Journaling is the foundation of blogging
I’ve recently been appreciating how my journaling practice feeds my blogging practice.
I remember when I first tried having a blog about two years ago. It was unexpectedly challenging to write anything at all. Part of the struggle was rooted in my perfectionist tendencies. I would write a one paragraph post only to edit it five times that same week. However, my main limiting factor was that I had never developed a writing practice.
This time around, I’ve approached blogging differently. I blog within the context of having a private writing practice where I journal almost daily in a one page journal. This difference has allowed me to build the necessary writing muscles I use in blogging. Just like knee push ups help someone work towards a push up, journaling helps me blog.
So, what makes journaling so effective? The key difference is this: journals are written with the assumption that they will never be read and therefore, judged by anyone. This freedom from others, allows expression to be what matters. Quality is set aside.
Creating a space for journaling has been freeing for me as I nurture my writing ability. It’s much easier to write when sentences don’t need to have a logical flow and topics can change without justification. This approach lets me establish a sense of flow with writing. I don’t need to try too hard, words simply flow. From this foundation, I can then transition toward developing ideas for the context of a blog.