Three Journaling Exercises That Changed My Life

As a coach, some of the most powerful transformations happen between sessions. Often, journaling is an instrumental tool in making this happen.  I have discovered a few journaling styles that are nothing less than “life changing.”  Beyond becoming a better writer, there was a broader impact from each exercise.  

CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE: The Basic X-Page – Lynda Barry 

Lynda Barry is on a mission to “…help people tap into what she considers to be an innate creativity.”  I’ve been following her work for a number of years, but it wasn’t until I read her books “Syllabus” and “What It Is”  from cover to cover that I understood the bigger picture. By the way, the books are unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. 

For Lynda, art and words go hand in hand.  The reason for this is if we start thinking in terms of images, and not just actions, our writing takes on new beauty and new meaning. This is exactly what I experienced when I started to do one of her exercises called The Basic X Page.

Like you would in a normal diary, there is a place to write what you actually completed with the heading “What I Did.”  On most days, I’m shocked to see how much I actually accomplished. The three additional quadrants activate the other parts of your brain. They ask: 1. “What I Heard,” 2. “What I Saw,” and 3. “What I Saw” again, but this time, you draw your response. 

There were two almost immediate outcomes.  First, I started to see things around me with fresh eyes. My brain was scanning constantly for something interesting.  Things I would have overlooked on walks suddenly were some of the most fascinating views I had ever seen. Second, I noticed how funny a lot of the things are that I see and hear. I find myself laughing out loud at things I’ve experienced that I didn’t even think were funny in the moment – especially the things I overhear. 

And if you’re a bit hesitant to do the drawing, Lynda’s secret weapon is to draw a spiral slowly for a minute or two to relax your nerves. It also helps in  bringing up moments you might have forgotten for the day. 

BUILD DISCIPLINE: Morning Pages by Julia Cameron 

I think I’m the biggest cheerleader for the book “The Artist’s Way,” and I’ve never actually read it or done one of their multi-week workshops. I am, however, an avid writer of Morning Pages.  This journal exercise is best when it transcends being something you do and becomes a lifestyle. 

In their most basic form, “Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning.” It may sound deceptively simple, but it was key in helping me get over a large barrier to my writing. Namely, the barrier was the voice that says, “What if you have nothing to say?”  The answer that The Morning Pages gave me was, “I always have something to say.”  It may not be perfect prose, it might be trite, but it also might be the first chapter of a brilliant novel.  On most days, I’m surprised by what comes out. 

While I’d love to say I’m able to roll over in the morning, grab a pen, and get to writing, on most days, I’m answering the little one’s desire for food first.  My Morning Pages are usually when he has gone down for his morning nap, and I’m just getting  to my work. It would be easier to just start answering emails and jumping on social media to respond to comments and questions, but I’ve realized that connecting with myself has to come first. 

The Morning Pages give me the power to say, “Back off world, I’m doing this on my terms.”  

GET OVER MENTAL BLOCKAGE: Hot Penning by Hermine Martin

As a mompreneur and a nap-time warrior (I only work when my baby is napping or has just gone to sleep for the night), my work-time minutes are very precious.  They need to be fulfilling so that I have lots of energy to step back in to play full-on for 2+ hours.  They also need to be highly productive so that I can get as much good work out of that hour or (sometimes) two to feel like I’m making strides toward my goals. Hot Penning has become my secret weapon. 

One of the earliest references to “Hot Penning” was in an article by Helen Yendal where she also called it “flow writing.”  Different people have different versions, but one type has changed my life.  If I see something daunting on my goals list for the week, I schedule time to Hot Pen the beginning of that looming project. 

This week, for instance, I wondered what new speaking topics I could work on.  For 10 minutes, I just wrote down a list of some speaking topics.  A few minutes after that, I went back through the list and circled a few that interested me the most.  Then, for the next thirty minutes, I wrote notes (and in one case, an almost full script) for 10 minutes for each of those three topics. 

I rarely have a sense of overwhelm when I look at my goals for the week because I know, at some point, I’ll be tackling the beginnings to something big by doing a session of Hot Penning. 

Perhaps the best advice I’ve received about journaling was from both a podcast on “The Artist’s Way” and from Lynda Barry’s book “Syllabus”: “Use cheap journals!” There is really no reason to use a 20 dollar Moleskine.  In fact, when I did, I felt bad about using too many pages in one sitting.  

The two best options I’ve discovered include:

A pack of 12 lined notebooks 

A composition notebook 

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Johanna is a mother, adventurer, published author, and founder of Positive Doing – a life-coaching practice focused on women / mothers looking for more flexibility and fulfilment.  Download her new ebook here.