Why Journaling Your Goals Is A Good Idea
In a life that is full of busy, it is harder than ever for people [myself included!] to not only focus on the day at hand, but even more so – the future. We get caught up in the daily to-do’s, the many errands that need run, that blog post that was supposed to be written 6 days ago, and the list goes on. With fingers that are always scrolling and caffeine induced minds that are constantly racing we can easily fall victim to the “I meant to do that 3 years ago but somewhere between kids soccer games and bible study I lost sight of it” happenings.
We have learned that one of the best ways to make something happen is to write it down. Whether it be with your mundane daily tasks or your huge 5-year goals, getting it down on paper increases your odds of actually accomplishing your goals nearly 42%. Now we aren’t geniuses around here, but that sounds like a pretty good number to increase your odds by. If that wasn’t enticing enough, here are a few other reasons why journaling your ideas, goals, or thoughts is a good idea:
- Writing things down forces you to think about what you want. When you take pen to paper, you have to be intentional about what you are jotting down. In a sense, it forces you to clarify what you really want and how you are going to get there. When you review what you wrote, you are able to evaluate a little easier how logical your goal may be and if you are missing any crucial pieces to the puzzle.
- Writing things down frees up your head for new ideas. You can only keep so many things up in that head of yours before it feels like it wants to burst. If you never write things down, you may be missing out on even greater ideas and opportunities. Think about writing things down in a similar way to cleaning out your closet. When writing goals or ideas down, you are able to dump it all out on paper which gives your brain more room for greater ideas. In a similar way, by cleaning out your closet, you finally have room for that drool-worthy coat you have had your eyes on for years. We have found that early mornings or late evenings can be great times for “mind dumps” where you jot down anything and everything that’s swirling about in that mind of yours at the moment. It will either provide clarity and direction for the day ahead or clear out your mind out before bed providing a better night of sleep.
- Writing things down gives you to something to look back on. Because you have it written down, you can easily flip the pages to see how far you have come. By doing so you are able to celebrate the success and learn from the items that haven’t happened. By writing the date with every entry, you can also track the length of time it took you to get from point a to point b, which can be a great resource when planning future goals and the length of time it may take to accomplish them.
As you can see, journaling is an easy first step in making things happen. Whether it be for 3 or 30 minutes a day, the time spent writing things down can be so beneficial to your mental health and future success.
Because we believe your goals are only as good as the notebook that you have [okay, that might be a stretch but seriously – cute notebooks can do wonders for the spirit] we’ve compiled a few of our favorite Target notebooks that will help get the job done.
set goals // write // today & to-do // botanical // no goal was met // ideation
What are you waiting for? Go pick up a cute notebook, carve time out of your day, and get to writing. Your future just got so much brighter!
