(With 5 Prompts To Get You Started)
Before I made the leap from being a consistent ?A? student in a traditional school to becoming a full-pledged homeschooler ? turning my bedroom into my ?classroom? without classmates ? there was one thing that guided me towards making that life-altering decision.
Can you guess what that one thing is?
Journaling.
When I was 5 years old, I started writing in a journal merely for the fun of recording what I?ve done during the day and expressing myself...
But as time went by, it also became a great tool to help me with decision making.
Specifically, it was during my homeschool journey from 11th grade to 12th grade that I realized how truly valuable this journaling thing can be ? it has a gazillion benefits!
Since then, I have been writing in my journal every single day.
So what exactly are the benefits of journaling?
And how can it help you in your homeschool journey?
Below, you?ll learn about 5 of the journaling benefits that I?ve also experienced personally ? together with journal prompts that you can use for your own journaling practice.
- Journaling helps you develop mindfulness
During my first month in homeschooling ? in August 2018 ? I felt a sense of pressure and overwhelm with the adjustments that I?m making, especially with managing my own schedule and laying out the timeline for my school year?s curriculum.
Because of this, I figured that I need to keep my emotions in check and to be mindful of them so that I won?t drown in procrastination and inaction.
In response to that, I used journaling as a form of meditation right after I get out of bed, where I started by writing down at least one thing that I?m grateful for then reflect on it.
After that, I would do a free flow writing for about 5-10 minutes to also let go of any heavy emotions in my chest.
It sounds pretty simple and straightforward, and it?s a great and easy way to set your homeschool day up for success.
Plus, doing this helps you build life skills too ? such as increasing your emotional intelligence and improving the way you think? and your memory!
To get you started with developing mindfulness through journaling, here?s a quick journal prompt for you...
Prompt #1: ?How am I truly feeling right now, and how do I want to feel instead??
- Journaling supports you in cultivating your ideas
Have you ever had a sudden spark of ideas for a project? but then it slipped your mind just as fast as it came to you?
I feel you.
But that could be prevented by developing a journaling habit.
Because when you?re used to writing things down ? whether you?re a writer or not ? recording spontaneous ideas would come naturally to you even before they dare to escape your train of thought.
On the contrary, when you?re squeezing your brain juices for ideas that aren?t coming to you, consider using this journal prompt?
Prompt #2: ?What recently made me smile and how can I use that to
improve my homeschooling experience??
- Journaling improves self-awareness and decision making
As I previously mentioned, journaling can be a great tool for decision making ? and that?s because it helps you enhance your self-awareness.
Especially when you deliberately reflect on what you?ve written in your journal.
Keep in mind that journaling is not just about writing things? it?s also about purposefully pondering and contemplating about your thoughts and analyzing the things that you?re learning ? especially things about yourself.
In other words, journaling helps you to listen to yourself and know yourself more deeply.
And when you?re aware of who you are and what your values are, it will help you make aligned decisions and not just conform with the norm.
You might find the next journal prompt to be a little deep (or maybe not)...but in my experience, it helps me steer my life towards the path that?s truly meant for me.
Prompt #3: ?Who am I, and am I being true to myself? If not, how can I change that??
- Journaling sparks creative flow
Let?s turn the tone up a notch because getting into creative flow is all about breaking free of anything and everything that?s holding you back!
And as a homeschooler, journaling about your insights ? whether it?s about science, history, music, language, arts, or anything else that you're learning about ? can trigger creative writing (or doodling) flows that you really enjoy.
At the same time, you might even find yourself coming up with profound realizations that would greatly impact your education and the value that you offer to the world.
So when you want to get into that state of mind, try using the journal prompt below.
Prompt #4: ?What am I learning today, and how can I apply that in my life??
- Journaling relieves stress
Lastly ? and definitely not the least ? journaling can always help you relieve stress because it gives you the permission to become super unfiltered and to be imperfect (which is especially helpful for perfectionists like me).
Do you know that our minds focus on ?what?s wrong? by default?
It means we have the tendency to give more attention to the risks or our complaints about various things ? which can cause a tremendous amount of stress.
And lingering stress could be detrimental to your homeschool experience.
But there?s one thing that can help shift stress into relief.
Do you know what it is?
It starts with the letter A?
Appreciation.
Whenever we acknowledge things that we appreciate and write about them, it elevates our state of mind and brings us into a place of being open to trying new things in our life and in homeschool journey ? not getting stuck in routine worries.
With that, why not use the following prompt to relieve your stress by applying appreciation in your life?
Prompt #5: ?What am I thankful for today, and how can I show my gratitude for that??
Now, if you?re wondering about the time that journaling takes or how often you should do it?
My answer is it depends on your preference, and there?s no right or wrong way to do it.
For me, I journal for around 30 minutes every single day and use various journal prompts depending on what I feel is the most applicable in the present moment.
If you?re just starting out, maybe you?ll want to start off with 5-10 minutes of journaling per day, or every other day.
????You do you.
Plus, the point of me sharing this with you is NOT to impose my journaling lifestyle on you... but to simply let you know about a tool that is very valuable to me, which I believe you can hugely benefit from. So you can use it in whatever way you see fit.
Perhaps pick a prompt or two that you want to use, or try using all the 5 prompts above.
Either way, I hope this helps you in your homeschool journey.
And I?m curious ? are you also a journal person, or is it something that you?re just considering to do right now?
And which of the benefits or journal prompts that you?ve read speaks the most to you? Feel free to share it in the comments below. I?d love to hear from you!