Pandemic Journaling Part II: Getting Started
In my previous blog post, I shared my top reasons, as well as the main physical and mental health benefits, of starting and maintaining a consistent journaling practice -- especially during an exceptionally challenging year. I hope that these reasons (along with a heaping helping of your own) have convinced you to get started, especially with the dawn of 2021 upon us. Beginning with a fresh page in a blank notebook can offer senses of excitement, promise, and even exhiliharation. Each time you work in a journal, you’re not only starting a new chapter in both literal and figurative senses, but in a way, you’re finding renewed agency as the author of your own story.
In this part II post, I’ll share ideas, resources, and prompts for getting started with your journal. First, and perhaps most importantly, don’t let the term “journaling” stop you in your white-knuckled tracks if you’re having visions of a vicious vampire grammar teacher who forced you to diagram sentences and let multiple red pens bleed profusely all over your essays. Journaling, in the sense used here, is about getting ideas down and getting what’s inside out -- not about perfection. Let those diamonds in the rough be; they can always be polished later, if they even need that.
If you’re not ready to write in the traditional sense, there are countless other options available to you for tracking your thoughts. I have students who prefer to make audio recordings, dictating their entries directly into their smartphones in a stream-of-consciousness flow. You could also begin collecting magazine or newspaper clippings in your journal, crafting found poetry, or compiling collections of quotes that resonate with your current frame of mind. If you’re visually-inclined, snag your 2020 calendar (or calendars from any previous year), snip out the photos, and experiment with the wonderful world of collage (or decollage, photo montage, mixed media...and the list goes on).
Image of "Preserve Hope Kite" © Erin Schalk & Bridging Art
Also, do not let selecting a journal, notebook, or sketchbook become a barrier for you. Chances are, you already have something suitable squirreled away in your living space. My close friend once made herself a DIY notebook from multiple pieces of computer paper that were folded in half and stapled down the middle. A professor of mine taught us to take old, used books, gesso the pages, and turn them into recycled sketchbooks. And, I still work in a Five-Star notebook I purchased almost 20 years ago. It looks brand new -- the paper hasn’t even yellowed. The only clue to its age is the calendar insert in all its Y2K glory: 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002!
(A note on journals themselves: I’m a highly visual and haptic person. I think and process things best through writing that involves using physical pen and paper. However, if you prefer working digitally, check out Penzu, along with this list of the best digital journal apps of 2021).
If you’re in the market to purchase a new journal, please don’t let the admixture of “I must pick out the perfect one or the moon will corkscrew off its orbit,” coupled with a fear of getting started to metamorphose into procrastination. If you’re looking to keep things simple and cost-effective, select a basic spiral-bound notebook with 8.5” x 11” pages and go from there. However, if you’re trying to decide among the bottomless array of journals, logbooks, goal-trackers, planners, and chock-full-'o-affirmations volumes, know this. It’s often best to strike a balance. You’ll likely find consistent success with a journal that is interesting enough (i.e. perhaps its appealing colors and design) to make the act of recording feel celebratory; this will keep you returning to it on a regular basis. Yet, the journal should not be an object so precious that you freeze when you open it, fearful of sullying it’s pages with your seedling musings.
If you find yourself stuck trying to decide among journal page layouts -- lined, unlined (blank pages), or bullet dots -- I’ll share my two cents. Personally, I prefer using bullet journals, but please note -- this is not Pinterest-perfect bullet journaling where I’ve used everything from watercolors to gold leaf to make a coordinated design on each page for Winter Solstice. I like dotted journals because they’re open enough to feel spacious and allow me to spontaneously sketch or throw in a bit of calligraphic text. Simultaneously, the matrix of dots also provides me with some structure, preventing words from running willy-nilly all over the place. Think of the small toe holds used by a mountain climber.
That being said, as a person, I tend toward a combination of balance and hybridity. What works for me will not necessarily be the best choice for you. Take a moment to assess yourself -- your personality, your working style, and what helps you to feel calm and at ease. If you’re a person who feels most comfortable with clear order and structure, you may thrive with a traditional, lined journal or college-ruled notebook. If you’re someone who finds joy in improvisation and the unexpected, you may see either a bullet or lined journal far too constricting and crave the freedom and possibility of a crisp, blank page. Experiment with a range of options and take mental notes -- what do you keep coming back to? What feels natural and easeful?
