The Benefits of Journaling as a Single Mom and How to Start

This is a guest post.

No matter how you slice it, being a single mom is challenging. Your day revolves around keeping your kids safe, happy, and cared for, often on your own. Some days and seasons will be more demanding, making you feel like you’ll drown under the pressure and responsibilities. However, these times pass and usher in more peaceful ones.

Starting a journaling practice can help you wade through the tough times and get enjoyment from the quieter ones. You may wonder how to squeeze one more item into your busy day. It’s understandable to feel that way, but taking even one minute to jot down a few thoughts does wonders for your mental health.

Benefits of Journaling for Single Moms

Journaling lets you slow down for a few minutes and let go of your wandering thoughts. You can process and release negative emotions, embrace happy moments, get clear on your goals, dump your to-dos, and more. You’ll breathe easier and gain these benefits with consistent practice.

Prove Your Worth

While being a single mom means more of the daily responsibilities of raising kids fall to you, that’s not all you’re suitable for. You deserve a life outside of motherhood. Carving out a few minutes for yourself each day is essential. It proves you’re worth spending time on and can demonstrate self-love to your kids.

Keep Track of Your Life

How many planners have you purchased only to find them unused in a drawer later? Most moms long to be more organized but lack the patience to put it into practice. Specific journals can work double-time for you as a place to keep your thoughts and hold important things to remember. Bullet journaling, in particular, can help you keep track of things.

Prioritize Your Goals

Physically tracking your goals is the only way to ensure you make progress toward them. Otherwise, you’ll notice days, weeks, or months have gone by without checking in. Working toward a firm goal helps you get fulfillment as a woman outside of being a mother. Set aside a section in your journal to track your progress, or write about your journey each day.

Work Through Your Feelings

Being a mom is stressful, especially when you’re doing it on your own. While many of us try to power through stress, it can severely affect our lives. Stress can worsen mental health conditions, accelerate signs of aging and cause skin conditions, lead to outbursts and misdirected anger, and more.

Keeping your stress bottled up will only make these outcomes worse. Write down the worries and feelings you’re struggling with. Sometimes, you may come up with a solution. Getting your ideas on paper can be therapeutic, allowing you to let go and move on before you begin taking your frustration out on your family.

Enjoy This Season

Sitting back and savoring precious moments is challenging when you struggle to get through the day-to-day. Your kids will only be this age for so long. You need to absorb every moment. Using your journal to practice gratitude or keep track of special memories will give you something to turn to when things feel rough.

Tips for Getting Started

The best way to get into journaling is to rip off the bandage and dive in. If you commit from the start, you’ll likely see benefits and stay with the habit long-term. No toe-dipping here. Use these tips to get started.

Start Small

Committing to a journaling habit doesn’t have to look like multiple pages of heartfelt words daily. Starting small lets you build your writing muscles and confidence. It also gives you room to experiment with types of journaling. Set aside five minutes every day to get something on the page.

Bring Your Journal With You

Most journals are small enough to fit in a standard purse. Find one you can bring with you wherever you go. You never know when to work something out or find a five-minute free time. Always be prepared.

Remain Consistent

Consistency is the key to building any habit, especially when you’re a single mother and free time doesn’t come quickly. You must commit to writing daily if you want this to work for you and improve your life. Even if you only have one minute, the result will be better than skipping a day.

Find the Right Method

Finding a suitable journaling method is another essential element to maintaining the habit. Everyone’s mind works differently, so it makes sense that you may need to write differently than other moms. You have so many great options:

Prayer journaling
Bullet journaling
Brain dumping
Gratitude journaling
One line a day
Stream of consciousness
“Dear Diary…”
Guided journaling
Vision journaling

Give Yourself Grace

As with anything in life and motherhood, giving yourself grace is essential as you build this habit into your routine. You may feel silly at first if you aren’t used to putting your thoughts on paper. You may struggle to carve out time or remember to do it in the first place. If you miss a day or can’t think of what to write, try again tomorrow or test a new method. Finding what works for you and is helpful may take time and trial and error.

Journaling Makes Single Motherhood Easier

It’s vital to make single motherhood a little easier and enjoy the small moments. Do you frequently lose your cool and instantly regret it? Do you struggle to remember appointments and essential to-dos? Would you like to focus on growth and becoming the person you’ve always wanted to be? Regular journaling practice can help you work on these issues.

Author bio:

Cora Gold is a motherhood and wellness blogger and the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. Follow Cora on Pinterest and LinkedIn.