Is it OK to Take a Break from Journaling?

If you find yourself in a situation where you can't write for some reason, don't worry. Take a deep breath and forgive yourself. In my experience, when I had the luxury of taking a few days off, it was easy to get back into the habit once the stressful situation was over. Skipping days is normal, and there's no need to feel guilty about it. The Bullet Journal system is designed to be efficient, and that means it's doing its job if you don't write every day.

Not all writing is meant to last forever, and that's okay. Take journalism and journaling, for example. The former is objective and intended for an audience, while the latter is subjective and personal. But both forms share an important quality: they are not designed to last. Fast forward two and a half decades later, and Leo Babatua of ZenHabits still publishes at least once a day.

He believes this is key to the success of his business. If you're interested in trying to write a diary every day, here's what you need to know. You may find that you're more creative when you're tired, so ideas can come up through your writing that you wouldn't have thought of at any other time of the day. If most of the following questions can be answered with a 'yes', then keeping a diary every day is something you should keep doing or try to do:

• Do you want to track your progress?
• Do you want to stay motivated?
• Do you want to explore your thoughts further?

Writing about your goals for the day and what you hope to achieve can be beneficial. You can also document the ways in which you achieved these goals, either in the morning or in the evening.

I like to write a to-do list at the end of the day (or the next day) and note down what I did so I can keep track of my progress. When you write in a journal for days and months, it's normal to feel tired and exhausted from writing, which can lead you to quit smoking. In general, I would say adapt your design and system to how simple or complex you want it to be, and don't beat yourself up if you miss a day or two. Use your diary as an extra push to stick to the habits you establish and change your thought processes - if you can keep a diary every day, then surely going to the gym or reading that book isn't too hard either! Try writing at least one thing that makes you feel grateful every day and you'll notice a drastic change in the way you see the world. One of the best ways is to give an account on a daily basis of the things you did, the places you have seen, who you met and how your day was in general. Leo Babatua of ZenHabits says he only writes his diary with bullets; only three to six a day.

You can write about anything - even if it's just washing three loads of laundry or having a quiet self-care day. When I finally set up a new diary, I always include the lost days and fill the list with brief notes about what I did that day - even if all it says is 'procrastinated like crazy'.