Ever contemplated journaling from a jar?
Sounds weird right? The first time I heard the concept, I said to myself “journal jar?! What the?” But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I was.
Now, if you’ve been around the making time blog for any amount of time, you know that I’m a proponent of journaling. You’ve heard about its many benefits. And may have even bought yourself a beautiful journal, because you were ready to jump right in and start a journaling practice.
But sometimes even though you’re all in, it can be hard to get started. Especially if you find it difficult to think of what you should write about.
Well, have no fear, that’s where I come in. After all, the whole point of this blog is to help you manage your stress before your stress manages you, so I don’t want to stress you out any more than you already are. So, in this post, I’ve going to talk about what a journal jar is and then give you some prompt ideas. Ready? Then read on to find out all about journal jars.
What’s A Journal Jar?
A journal jar is a great tool for adding some variety into your journaling life. To create one, you take a jar (or any other similar container) and add slips of paper that have various prompts on it. It’s as simple as that.
When you’re in need of some inspiration, you pull a slip out of the journal jar and start writing. And don’t forget to decorate your jar to make it appealing.
Journal Jar Journaling Tips
Use these five tips to skyrocket your journaling though the use of a journal jar.
Any jar that works for you is great. You can use anything, a mason jar, cookie jar or a vase to name a few.
Don’t forget to decorate your jar
Below you’ll find some prompts (or create your own). Write the prompts onto slips of paper and put them in the jar.
Whenever you’re stuck for journaling ideas, pull out a prompt.
Set a timer for at least thirty minutes.
Using your prompt simply write down whatever comes into your mind.
Journal Jar Prompts
Here are a variety of journal prompts to help get you started if you’re ever at a loss regarding what you’d like to journal about.
Lists
Lists are a super easy way to dip your toe into the waters of journaling. Keeping each list as its own theme, you can write as little or as much as you want.
Dream vacation destinations
Best meals you’ve had and where you ate them
Favorite movies
Favorite books
Favorite songs
Top goals to achieve this year, in five years, in ten years
Favorite ways to engage in self-care
Ways to increase your productivity
What you’re most grateful for
What do you do to manage your stress?
Confessions
Something people don’t know about you
Things you wish you had done
Your secret desires
The most outrageous thing you’ve ever done
Biggest gamble you’ve ever made (this could be a career, relationship, travel – anything that felt risky)
Letter to someone you’ve wronged
The thing that no one knows about that you wish you hadn’t done
What are you afraid of?
A time when you’ve taken your stress out on someone else when they didn’t deserve it?
Name one thing you would change about your life and why.
“If” questions
If you could meet anyone from history, who would it be?
If you could meet any fictional character(s), who would they be?
If you could create a morning routine, what would it be?
If you could go back in time and fix anything, what would you choose?
If you could change one thing about yourself right now, what would it be?
If you had the opportunity to never experience stress (good or bad) ever again, would you take it?
If you could have your ideal self-care day, what would it look like?
If all your dreams could come true, what would you choose?
If you could only work on ONE goal this year, what would it be and how would you reach it?
If you could learn one new hobby, what would it be?
It's The Little Things
It’s easy to think of the big things you love in your life, what about the little things? Like maybe the way your dog greets you when you come home, or the narcissi that bloom without fail every spring? Think across every part of your life. What are you grateful for?
Family members
Pets
Movies
Books
Food
Nature
Music
Scents
End Of Week Review
Try to think as widely as you can, from managing to get the early bus to trying a new recipe or meeting your exercise goals.
1. Write down all the things that made you feel good.
2. What did you learn this week?
3. What did you achieve?
4. What promises did you keep?
5. How did you take care of yourself this week?
6. What did you do to manage your stress this week?
7. What is one thing that you can do today to improve your life next week?
8. What is one thing that you did this week to reach one of your top 3 goals?
9. What did you do this week to give back to society?
10. What mistakes did you make this week?
Additional Ideas
You can take the prompts listed above and rotate them in your journal jar monthly in order to create themes and keep your jar from growing stale.
Another idea would be to write your favorite quotes on the slips and when you pull one, write about what that quote means to you.
If you want to take it a step further, consider having pictures interspersed throughout the jar to give yourself options. You could pick a picture and journal about the events happening before, during or after the picture was taken or if you’re using pictures that are not your own you can imagine what’s happening.
You can also pair together pictures and prompts to open up even more avenues of exploration to get in more journaling fun!
So there you have it. Making your own journal jar is a fun and interesting way to begin a journaling practice and give you a bit of variety if you’re ever stumped on what to write.
Let’s talk, what type of prompts are you going to put into your journal jar? Let me know in the comments section and post a picture of your journal jar as well. I’d love to see it.
Journal & Mug Photo by Steph Cruz on Unsplash
Cassandra Martin-Himmons is a trainer, wellness coach and consultant who believes in empowering her clients and providing the tools that they need to make positive changes in their lives to manage their stress and increase their self-care. In her spare time, she enjoys papercrafting, volunteering and travel. Connect with her on Instagram or Linked/In