Journaling not sticking? Part 2: Meeting Your Needs

In Part 1 of “Journaling not sticking?”, I spoke about embracing the messiness that comes with starting something new and how important it is to adjust this habit or any other you are trying out to meet your needs. If you need a refresher, go back and reread that quick post here.

In this post, I wanted to show you some adjustments that I made in the past 3 weeks to meet my needs.

The first 2 weeks of June…

…were hectic and unsettling with the start of protests, the end of the school year approaching, and a new month beginning. As you can see, I still set intentions for the first 2 weeks of June but they were much more condensed than usual. This is what I needed.

The 3rd week of June…

…is completely blank. I actually don’t create a priorities/to-do list for Saturday. Why? This is part of my process and planning that includes spontaneity. Saturdays are my “go-with-the-flow”, “do-what-you-feel”, and “take-it-as-it-comes” days. Even though I am an extreme planner, I still (like everyone else) need a day to just do a bunch of random things that may not fit together and, though they remain intentional, are driven more by my and my family’s needs. That is exactly what I did for an entire week. I used this time to completely shut off my teacher brain and focus on me and what I need so that I can reset myself. During this week, I didn’t check my email, I binged Netflix shows, I went to the driving range, hung out with my sister all day, and, yes, still worked out.

Again, the secret they don't tell you about habits like bullet journaling or working out is that you have to make it work for you. You have to take what you see others doing and adjust it to meet your needs. You have to listen to yourself. You have to, ultimately, embrace the messiness that comes with starting something new.

Here is another example of how I have allowed bullet journaling to be what I need it to be in the moment. Sometimes it's a list. Sometimes it's a bunch of post-its. Sometimes it’s a condensed version. And sometimes it’s a blank page. It is what it needs to be for me. Again, take it from experience, be kind to yourself...listen to your body, mind, heart, and soul. Give yourself what you need because that is what makes habits stick.