Once you’ve chosen your journaling tools, allow yourself time to decide to determine a journaling schedule of sorts. You can formally schedule in daily or weekly time to write if that works best for you, or you can have a “loose” routine where you tend to journal during your lunch hour, in the evening before bed, or first thing in the morning. I opt for a more flexible practice such as this; some days, I am able to write during my lunch break, other days it’s easier to find time to tuck into the journal just before bedtime. Of course, the key is to establish a journaling routine that is consistent -- daily is ideal -- and works within your schedule where it becomes a ritual (that you await with pleasure)!
You’ve selected your journal. You’ve scheduled your preferred time of the day to write. And now comes the hardest (or most frightening) part for some -- what to journal about? If you find yourself experiencing even the slightest anxiety, please revisit part I of this blog series. The type of journaling I am espousing is centered on health benefits and coping with pandemic-related stress, not about perfection.
If you feel ready to begin and pour stream of consciousness thoughts onto the page without restriction, by all means, do so. However, if you feel blocked or stuck, try beginning with the series of prompts outlined below. I recommend you begin with 1-2 that feel doable in this moment. Remember that there aren’t right or wrong answers, rather, the goal is to get as close as possible to answers that are authentic to you, your experience, and your creative practice at this time (even if just planted or newly hatched). Down the road, this journal may prove to be an important time capsule that fuels more of your creative work.
Prompts:
Check in with your physical body. Are there any areas that feel tense, constricted, or fatigued? Is your breathing spacious or shallow and anxious? Take a moment to pause and rest, and if possible, turn off any noise or notifications that may distract you. Select a part of your body that feels the most constricted and begin composing a message of relief.
What has been the most difficult aspect of the pandemic thus far for you? Has this been an ongoing challenge (ex/ experienced for many months now or almost a year)? Or, has this been a recent or sudden change? What steps have you been able to take to help yourself cope, or what steps could you potentially take?
Allow yourself a moment to sit with your current emotions. Do they feel intense, or have you walled yourself off from feeling (or perhaps this goes back and forth, depending on the situation)? For example, when I completed this exercise, I found myself donning ice-cold, bullet-proof armor when writing about work, then vulnerably cracking open when writing about my children. What is an emotion you can safely sit with and gently release right now?
How do you feel in terms of your creative work? Is it nourishing at the moment? Or, does it feel pressurized (perhaps all of your creative energies are being diverted to your day job or managing your work/home/life situation like an airplane flying on one engine)? Is it almost non-existent, and you feel like someone who is parched and yearning for a lush oasis? What would you like to work on now if you were facing no limitations?
Image of "Garden Detail" © Erin Schalk & Bridging Art
Is there a portion of 2020 you’re wanting to metabolize? With this exercise, imagine an intricately woven tapestry that illustrates a scene, and you’re pulling out a handful of specific threads that you want to rework -- to weave again and create a new story. What personal narrative can you extract from 2020 and reframe into something more positive, beautiful, and/or meaningful?
Pinpoint one (or multiple) creative accomplishments you achieved in 2020. These can be small or large, and do not diminish them if you think they are small. These achievements can be related to your art, creative practice, and/or your daily life. What about this accomplishment makes you especially proud? Give yourself plenty of freedom and space to elaborate!
Lastly, what’s a wish or goal you’d like to set for 2021? In moments of crisis and restriction (like those that have defined 2020), it seems logical to stay in the realm of the probable and practical. Without question, there are benefits to being pragmatic, but there’s also value in being hopeful. What is something you deeply dream of for 2021? Allow yourself to explore this as much as is comfortable, and stretch your imagination beyond its standard limits.
Feel free to make a list of your own prompts, whether pandemic-related or not, that you can return to at your leisure.
I invite you to give journaling a try for at least a week (a month is even better!) and see where it leads you. What insights did you experience? Did you find increased clarity? Feel free to share your experiences with me. I’m always an email away at erin@bridgingart.com.
Image of "Look Beyond" © Erin Schalk & Bridging Art
(Please note: this blog periodically discusses general health information and similar subjects. As a reminder, content from this blog, including a regular journaling and writing practice, is not a substitution for medical and/or mental health treatment from a healthcare professional. If you have a medical and/or mental health concern, you should seek consultation, advice, and treatment from your professional health care provider(s) immediately).