Do you have a journal that you haven’t opened for a while? You didn’t mean to stop writing. You wrote for a few weeks, months or even years, and then life changed; You got busy, the routine slipped or journaling simply stopped feeling like something you wanted to do.
The fact that you’re here shows that you’re thinking about starting again, but something is holding you back and it feels hard. Perhaps you wonder:
- what to write after a break
- whether you should explain where you’ve been or catch up on everything that has happened
- whether you should start a new notebook
- if the blank pages in the previous journal are proof that you are some one who can’t keep journaling.
The good thing is that you don’t need to catch up before you start again. You can open your journal at the next blank page and begin with what is happening in your life now.
Why can starting journaling again feel so difficult?
Starting a journal for the first time can feel exciting, but returning to one can feel different because there is already a history there. Perhaps you remember a time when you wrote every morning, filled several pages at a time or felt particularly connected to your journal. Or perhaps you had an idea of the journal writer you were going to be.
So you may find yourself comparing your previous behaviour or expectations to what feels possible now, and it’s easy for the gap you see to start creating pressure.
But you don’t need to recreate the way you used to journal. Your life may be different now. You may have less time or energy. You may want something different from your journal. What supported you before might not be what supports you today.
Your journaling practice can change too.
The practice of returning
I think of this as the practice of returning. It’s a different way of thinking about consistency.
Instead of measuring a journaling practice by how long you keep going without stopping, you can begin to trust that you can come back. Over time, returning can become part of your journaling practice too.
Returning doesn’t mean recovering your old routine or becoming the person you were when you last wrote. It means finding a place for your journal in the life you have now. Sometimes that might mean sitting down for a long writing session. At other times it could mean writing a list, answering a prompt or putting one thought onto the page.
It could even mean getting your journal out and opening it, because having it nearby makes it easier to write when you are ready.
Returning matters more than perfect consistency.
Your journal isn’t keeping score. It can simply be somewhere you come back to when you want space to notice what you are thinking, feeling or needing.
A small way back
If you have your journal nearby, you could return to it now. There’s nothing you need to prepare first.
Open your notebook at the next blank space. You could:
- write today’s date
- write one sentence
- make a list
- answer the question “What’s on my mind today?”
- or simply open your journal and leave it there for now.
You don’t have to turn this small return into a promise that you’ll write again tomorrow. Today’s return can simply be today’s return.
Do I need to catch up after a break from journaling?
No. You don’t need to fill the blank pages or record everything that has happened since you last wrote. You start with today.
If you want to write about the time you were away, you can. Perhaps something from those weeks or months still matters to you. But you don’t owe your journal a complete record of your life.
What if the way you used to journal no longer fits?
If you’re finding it difficult to return, this could be telling you something. Perhaps you:
- Used to write three pages every morning, but mornings are busier now.
- Enjoyed recording everything that happened in your day, but now you want somewhere to explore what you’re thinking.
- Used to love guided prompts and now you want to free write.
- Once filled pages and pages, but now a few lines feel enough.
Instead of asking “How do I get back to the way I used to journal?”, try asking “What kind of journaling would support me now?”
You could write for five minutes instead of thirty. Write one sentence instead of a page. Use bullet points, lists, drawings or prompts. Journal at lunchtime instead of first thing in the morning. Try a different notebook or another type of journal altogether.
You are allowed to experiment.
If you’re not sure what your practice could look like now, you might find How to start a journal helpful. Or explore Different types of journals to keep for ideas. The aim isn’t to find the perfect method. It’s to find something that fits your life well enough that the page feels available to you again.
What if I stop journaling again?
You might.
There may be another busy week, holiday or change in routine, or a difficult season when journaling feels like too much, or a good one when you simply don’t feel drawn to the page. There may also be times when journaling isn’t what you need.
Accepting you might stop in future doesn’t make returning now pointless. Because a journaling practice doesn’t have to be an unbroken chain. It can include times you write regularly, times you write occasionally and the times you drift away.
The useful thing to practise may not be never stopping, but knowing that you can begin again.
Recognise, return, reflect
Another way I sometimes think about what happens when we come back to our journals is recognise, return, reflect. These aren’t three steps you have to follow. You can start with any of them, move between them in any order, and you don’t have to experience all three.
- Recognise is noticing – Perhaps you realise you miss writing. You notice that something has been going round your head for days, or you notice the unopened journal on your desk and feel drawn towards it.
- Return is making contact again – You pick up the journal, open it, write the date, add a sentence or more
- Reflect is spending some time with whatever you notice or write – That might happen while you’re journaling, later while making a cup of tea or walking somewhere or you may decide to return to the entry in the future.
The point isn’t to complete a cycle or produce an insight. It’s simply a way of understanding the relationship you can have with your journal: noticing, coming back and giving yourself space to listen. And then, when life changes or you drift away again, you can return again.
How can I make it easier to come back to my journal?
It can be tempting to think the answer is to create a better routine and sometimes this can help. But you can also make returning easier by lowering the threshold for what counts.
A return doesn’t have to mean a full journal entry. It could be opening your journal. Writing a date. Adding one sentence. Making a quick list. Answering one question.
Knowing that you can return in a small way means you don’t have to wait until you have enough time, enough to say or the right frame of mind to journal “properly”. Your journal can remain available to you even when the way you use it changes.
So perhaps the question isn’t “How can I make sure I never stop journaling again?” Perhaps it is “How can I make it easier to come back?”
You don’t need to answer that perfectly in one go. You can start with one small thing that helps you return.
Choose what feels useful now
Return to your journal now – Open the next blank page and write: What’s on my mind today?
Find a way of journaling that fits you
Get some gentle support returning – If you’d like some structure and encouragement, you can explore the Return to Your Journal Challenge when the next challenge begins.
