Start a Family Journaling Habit
I started journaling six years ago and have experienced many benefits from this practice.
I wanted to pass this habit down to my daughter and son, so I created a simple worksheet that each of us fill out as a family every weekend. We started this two years ago when my daughter was 8, and my son was 6 (I helped a lot at the beginning).
Here is a rundown of the prompts on the worksheet.
What was your favorite thing that happened this week?
This question reminds me of what matters most to my children. It makes me feel good because they usually write about the time we spent together as a family. Your kids often catch you off-guard and write about the smallest, simplest moments that were special to them.
It also highlights the activity that provides the biggest spark for them. I call it the “Dolphin Tale” interest – from the movie where the 11-year-old boy’s tremendous love and curiosity about dolphins unlocks his potential and happiness. For example, this fall my daughter started consistently writing about baking macaroons instead of pitching a great game in softball. I quickly took notice of how much effort she put into experimenting with different kinds, improving on what she had made the day before.
What did you do that you were most proud of this week?
Similar to the last question with a little different slant. I encourage them to write about something that might not be considered a success. A good example is when they get out of their comfort zone and try something new. Or when they follow through on doing something that they had been saying they were going to do.
I challenge myself on this question also – did I do something this week that made me better than I was last week?
What did you do this week for your body? For your heart (relationships)? For your mind? For your soul?
I took these questions from the classic Stephen Covey book entitled “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” They are from habit #7 (“Sharpen the Saw”) which is about doing things for yourself every day to make you better.
I love how these questions help hold yourself accountable for doing the right things on a regular basis. They never let you drift too far off course. You don’t want to sit down to journal and face the fact that you skipped all of that week’s workouts or stopped making time for daily devotional reading.
Once you establish great habits, you start filling out this section on auto-pilot. And then you should push yourself to find new activities to pepper in with your engrained daily/weekly routine.
Write three things for which you are thankful
It is so easy to start taking our many blessings for granted. We start focusing on what we don’t have instead of what we do have. As Jon Gordon says, you cannot be stressed and thankful at the same time. It is never too early for your children to get into the habit of being thankful.
And it is a perfect time to start this weekly journal with your family as we head into Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Here is the link to the worksheet so you can download and print it out:
I recommend buying a 3-ring binder for each of you to keep your journal entries. It is fun to flip through later and read great memories, see how each of you changes over time.
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