Despite the fact that countless studies prove that journaling is an extremely powerful way to boost our mental wellbeing, reduce depression and anxiety, make us more content, productive and all-around happier with our lives - most of us miss out, seeing journaling as a chore, definitely not a treat

The irony is, in today's competitive, fast paced environment having a great journaling practice, according to Harvard Business Review is a super accessible, low cost, efficient way to boost not only our immune system, but also our ability to perform and thrive 

The question for us though, is if it's so helpful, why on earth do so many of us see journaling as a chore? Why in truth, do so many of us find even the thought of 'journaling' so overwhelming we never bother giving it a go?

At Progressfull™ we have a point of view that can help you understand why - our observations are gleaned from working with over 14,000 people globally in the last two decades

Journaling should be a treat not...

Don't be fooled, we are not talking about rumination here, a journaling whine of why life is not fair, we are talking here of purposeful self-reflection. Now that is truly the power tool we all need in today's world

In fact, far from being narcissistic naval gazing - countless studies prove that journaling is an extremely powerful way to boost our mental wellbeing, reduce depression and anxiety, and make us more content, productive and all-around happier with our lives

Boosting our ability to cope with intrusive and avoidant thoughts is one of the key benefits cited. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that students who wrote about their deepest thoughts and feelings (handwritten or digital) in the month leading up to a big exam had fewer depressive symptoms because they didn’t dwell as much on their intrusive thoughts. What’s more, a 2018 study from the National Library of Medicine found that adults who completed a 15-minute online journaling ...

With news of recession spiralling and global inflation rising – a lot of us are feeling anxious. We are searching for ways to recession proof our businesses, our household finances – yet what may be even more valuable to us, may be to recession proof our minds 

To not just survive a recession, but to make progress, to thrive, Darwinian theory tells us what is key is having the ability to to swap our feelings of anxiety and overwhelm for feeling strong, poised, curious and open. Then we can see opportunities as they arise and adapt our approach to make the most of them. As Darwin said,

'It's not the strongest species which survives, nor the most intelligent, but, the one most responsive to change'

How to swap feelings of anxiety and overwhelm for feelings of strength and curiosity - so your mind is a great place to be and you can keep making progress? 

A lot of you may already know the answer - it's about having really affirming and releasing beliefs, behaviours and mind-sets. OK, b...

Countless studies prove that journaling is an extremely powerful way to boost our mental wellbeing, reduce depression and anxiety, and make us more content, productive and all-around happier with our lives

Boosting our ability to cope with intrusive and avoidant thoughts is one of the key benefits cited. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that students who wrote about their deepest thoughts and feelings (handwritten or digital) in the month leading up to a big exam had fewer depressive symptoms because they didn’t dwell as much on their intrusive thoughts. What’s more, a  2018 study from the National Library of Medicine found that adults who completed a 15-minute online journaling session three days a week for 12 weeks were less likely to ruminate on their anxious thoughts and better able to move past them

Improving working memory, sleep, increasing creativity, and reducing stress, are all sizeable benefits of journaling...

...according to a ...

Most of us have clocked that a morning routine is a great way to look after ourselves in good times and bad

In fact, we are so keen to find a great morning routine that #MorningRoutine has over 3.3m posts on Instagram and 6.3bn views in TikTok 

When everything around us feels like it is changing, creating or adhering to a familiar routine as best we can, even if it’s just for a tiny portion of our day, can be a brilliant way of keeping us healthy in both mind and body. Feeling we are on track with our own vision, our own actions, our own way of living our life, means we are less likely to be side-swiped by the often changing reality of the external world. Each morning, despite what may appear to be chaos around us, we realise we still have some agency over our own lives and the choices we make 

Feeling that we have some control over our life, even if it’s just for a few minutes each day, is a key foundation stone for robust mental health 

But wow – there’s a lot of advice out there...