Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to journal one sentence every day. Journaling
Speaker 1: is a rewarding and generally pretty enjoyable habit. Even people
Speaker 1: who don't love the process of journaling generally enjoy the
Speaker 1: feeling of having kept a journal, of being able to
Speaker 1: look back through the days and weeks and years and
Speaker 1: recall how it felt to be younger and in a
Speaker 1: different part of life. It's also valuable to have a
Speaker 1: record of what it was like to live through significant
Speaker 1: world events, such as the pandemic currently taking place. We
Speaker 1: know that memory is fallible, but seeing what you wrote
Speaker 1: years ago can conjure memories back up with more accuracy
Speaker 1: and detail. What's more, getting your thoughts down on paper
Speaker 1: can have creative and emotional benefits. In her book The
Speaker 1: Artist's Way, Julia Cameron introduces the practice of morning Pages,
Speaker 1: which involves engaging in a stream of consciousness journaling practice
Speaker 1: first thing every morning. Many successful writers swear by this technique. However,
Speaker 1: if you want to develop a journaling habit, you may
Speaker 1: want to start smaller. People who study habits find that
Speaker 1: Many people do well by starting really small and aiming
Speaker 1: to make the habits so easy that you can't say
Speaker 1: no to it. So if you'd like to start journaling,
Speaker 1: try reducing the habit down to a bite sized task
Speaker 1: that takes no more than thirty seconds. By setting out
Speaker 1: to journal just one sentence per day, you'll find that
Speaker 1: the barrier to journaling is extremely low, but you'll still
Speaker 1: get most of the benefits, and you can always write
Speaker 1: more on some days. If you're feeling inspired with something
Speaker 1: so small as a one cent journaling have it. You
Speaker 1: might find it helpful to tie your journal to something
Speaker 1: else you do daily. For example, maybe you write your
Speaker 1: one sentence per day right after you brush your teeth
Speaker 1: in the evening, or you keep your notebook by the
Speaker 1: microwave and right while you wait for the water to
Speaker 1: heat up for your teeth. You can journal in any
Speaker 1: notebook of your choice, or even record your sentence on
Speaker 1: each day's page and your planner typing works too. You
Speaker 1: can keep a running Google document. Many bookstores and online
Speaker 1: retailers also sell designated one line a day journals, and
Speaker 1: some of these journals include prompts to get you inspired.
Speaker 1: Daily activities sometimes feel too mundane to record, but consider
Speaker 1: how your typical day now differs from what a typical
Speaker 1: day looked like ten years ago. Gretchen Ruben's Happiness Project
Speaker 1: one sentence Journal covers five years, so you can see
Speaker 1: what one sentence you chose to record on the same
Speaker 1: day in previous years. You probably won't naturally remember the
Speaker 1: exact date your now kindergarten aged child rolled over for
Speaker 1: the first time as a baby, but with a one
Speaker 1: sentence journal, you might. In the end, the format itself
Speaker 1: doesn't matter. What matters is that by taking a moment
Speaker 1: out of your day to reflect, you can take yourself
Speaker 1: outside of time for a bit. In my book Off
Speaker 1: the Clock, I analyzed more than nine time diaries. I
Speaker 1: found that the people who had the most abundant perspective
Speaker 1: on time were far more likely to engage in reflective
Speaker 1: activities such as journaling. Time didn't just pass, They approached
Speaker 1: it mindfully. And if you aim to keep a positive
Speaker 1: journal and look back on it in the future, you'll
Speaker 1: reap a second set of benefits, the thick web of
Speaker 1: memory that also makes time feel more rich and vast.
Speaker 1: It's more like a tapestry and less like a slick
Speaker 1: linoleum floor. So today, try journaling just one sentence about
Speaker 1: your life. Try it tomorrow too. It's an easy habit
Speaker 1: to keep, and in the long run, you'll be glad
Speaker 1: you did. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. M m
Speaker 1: HM