Since the beginning of December, I have been on a self-improvement mission. I’ve tried meditation, yoga, mindfulness and most recently, list journaling.
While I was wandering the aisles of my local T.J. Maxx, I came across loads of books and stationary. Among the clutter I found The 52 Lists Project. If you haven’t heard of this, it’s a journal with 52 prompts: one for each week of the year. Examples of topics include writing down things you are grateful for and listing your greatest comforts. The point of the project is to help you rejuvenate your creative spirit whilst encouraging self-expression.
I loved the idea behind the book so much, I went home and made my own! I had a beautiful spare journal that wasn’t in use, so I begun filling it with listing prompts. My goal was to list once per day for 30 days. Here are my topics:
- Goals for This Year/Month
- My Fears & How to Defeat Them
- Quotes to Live By
- People & How They Inspire Me
- Things I Love in Nature
- Interesting Words to Use More
- Things I Love About Myself
- Artists/Bands I Want to See Live
- Places I Want to Visit
- Books I Want to Read
- Positive Words
- Ways to Pamper Myself
- Things to Do for Others
- Ways to Stay Organized
- Bad Habits to Avoid
- A-Z Positive Adjectives to Describe Me
- Bucket List Activities
- Documentaries to Watch
- Movies to Watch
- Favorite Restaurants + Some to Try
- Things to Do with My Free Time
- Things That Make Me Unique
- Healthy Foods I Love
- Ways to Calm Anxiety
- Things I Want to Learn How to Do
- Ways to Stay/Get in Shape
- What I Want for My Life in 10 Years
- Ways to Get Inspired
- Study Tips
- Reasons to List Journal
This is my journal (pictured below). It is by the brand Eccolo if you are interested in buying one that's similar.
As soon as I begun listing, I noticed a change in myself. List journaling is more than simply writing things down for fun. It gives you a break in your busy life to self-reflect. It gives you time to focus on your own thoughts. It gives you a reason to prioritize your well being. And list journaling sparked my creativity.
There were lists that truly inspired me, like “Movies I Want to Watch.” I’m the type of person – and I feel like most college students can relate to this – who loves watching shows on Netflix. However, thinking about all the classic, old films I had never seen but had always wanted to watch made me step back from binge-watching. Why, if I have all these beautiful old films to watch, was I wasting my time on pointless TV shows? I know this isn’t relatable for everyone, but it really did inspire me to make a change.
Another list that inspired me was “Books I Want to Read.” Because of that list, one of my 2017 goals is to read more. I’ve already started, and now my book list is a mile long! I’ve never been a reader, but simply taking the time to think about books inspired me. Without list journaling, I wouldn’t have given reading a second thought.
I highly recommend trying to create your own list journal with any blank notebook you may have. Use my topics, or come up with your own! The possibilities are truly endless. I now have over 50 topics in my list journal because after the 30 days was up, I didn’t want to stop. I have a feeling that if you start, you won’t want to stop either.