Mentis- Five minutes, one prompt, no editing.
- Tie it to something you already do every day.
- Write what's true, not what sounds good. Nobody else reads it.
Why journal at all?
Writing about your thoughts and feelings is one of the most studied self-help habits there is. In James Pennebaker's original experiments, students who wrote about what was really on their minds for 15 minutes on four days made fewer visits to the health centre in the months after than students who wrote about everyday topics (Pennebaker & Beall, 1986). A later review of many such studies found benefits for wellbeing and health across very different groups of people (Smyth, 1998). You don't have to write about anything dramatic. Getting the day out of your head and onto a page is enough to start.
The 5-minute method
- Pick your moment. Attach it to something you already do: after your morning chai, on the bus home, before you brush your teeth.
- Set a timer for 5 minutes. A short timer makes it easy to start and stops it becoming a chore.
- Choose one prompt below. Or just "what's on my mind?"
- Write without stopping. Spelling, grammar and making sense are all optional. Hinglish is welcome.
- Stop when the timer stops. Read the last line back. That's it.
New habits take time to stick: one study found it took a median of 66 days for a daily behaviour to feel automatic (Lally et al., 2010). Missing a day doesn't reset anything.
Easy prompts to start with
- What's one thing on my mind right now?
- How am I arriving into today, in one word? Why that word?
- What's the weather inside me today: sunny, cloudy, stormy, foggy?
- What did I do yesterday that I'd like to do again?
- Three things I noticed on the way to work or college today.
- What am I looking forward to this week, even a little?
- What's taking up the most space in my head this week?
- Who did I talk to today, properly? How did it feel?
- What made me smile or laugh recently?
- What's one small thing I could do today to make tomorrow easier?
Getting to know yourself
- When in the day do I feel sharpest, and when does my energy drop?
- What drains me, and what fills me back up?
- What does a good day look like for me, start to finish?
- Early bird or night owl? Has that changed over the years?
- What did I love doing as a child that I've stopped doing?
- What are three things I'm good at that nobody taught me?
- What's a belief about myself I'd like to question?
Looking at the week
- What went right this week, and why?
- What got in the way this week?
- Where did my time go? Was that where I wanted it to go?
- What did I actually finish this week?
- Which day this week felt best? What was different about it?
- What do I want more of next week, and less of?
Small steps forward
- One thing I've been putting off. What's the first ten minutes of it?
- One habit I'd like to start. When, exactly, would it happen?
- One person I'd like to reach out to. What would I say?
- What would I try if I knew nobody was watching?
- What advice would I give someone starting the week I'm about to have?
- What am I proud of from this month?
- What do I want to remember about today?
Where to go next
Once journaling feels familiar, try a themed set: anxiety, overthinking, sleep or gratitude. The Mentis app gives you one prompt a day, matched to your plan and your check-in, so you never stare at a blank page. See how journaling works in Mentis.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start journaling as a beginner?
Pick a time you already have every day (after chai, before bed, on the metro), set a five-minute timer, choose one prompt and write without editing. Don't aim for daily at first; three times a week is a good start.
Should I journal on paper or on my phone?
Whichever you'll actually do. Paper slows you down, which some people like. A phone is always with you. The Mentis app gives you a prompt each day and keeps entries private.
What if I don't know what to write?
Write that. 'I don't know what to write, today was…' is a perfectly good start. Or answer the simplest prompt: what's one thing on my mind right now?
How long does it take to build a journaling habit?
In one study of everyday habits, it took a median of 66 days for a new behaviour to feel automatic, with a wide range. Tying journaling to something you already do every day helps a lot.
- Pennebaker JW, Beall SK. (1986). Confronting a traumatic event: toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 95(3):274–281.
- Smyth JM. (1998). Written emotional expression: effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 66(1):174–184.
- Lally P, van Jaarsveld CHM, Potts HWW, Wardle J. (2010). How are habits formed: modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology 40(6):998–1009.