As mom’s we have to make the most of our time as we are often juggling “All-the-Things” and don’t get much down time. You still want to be able to fit in some time for mindfulness, yet not take up too much of your precious free time.
Here is a simple DIY way to make a Gratitude Journal for yourself that uses just a normal everyday notebook and won’t take you more than 3 minutes to do each day.
DIY Gratitude Journal for 2020
As mentioned before, all you need is:
- Regular Notebook with 31 lines
- 1 – 3 Minutes A Day
After that it’s up to you if you want to get a little bit creative and decorate the top bit or keep it simple.
I used to be creative before I had a mobile kiddo around and use color pens to write the month on the top, but these days I keep it simple and use a colored sharpie and write the month.
What is A Daily Gratitude Journal?
A daily gratitude journal is a written record of things one is grateful for. For many individual they use these journals as a way to focus on the positive aspects of their lives when the world can be feeling very overwhelming.
Everyone journals differently, some like to have a in-depth written blurb about the things they are grateful for on that day.
Others, like myself, need something that is more simple to keep up with so that it is achievable to keep up with on a daily basis.
I personally like to keep my Daily Gratitude Journal to one sentence a day. This is something I can easily make a habit, and enjoy the journaling benefits from.
Here I am going to share how to set-up an easy DIY Daily Gratitude Journal that any mom can set-up and keep up with, no matter how busy she is.
How to Set-Up Your DIY Gratitude Journal
- Write The Month | At the top of the page write the month you are beginning in. Sometimes I used to make a little picture next to it, so for February I put a heart to the side of the month. When I am too busy being a mom I just use a red sharpie and write “February”. Do what suits you.
- Number the Lines | Depending on how many days there on in the month, number the lines down the left with how many days there are for that month.
- Begin Writing | Each day of the month you will write one sentence for that day. I used to write the best thing/s that happened that day. It was a great way for me to record memories, and later in the year I would look back and smile and the little moments I had forgotten about.
It also is a great way to keep track of what happened when. Often as moms we forget when things happened, so keep this little gratitude journal was a valuable resource for memories and date keeping.
See, Super Simple!
Benefits of a Gratitude Journal
Life as a parent can get overwhelming at times. It can quickly seem like everything is going wrong, or at least that nothing is going right.
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Having a moment each day to focus on the positives of each day can help put balance in your day. Even on the crummiest day, you can find something good that happened.
That small little smile you got when your toddler figured out how to open a jar by themselves, even if the rest of the afternoon you then had to prevent them from emptying every jar in the cupboard on to the floor. They learned a new skill, and in a few months you will laugh at that small moment.
Mental Health Benefits of Journaling
As explained by the University of Rochester Medical Center, here are some of the mental health benefits of daily journaling.
- Reducing Stress
- Managing Anxiety
- Proving Opportunity for Positive Self-talk
How to Keep the Habit
It can be hard to remember to do something everyday, especially when it’s a new habit you are starting. Often it takes a minimum of 2 weeks before something becomes a habit.
So, here are my suggestions on how you can keep this journaling habit going.
1. Determine when you want to journal. Morning? Night?
2. Set a reminder on your phone for the same time every day for 2 weeks.
3. Once your reminder goes off, write your sentence in your journal immediately.
4. If you need to keep that reminder on your phone for a month or so.
Trust me, in 3 months time when you get to look back at all the little positive memories you’ve recorded you will be so grateful you started your journal.
I started mine shortly before meeting my husband and I have loved looking back at all the cute “little” moments that happened early in our relationship. Things I would have easily forgotten by now.
Now with a little one it has been great to look back on newborn moments that the sleep-deprived haze would have had me forget.
What If I Forget A Few Days?
It happens, and that’s okay. Don’t give it up for a few missed days. Or maybe even a week if you went on a holiday.
Just pick back up, and fill in those day’s you missed if you can remember something positive that happened those days. If not, it is okay if there are blanks. Life happens, don’t let it get to you too much.
I had times where life happened and I missed a few days and I had to do journal catch-up.
Just try not to let it happen too often, it is much harder to fill in when a few days have gone by.
An University professor told us this Chinese proverb often:
“The palest ink is better than the best memory”
Chinese proverb
Go Start Your Journal!
Now it’s time for you to put it in action!
If you have any empty journals at home see if any of them have 31 lines, if not put it on your shopping list for tomorrow.
Then label your month, and start your journaling. Don’t worry if it’s not the beginning of a month. Just start!
Happy Journaling!
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I like this idea. I’ve been doing Shutterfly albums to build photobooks in the spirit of continuing my mom’s tradition of building a photo diary for the family. It can be time consuming and costly. Maybe this accomplishes a different goal than mine but I do love this approach. It helps put things in perspective.
This is the easiest way I have seen to do a Gratitude Journal, something I might actually be able to stick with. Seem’s fairly similar to a BUJO which I use for my weekly planner. As someone who doesn’t have a printer and can’t utilize all of those printables everyone else makes, this DIY is just what I needed to find to start my 2020 goals!