The benefits of journaling for mothers
If you’re following me on Instagram, you’ll know that I really love journaling. As a teenager, I used to keep a diary and write about all the things that happened in my life, but somehow once I started university, I lost that habit and haven’t gotten back to it until during the pandemic in 2020. With a lot of time on my hands, I came across some coaches on Instagram and started reflecting on the journaling prompts that they posted. These days, journaling is part of my daily routine, especially in challenging periods of time, and it has helped me find new perspectives on many different things. As a mother, it’s a tool that is simple and flexible to implement, and yet it can be very powerful to reflect on the situations that may feel tricky in parenthood.
Why journal?
There are many benefits to journaling and this habit has supported me in my different situations in my life, such as:
becoming clear on my priorities and my boundaries that I need to protect
managing stress and anxiety
reflecting on experiences I have made, accepting them and letting go (or finding out where exactly I needed more support in order to approach the topic in a coaching session)
increasing my awareness about my needs and triggers and developing strategies that support me
How to journal?
Journaling in itself is a very simple activity. All you need is a pen and a paper or a notebook (or a computer if you prefer doing this digitally). However, sitting in front of a blank paper can be quite uninspiring. When I started journaling, I used two specific tools: journaling prompts and gratitude journaling.
Gratitude is a tool often used in positive psychology and coaching practices. Looking at what we have in our lives and reflecting on what we are grateful for can support us in shifting our perspectives on challenging situations that we may be in. You can either sit down every couple of months and make a list of what you are grateful for, or you can incorporate a daily gratitude practice into your routines. I like to use the 5-minute-journal app to check in every morning about what I am grateful for and my intentions for the day, and in the evening about what went well and what felt challenging. But you can also just write this down into a simple notebook.
If you don’t want to start journaling with a blank page, a journaling prompt can be helpful to get you started. You’ll find loads on the internet, I have added some on my blog and my Instagram feed on different topics. When using journaling prompts, you can work through a certain topic more specifically, see what comes up for you and set up an action plan. It’s a mini life coaching session that you can work through on your own. Often, this can already be very helpful to move forward, or to know more specifically what you’d like to work on during a session with a coach.
You might prefer to sit down with your notebook and reflect on how you feel or simply write what is on your mind - an unguided journaling session can be useful as a daily check-in, when you feel overwhelmed and need to clear your thoughts or if you need to brain dump some ideas or points that are on your mind right now.
Journaling prompts for mothers
Journaling is a simple tool that I use nearly daily on my motherhood journey. There is always so much going on in the different areas of my life, that just writing down what comes up for me helps me feel more grounded and find clarity. As mothers, it’s often hard to find the time for ourselves, because we tend to the needs of our little ones around the clock. By taking some time to journal, we can become clearer on our needs and from there set boundaries, look after ourselves and show up with more energy for our children.
I’ve put together a few journaling prompts for you to try out:
How are you feeling right now?
What has changed in your life since becoming a mother?
What do you need to let go of?
What do you do just for you?
What would you like to achieve by the end of the year?
What small step can you take today to achieve this goal?
I’d love to hear what came up for you when working through these journaling prompts. I’m also offering a free coaching call where we can discuss what came up for you and find your next step to move forward. Book your free coaching call here or drop me an e-mail.