Journaling Changed Suleika Jaouad's Life. Here Are Her Tips for Getting Started — and Sticking With It.

New York Times

16-07-2025

The biggest hurdle to journaling is getting started. One of the most common barriers Jaouad hears about is that people don't have time. Although that sentiment is understandable, Jaouad counters, 'To anyone who says that, I would suggest that they look on their phone at the number of hours they've spent on their social media app of choice. What I would say is that you make time for the things that you value.'
To help 'lower the barrier of entry,' Jaouad avoids quotas such as pages or word counts. And she wraps her journaling into her nonnegotiable daily routines. This usually means pairing it with her first cup of coffee in the morning: She'll brew a cup, and then she'll pull out her journal.
'If I show up, even if it's a couple of sentences, that is more than enough,' she told us. Consistency is more important than rigid parameters. The easier you make journaling, she said, the more likely you are to prioritize it in your schedule. Jaoud focuses on lowering the barrier to getting started, rather than chasing journaling perfection Nadia Albano
Now that you've started journaling, it's just as essential to keep going. 'It's like going to the gym: You don't really reap the rewards of it unless you keep doing it,' Jaouad said.
For help with accountability, Jaouad looks outside herself to build the most important journaling muscle: consistency. That might mean journaling alongside someone or in a small group, as Jaouad sometimes does. If you can't meet in person, you could even journal over a video call.
If you don't feel comfortable writing with other people, setting a personal goal can help with accountability. The Book of Alchemy , for example, proposes 100 days of journaling sparked by its 100 short essays. But 100 might seem daunting when you're just starting out, and if so, you could start with 10, perhaps, and then stretch that number to 30. Taking on a project in smaller bites can make it seem like less of a life-changing overhaul and more like a small exercise to keep yourself grounded, one day at a time. Journaling, says Jaouad, is 'like going to the gym: You don't really reap the rewards of it unless you keep doing it.' Nadia Albano
Above all else, avoid overthinking it, said Jaouad. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to journal. Some people journal through painting or music. 'My husband [the musician Jon Batiste] journals in piano form,' says Jaouad. 'He'll read a prompt, and he plays.'
You might be drawn to journaling because you're in a moment of transition and worried that you'll never get unstuck. Whatever the reason, she said, give yourself grace. Jaouad's journals through the years. Sometimes she simply writes on a yellow legal pad. Other times, she writes in journals she's collected while traveling. Gala Prudent
When you're suspended in that 'liminal space between no longer and not yet,' as Jaouad puts it, she encourages you to use this precarious time in your life as an opportunity to quiet the external chatter and view the uncertainty as an invitation to imagine a different version of yourself.
'That's where I start to shift,' says Jaouad, 'out of the fear of all the uncertainty and the unknown into a sense of excitement about the mysteries of whatever awaits me on the other side.'
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What I Cover
Caira Blackwell is a senior staff writer covering sleep, and co-host of our podcast, The Wirecutter Show . She has spent countless hours testing more than 50 mattresses and has slept on nearly a dozen at home. Her work has been published in Nylon magazine, Okayplayer, and Narratively. When she isn't busy sleeping (for work), she's busy trying new recipes in the kitchen or reading in the sun.