
-Make weekly Top Ten Lists or, Top Five Lists!
Don’t wait until tomorrow to set yourself free, think about a goal and start practicing. There will never be a better day to get started, than today!
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