Embrace the Chaos: A Guide to Unstructured Journaling

Messy thoughts require messy pages

Many people ask me, "How do I journal? I have never really liked it, and I don't feel like I know how to do it."

My answer? Guess what: you don't have any rules you need to follow. Journaling is an activity that becomes a success just by doing it. The way you do it is not important. The fact that you do it is what matters. The only question you ever need to ask yourself is: did I journal? Not, how did I journal?

Because here is the only rule for this exercise: there are no rules.

The way you do this is automatically the best, most productive way to do it. You do not have to write left to right. You can write in massive, sprawling letters. You can write in broken fragments. You can start at the very back of your notebook and work your way to the front. You can do absolutely anything you want.

The absolute best time to pick up a pen is when you are feeling overwhelmed, confused, emotional, or stressed out. When your brain is stuck on a loop, are your thoughts neat, organized, and easy to understand? Nope! So let your writing match that chaos. Treat the page exactly like showing up to a session and saying, "I am just going to start talking and hopefully it makes sense."

Your only goal is to get it out. Keep it free-flowing and completely unstructured. Just let the pen move with whatever thoughts pop into your mind. Sometimes, your thoughts will interrupt one another, and you might feel a sudden pressure to write fast enough to catch them all. That happens, and it’s okay. Just do your best to get it down. If you need to, just write single words—drop them on the page and wait to see if a more formed sentence comes next.

Here is what it looks like when you simply let the pen follow the brain:

frustrated. annoyed. why can't I get an appointment? it doesn't make sense. I called ahead and explained the situation. I need an appointment. now what? ugh. this is just like last year when I needed bloodwork. Meh. I don't understand how places can operate this way. oh and my neighbor called. she did it again where she went on and on and I didn't get a word in. also I cannot forget that I need to wash the laundry and hang it. Ready to get that off my list. I really want to do nothing just watch my show. can I just sit and watch a show? I have to travel this weekend and it will be fun but I really need to plan ahead. Feeling hungry now. Until next time!

Now, it's your turn. Grab a pen and a notebook, and write one word. Any word you want. Did you do it? Okay, as soon as you do it, tell yourself, I DID IT, and feel proud that you wrote in your journal. You just journaled! Bucket list checked off.