Why I Journal Every Morning: Finding Clarity on Great Days and Hard Days
When I wake up, my brain begins to blow through thoughts, like the wind, where I think about everything I need to do for my children, my husband, my home, my practice. To be frank, It becomes overwhelming very quickly. Along with everything that needs to be done, my brain begins to think through all the things that I missed completing: the laundry in the basket that needs to be folded, making my kid’s lunch the night before, and so. much. more.
When my brain goes through this cycle, I immediately begin to feel my nervous system become overloaded. I become tense, begin to feel restless, and when its become too much, my brain comes in and slams the stop button; throwing my brain and body into a freeze response.
I first started noticing this happen when I started my private practice and used to think, “this just comes with starting a new business.” This level of gaslighting threw my brain into freeze responses over and over again, halting the progress that I can make and preventing myself from experiencing real rest. It became exhausting to just wake up because I would become afraid of the day ahead of me.
This is an experience I have heard so many go through along with myself.
The longer I stayed in private practice, expanded to a group, and went through so many other life changes, I was reminded by my own therapist that I need to take moments to slow down.
I would think, “What can this look like when I have so much to get done during the day?”
Before getting out of bed, I took one early morning to journal and pray. The impact was transformative.
I gained clarity for what I wanted to prioritize, knowing everything couldn’t be done in a day.
The upcoming day felt like a new opportunity rather than a reminder of the areas I make mistakes or experience disappointment.
I could sit with all of my emotions and It resembled taking out the trash after It is full and overflowing: My brain could get a fresh start
I could hold that perfection should be the goal for each day.
This one change has made a big difference, and now, I notice the difference when I decide to start working on admin tasks or laundry rather than taking a moment to breathe and reflect.
Sharing my lived experiences help us all experience a little less loneliness. Undoing the knot that loneliness can become helps create new patterns in us collectively and individually, this is why I share my story.
Now that I’ve shared the benefits of starting each morning with journaling, here is the rough outline I created for myself to help bring the clarity that can be so helpful:
I start with free writing everything that is worrying me about the upcoming day. I allow my brain to just dump on the page without any concern for grammar rules .
I then read back all of my concerns/worries and turn those into two categories: tasks (things that I can accomplish) or goals(things that require prayer, thought, or meditation)
When I have these two short lists written out, I start with the tasks (since that is easier for me) and prioritize what needs to be done by urgency and how quickly It needs to be done.
I then move into the worries. Many times these worries repeat themselves from day to day since It is hard to solve many bigger worries. I allow my body to feel what It needs to and I give myself hours to feels before my children or husband wake up. Recently, I started implementing an idea I saw Traci Ellis Ross talk about on Instagram, where she turns fears into prayers. Whether you are a faith based person or not, this exercise helps with bringing mindfulness, meditation, and helps regulate the body and mind by practicing reframing and acknowledging what is in or outside of my control. This practice helps us know when to lean to others or simply meditate and pray over things that are hard.
Once my journaling practice is done, I take a few deep breaths and then begin my morning.
This practice has required me to reorient and manage my time differently. In this season, I need a solid 1.5-2 hours(at a minimum) to work through my emotions so that I can be present for those in my home and in my community.
Have you had experiences that are similar to mine? If so, I hope these simple journaling steps are as transformative for you as they are for me. I am currently working on a digital product that will help others work through anxieties through journaling by receiving periodic emails with journal prompts and supportive resources! I will be announcing It via my email list as well as Substack so make sure you are subscribed below to see the updates.
Take the time to talk your individual therapist about this. Your therapist can help you work through such an experience and support you. Don’t have a therapist yet? Check out our team to see if someone could be a good fit!
