Stop taking journaling so seriously

Silly little prompts, lists, and exercises to make journaling FUN again (+ a peek into my brain).

When I’m asked how I developed a journaling habit, it can sometimes be hard to explain. I got my first diary when I was 10 years old and I’ve been keeping one ever since.

When I was 10, I wasn’t really keeping much of a diary. Nothing happened in my life at 10, especially not with traditional Asian parents. Most of my days were spent at home or at school. However, that didn’t stop my creative little brain. I’d write about made up days “shapping” (how I thought “shopping” was spelt apparently) and “playing” with friends.

Although I’ve always kept some form of a diary or journal since then, I have gone through periods in life where I started to overthink it. Was this important enough for my diary? Is this too private? What if someone reads my diary? (One time my mom did, and then years later an (ex) boyfriend did so I lost trust in the privacy of my diary).

Now thinking back, those periods sucked. There’s no better way to put it. It was hot poo poo. There’s a magical thing that happens when you learn to translate your thoughts into words on a page. It helps clear your mind, process information, tune into your emotions—and most importantly—understand yourself better.

Over the last decade, my relationship with journaling has changed drastically. I used to only trauma-dump in my journals—recording only the moments that I felt the most down. It made sense because journaling had become an emotional outlet for me: A place and practice I could turn to to let everything out.

I had a turning point in my early-mid twenties where I decided I no longer wanted to do that. I didn’t want to read back one day and only see the moments I was hurting the most. I wanted to read back and know everything else that was going on—the small but beautiful moments that are worth remembering.

I guess I’m writing this because I want to remind you that journaling doesn’t have to be this big serious thing.

The Moon Lists

shared this note the other day:

I also loved Joan Didion’s piece “On Keeping a Notebook”

“So the point of my keeping a notebook has never been, nor is it now, to have an accurate factual record of what I have been doing or thinking. That would be a different impulse entirely, an instinct for reality which I sometimes envy but do not possess.”

If you’ve been wanting to journal, or if you already do but want some new prompts/exercises to try, below are some of my personal favorites.

Observations & lists

While yes, I still do 3 pages of Morning Pages (from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron) every morning and I still recount my days, here are some other “not-so-serious” things I will write in my journal

• list of things I find beautiful

• list of happy moments from the day

• random interactions with strangers

• descriptions of strangers that caught my eye (what’s their vibe? what were they wearing?)

• list of things that I want (ie. things I want in my Milan apartment)

• a recap of the week

• a conversation worth remembering

• list of small joys

• list of energizing activities

• themes or symbols swirling around my head

• how I felt about x (replace x with whatever: book, film, song, playlist, Substack post…)

• how I’m feeling currently

• a letter to my future self

• a letter to my past self

• a letter to someone I love (or loved)

• a TBR list for the month

• shows/movies I want to watch

• my current wish list

The 10-bullet brain dump

One exercise I’ve been loving is the 10-bullet brain dump. It’s so easy, takes minutes, and is fun to look back on. Before I start my work day, I’ll just quickly jot down 10 things that are on my mind. They can be a single word or sometimes a sentence or two. It really depends on what’s going on in my head. Here’s an example:

The monthly review

I am a die-hard Notion user, and that will probably never change. So best bet I have my life goals OKR’d in a Notion database that tracks everything in multiple views with probably too many tags and properties. Even so, all of my life planning actually starts in my journal.

At the start of each month, I’ll typically do a monthly review as well as quick intentions planning for the next month. Here’s my process:

• Month in review

  • what went well last month

  • what could’ve gone better

  • how I felt about the month

• New month planning

  • ins and outs for the month

  • intentions

  • goals > habits

    • for each goal, I will write 1-3 habits that I will build that helps achieve that goal. SYSTEMS > GOALS.

  • if I’m feeling frisky, I’ll do a mood board with stickers, printed out photos, and all that jazz

Story-worthy month

If you’ve ever come across Mathew Dick’s work, you’ll probably already have heard of the Homework for Life exercise. If you haven’t, it’s essentially an exercise that prompts you to write one quick entry every day of things you found story-worthy. Again, this can be just one word, a phrase, or a sentence or two. It can be as simple as “pink hydrangeas I saw on my walk”, to an elaborate description of a conversation you overheard. It’ll look different for everyone. It’s about what you found story-worthy that day.

I tried this exercise in Notion but have recently switched over to a cute calendar layout in my journal. Here’s what my story-worthy February looked like:

Journaling is a deeply personal practice that can take many forms. Whether you choose to write morning pages, keep a story-worthy calendar, do monthly reviews, or just jot down random observations—there's no wrong way to journal. The key is finding what works for you and letting go of any pressure to make it "perfect" or "serious."

Remember that your journal is your space to explore, reflect, and capture life's moments—both big and small. It's not about writing perfectly crafted prose or recording only the significant events. Sometimes the most meaningful entries are the simplest ones: a stranger's kind smile, the way sunlight hit your coffee cup, or a random thought that made you laugh.

Start small, stay consistent, and most importantly, make it enjoyable. Your future self will thank you for these little windows into your past, these breadcrumbs of memories that might otherwise have been forgotten.

Below the paywall we’re getting seriously personal—I thought it would be fun to share some of my personal journal entries, both random observation lists as well as longer entries I’ve written. Hope you enjoy this little peek into my brain.