How journaling can help you navigate change: Tips for getting started

So, how do we stay centered? How to navigate this uprootedness and make sense of it all?  

For one thing, the act of writing is an organizational system and adding context to an event can help process various experiences, including any challenges, issues and trauma. It can help ease anxiety and help you see your problems in a new light. 

Journaling has also been documented to improve communication, memory and even IQ. Once an event has been labelled it becomes easier to manage and come to terms with. Furthermore, journals are repositories for dreams, problem solving, hopes, goal setting and more.  

Recent scientific studies have even documented the neurological benefits of journaling, with outcomes that include improved cognitive processing and immune functioning. 

Where do you begin?

What tools are needed to get the ball rolling? It’s probably best to start simple and keep to the basics. Dollar stores are great places to pick up note books, scribblers and pens. Start with that and if that doesn’t work for you, consider websites like theblogstarter.com for ideas on setting up an online format. 

Once that you have your format figured out, it’s time to look at content. You don’t have to be an expert writer, or even spell things properly to get your ideas out.  

One classic method of jump starting the process comes from Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way. With Morning Pages (juliacameronlive.com), Cameron encourages journalers to expel “angry, petty and whiny stuff” by simply purging your thoughts, and jumping from topic to topic, gathering insights along the way. There is no magic formulae other than getting thoughts down on paper. “It’s as though we have ADD [attention-deficit disorder]: jumping from topic-to-topic, gathering insights and directions from many quarters.” 

For those of you that may be disorganized or find the act of writing burdensome, consider bullet journaling. This a system that combines mindfulness with productivity and organizes scheduling, to-do lists, brainstorming and other tasks into a single notebook, The name refers to using bullet points to log information. Core tools include, an index, rapid logging and sections broken down into daily, monthly and future sections along with a key representing different modes of gathering info. It’s a system that’s meant to be pragmatic, mobile and fast.   

Document your family’s settlement experiences

The act of documenting the settlement experience can have profound benefits. Journaling can take many forms, from interviewing family members to scrapbooking. Indeed, there is no one “right” way to do it. 

A good start is interviewing elders in your family; gather their stories and make sure these are recorded, either with notes or tape recorder. 

Another method is the family genealogy. Identify members of your family and how they’re connected. Flush these connections out with anecdotes or stories of what you remember about them. Include where they come from, dates of arrival and other details to make the experience three dimensional. If that doesn’t work for you, consider reviewing family traditions and gathering anything and everything associated with family, traditions, holidays, rituals that resonate and create a scrapbook of memories and milestone moments. Anything can go into it: copies of degrees, citizenship papers, marriage certificates, obituaries, and so on.   

How you want to capture this information will vary depending on your intent and what you want this data to accomplish. It can take the form of a portfolio, a scrapbook or any other format that works for you, even digitally. Free websites like Wix and Weebly offer beautiful formats and easy-to-follow steps for composing your web page.  

Regardless of form, you’ll have a consolidated record of the past and a documented journey that brought you to where you are today that future generations will certainly appreciate and thank you for.  

Carter Hammett is a Toronto-based writer and social worker.