Nami’s 30-day journaling challenge experience

Journaling, a daily recording of an individual’s life, thoughts and emotion. Everyone has done it at least once be it out of curiosity or out of obligation by say, an educator. It is, to some, a hobby while others find it a bore. What satisfaction stems from the ritual of writing events that occurred from early dawn to late dusk? What benefit can the monotonous activity have in the fast-paced living of the 21^st century?

When the Movement Control Order started in Malaysia, I couldn’t go anywhere, so I spent my time playing games and, to no surprise, writing. As a means to keep me from losing track of time, writing became a sort of motivation. I woke up every day to write and write some more before I sleep. My writing frequency increased (compared to the past year), from twice a month to every day, in two weeks. Seeing this pattern, on a whim, I challenged myself to fill up two pages every day for 30 days.

30-day journaling challenge

30-day challenges are common. Why 30 days? It sounds less daunting than a year and long enough to judge whether you like the activity or not.  I’ve seen and attempted many of them to varying degrees of success: drawing, exercising and even cosplay. Why not add journaling to that list?

At first, I thought of following a prompt from the millions I found but I decided against it. To restart my hobby, I needed the freedom or it will become a chore. I kept it as open-ended as I could. Lo and behold, 30 days later, I finished the challenge and now that I have somewhat collected enough of my thoughts, I will share with you what I got from it.

There were a few things I got from this challenge but I want to outline three main ones: Reflecting on yourself, letting out your creativity and a record of your life.

1.      Reflection

Generally, you are free to write about anything you want in a journal. A recipe you want to try? A quote you want to remember? A to-do list you have to complete? Write them all down in your journal. But maybe don’t leave it at that. Add a caption to it. 

What was the checklist for? How did you feel finishing it? Why were some unchecked?

Or

Who wrote this quote? Why was it memorable? What did you think about when you read it?

 

                My KH3 trophy checklist

Every event will evoke something in you. Anger, frustration, nostalgia or even happiness. Write them down. Reflect on the things you have done in life.

The 30-day challenge helped me contemplate my day-to-day decisions: why did I walk around the house so much? Why did I eat that cake even when I’m full? Why did I choose to read a specific book over another one? These little details may lead you to a bigger picture, you would be surprised.

2.      Creative outlet

One thing I found myself doing in my journal for the challenge is filling it with colour.

 

I used coloured pens, some markers and a whole lot of washi tape. They are not perfect; I am aware but I had fun doing them. It makes the exercise more relaxing. I had the most fun in imitating the font from Persona 5.

      My best attempt to theme a page after Persona 5

My journal pages are still 90% writing but they’re not plain black-and-white (or blue-and-white if you're using a blue pen). This was part of my challenge, to use different motifs or colours each day and it was liberating.

There is something exhilarating in splashing colour here and there and it definitely became the highlight of my journaling days if I am to be honest. Reading my entries for the 30-day journaling challenge is slightly more fun compared to reading my old journals which were mostly monochromatic.

This journaling challenge lets me experiment with my imagination.

3.      Records

Personally, I don’t see an increase in my observation skills as listed in many articles about the benefit of journaling. Maybe it’s something passive but as far as the naked eye goes, I don’t see them.

What I do see most from this exercise is that it’s just a fun way to record my days. When I read my past entries, I experience the feelings I felt when writing them. I felt happy completing the Gummi Ship Missions in Kingdom Hearts 3, anxious when I reread all the worries that filled my head and the anger some interactions gave me. It’s nice to have something to look back on, a record of what you have done to improve your life one step at a time.

These records helped me in my moments of doubt. It helps me ground myself, helps me make better choices. Especially when I reread a mistake I made in the past. These records are important to tell you not to make the same mistakes you made and grow from the person you once were.

Overall

What I especially liked from this exercise was that I found myself writing more. It was what I needed most. As someone who has been writing more research-oriented papers for university, I haven’t been writing the things I want to. Creatively, I composed poems more than stories, sending a few of them to the university literary zine. The 30-day journaling challenge reignited my writing habit, something I have tried so hard to do. I count that as a win.

To sum up my experience, the 30-day journaling challenge helped me to find what I actually wanted to do. It helped me discover who I am and how I view the world. People find themselves in many ways, one of them is from writing and reading about yourself.

I do want to urge others to do it. If you don’t like restrictions, don’t put a rule on yourself. The rules are simple.

Fill up 2-pages of a notebook every day: It can be a combination of drawing and writing, it can be all writing, up to you. Just put pen to paper, let your mind wander and stop when you feel like it! Paste stickers, packaging. Doodle. Everyone has their way of filling up a page, make that journal your own. When the 30 days are up, read through what you produced. You might find things about yourself that you don’t know before.

Happy Journaling!