January Journal Challenge for Moms: Pause & Reflect
Journaling is all the rage right now, and for good reason. A journal is an established outlet for stress, anxiety, and burnout + a safe and creative space that is truly just for you. It’s a chance to set goals, reflect, and clarify your intentions without any extra noise - all of which seem to fit right in with the theme of a new year.
But the biggest power of the journal is that it’s a literal PAUSE.
As moms, we don’t get enough breaks. We don’t get the opportunity to show up for ourseleves in the same ways that we show up for our children. We make sacrifices, we figure it out,
The prompts in this journal challenge don’t take long - they’re designed to take about 5 minutes - but they pack a big punch.
This January, moms in the Nurturing the Sisterhood community are harnessing the power of the journal and using it to literally PAUSE and focus on our own needs (and we’d like you to join us).
The PAUSE couldn’t come at a better time for us moms. The post-holiday rush is the time we feel the most burned out, stressed out, overwhelmed, and anxious. We have been so busy caring for others & orchestrating the holiday traditions that we become out of touch with what we need for ourselves. The PAUSE of this journal challenge is your chance to change things as we PAUSE together all month long.
The January Journal Challenge for Moms: All the Details
This journal challenge is designed to take 5 to 10 minutes per day. Your first goal is to figure out when you want to journal, and how often. Here are your options:
Journal in the morning and again at night (10-minute time commitment)
Journal each morning (5-minute time commitment)
Journal each evening (5-minute time commitment)
Choose what works best for you. Think about your schedule & established routine. Can you feasibly fit a 5-minute journal sesh into your morning routine? Would evening time work best? Do you have a flexible schedule that would allow for both morning and nighttime journaling? Choose at least one time of day to journal & stick to it.
Journaling each day is the most important part of the challenge. You need to choose a time to journal that works for you & fits into your established routine. I recommend you set a reminder on your phone until you get into the habit of doing it each day.
Step #1: Set Yourself Up for the Intentional Pause of the Journal Practice
Remember that the first goal of the journal practice is to PAUSE. So make sure that you do that! Sit down in a quiet space, turn on some tunes or enjoy the silence, and remind yourself, “this is my chance to pause for the next few moment & focus on my own needs and goals.” Then, get started!
You’ll need to decide whether you’d like to journal with pen-and-paper, use the free downloadable template I created just for this challenge, or you can journal digitally (such as by using the notes section of your phone). It’s okay to experiment with the way you journal. Writing with pen & paper is key for me, and I enjoy using a template. But things are different for every mom. You need to find what works for you.
Step #2: Write & Reflect
The journal prompts that you will use are the same for each day of the challenge. The repetitiveness of the prompts is by design. Why?
Knowing what to expect is helpful for moms who experience anxiety and stress, because you know exactly what you’ll be asked to do. You lose the excuse of skipping the journal practice because it seems like too much to figure out. Once you’ve done it once, you know how to do it again.
Once you learn what to expect, the process of the journal becomes quicker. You get used to examining these parts of your thoughts and emotions, and your mind gets trained to do that.
The prompts come to life differently as you get to know them. At first, you are likely to respond to these prompts in surface-level ways. As time goes on, your interaction with the prompts will deepen & the practice will become more meaningful.
The Morning Journal Prompts
The prompts here can be answered in any order. If a prompt doesn’t make sense for you, skip it. Only do things that feel supportive of starting your day with a PAUSE that allows you to gather your thoughts, set your intention, and notice the ways you need to show up for yourself today.
What am I feeling right now, in this moment?
What do I need to keep or shift this feeling?
What do I want to accomplish today?
What am I looking forward to today?
What is one specific thing I can do to care for myself today?
The Evening Journal Prompts
What am I feeling right now, in this moment?
What am I proud of today?
What was hard for me today? + what did that hard moment teach me?
How did I care for myself today?
What can I do differently to better care for myself tomorrow?
These prompts are a starting point for your journal practice. If something doesn’t feel good for you, shift it. Tweak the question a little bit, omit the question, or add a question that speaks to you.
The important part of the challenge is showing up each day, taking that 5-minutes to PAUSE, and being honest with yourself. It’s not easy, but it’s simple and it’s achievable. Be gentle and patient with yourself as you learn to make this a part of the routine, and watch the benefits roll in. You’ll be feeling more in-touch with your emotions and needs, more productive, and more grateful for what you’re doing well in no time.
I believe you can do it, and I’ll be doing it right alongside you.
Looking for a village of supportive moms who inspire and remind you to care for yourself as a mom? Want to follow about my journey with the journal challenge & do the challenge alongside our Nurturing the Sisterhood community this January? Join the Journal Challenge & get your free templates here and then follow along on Instagram!
THROUGH THICK AND THINJoin the Sisterhood!
On Thursdays I'm in your inbox with mama must-haves, tip of the week, support strategies, and more... all aimed at helping you figure out this thing we call motherhood so you can be the mom you really want to be.
