For the past few weeks, I’ve awoken each morning at 6:15 from a dream. It’s never quite the same dream, but it always follows a predictable narrative:

I’m walking through an airport, or a bus station, or I’m wandering through a city on foot. I have a tote bag over my shoulder filled to the brim with my things. I’m in danger of missing a flight.

And then the chaos begins. My phone dies. I’m not where I am. My bag falls open at the ticketing counter, or I lose my bag altogether. I become frantic, trying to keep everything…

It took me forever to figure out how to keep a journal. How to be one of those people who is a journaler.

The thing is, it’s not about willpower. It’s about finding the parts of journaling that work best with your lifestyle and desired goals.

In this video, I share 6 tips to help you start a journaling practice and actually keep it up.

How to commit to using a journal

But if you’d rather read (do note that you’ll miss out on some of the details), here’s a little synopsis:

1. Give up on what a journal is “supposed” to be

Instead, focus on what you want out of it.

In an earlier video, I…

My brain is made of paper.

My thoughts are bound in black leather, and my emotions are processed in gel pens.

(Black ink for the normal stuff, ✨sparkly ink✨ for the really tough stuff).

My journal is my second brain. It’s the place where I’m able to process thoughts, record my memories, and dream about the future.

But I wasn’t always a journaler. For years I started and stopped diaries. I didn’t get it. I wanted to keep a journal, but I couldn’t seem to commit.

It wasn’t until college that I realized that there are more than one way…

I’ve made a lot of stupid misguided goals in recent years.

Some notable highlights:

❏ “Make $100K in my business” (…without even really liking the work I was doing)

❏ “Grow a following as a professional artist” (…even though I rarely did art in my free time)

❏ “Get conversational in Japanese in time to visit in autumn of 2020” (HA.)

In hindsight, it’s painfully obvious why those goals didn’t work out.

But in the moment, it all seemed so right. I did what I thought I was supposed to do: I set habits. I made sure my goals were…

We’ve exhausted the Zoom calls, the sourdough starters, the puzzles, and Animal Crossing. We’ve gotten our pandemic puppies and eaten our weight in takeout.

And here we are, a full year of pandemic pandemonium later, theoretically on a home stretch to a “new normal” that seems to keep getting further and further away.

So what now?

Honestly, I haven’t been all that sure.

But after rage-typing for a few hours (it’s my therapy), I put together a little system for intentionally bringing more happiness-inducing elements into your life to combat quarantine fatigue.

Because regardless of your exact situation, I know…

I knew it wouldn’t be easy…

But I wasn’t ready for this slap in the face.

A few months ago, I set out on a YouTube content experiment (a fancy way to say I’m makin’ videos now). And I promised to tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly along the way.

Today, I get to share the first big negative experience. It is not hate comments or creepy men (though those have certainly been popping up), but something much more in my control.

Which might be worse.

The thing is, I truly thought I was making a great video

It was a late Wednesday night. I’d spent the previous 6…

So, you want to get better at writing blog posts.

Or faster at writing emails for your list.

Or you want to become a more skilled videographer, more effective body builder, better cook…

And you’re trying hard. You’re putting in the hours. But your progress has plateaued, and you’re not sure how to continue.

There will always be periods in your life when you’re trying to gain a new skill or strengthen an existing one. But when we progress slows, we have 3 options:

1. Quit (and put your energy toward better things)
2. Keep pushing (and hope sheer tenacity will pull…

Our brains weren’t meant for this.

The constant influx of world news. The fear. The outrage. Powerful, emotional stories from millions of people available in our pocket, just a few taps away.

But we need to be “informed,” right?

So we do what everyone does: We re-share the news that sounds right, get angry at everything else, and close the app for a few minutes so we can get something done. Then we open it again.

And the consequences are real. Misinformation spreads like a wildfire. Divisions are created where there should be healthy conversation. …