Journaling Ideas: Writing Prompts

“The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says: It’s a girl.”

“Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.”

“I want history to remember me, not that I was the first black woman to be elected to the Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and who DARED TO BE HERSELF.

I want to be remembered as a CATALYST FOR CHANGE IN AMERICA.”

- Shirley Chisholm, American politician, educator, and author.

More posts on the amazing Shirley Chisholm

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Let’s educate ourselves

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Niñas madres: la emergencia suspendida por la pandemia

Entre enero y setiembre se atendieron más de 33 mil partos de menores de edad en el Perú, según el Sistema de Registro del Certificado de Na

Women’a struggles in Peru and Latinamerica

every single student in the world has likely procrastinated at some point - i know i definitely have! sometimes i think it can be quite helpful because means that you don’t spend every minute of every day studying… but on the other hand, it can become very hard to beat. there are so many advice posts in the community on this topic but i thought that i would share my own tips! 

disclaimer: everyone studies differently and these are my personal tips. they may not work for you but they can be a good starting point 

What is Procrastination?

i found this little summary of procrastinating on the internet and thought it completely covered everything that i wanted to say on this point:

Procrastination is the habit of delaying an important task, usually by focusing on less urgent, more enjoyable, and easier activities instead. It is different from laziness, which is the unwillingness to act.

Procrastination can restrict your potential and undermine your career. It can also disrupt teamwork, reduce morale, and even lead to depression and job loss. So, it’s crucial to take proactive steps to prevent it.

The first step to overcoming procrastination is to recognize that you’re doing it. Then, identify the reasons behind your behavior and use appropriate strategies to manage and overcome it.

- How to Stop Procrastinating by Mindtools

so what is learnt from this is that:

procrastination is not being lazy 

it is avoiding tasks by doing other easier tasks

it can have negative effects

you need to proactively take steps to avoid it 

first, recognise the procrastinating then use strategies to break the cycle

Conventional Tips

these are the basic tips that are some of the most well-known strategies for ending procrastination and can be some of the most important steps!

1. get organised. tidy up your desk to study space because there is nothing worse than having to work in a place that is chaotic and mess. collect the information you need for the task, for example, notes you’ve made or a textbook. 

2. to-do lists are your friend. a lot of people (including me) really struggle with timetables for studying because it can seem really structured and there is no flexibility or real allowance for things that may crop up during the day (your food takes longer to cook, you have to unexpectedly do a task around the house, you get a really bad headache and need to take a break). in my opinion, to-do lists help solve this problem! you can clearly see the tasks that you want to get done for the day but you don’t have stressful time constraints. personally, i always use todoist to keep track of everything. to-do lists also make it easier to break tasks down

3. break the task down. one of the biggest cause of procrastination is having a huge task or project ahead of you because it seems really daunting and where on earth are you even going to start? so break it down *completely*. in your to-do list, don’t just write ‘german homework’, write down even task that you need to do within it and be specific: for example ‘pg. 11 ex 4a, 4b and 4c’, ‘textbook listening task on pg. 47′ and ‘250-word essay on social media in Germany’. breaking it down makes the tasks seem more attainable and when you’ve done one and you can cross it off your list, it gives you a boost to keep going

4. eliminate distractions. this is a big one. even if you do all of the above, if you are constantly being distracted by things, you aren’t going to get much done. try to find a place that is quiet enough that you can focus and you feel comfortable studying in. as well as this you need to think about what to do with your phone as the likelihood is that this will be the most distracting thing. you can simply turn it off, put on do not disturb, leave it in another room or use and app like forest (that last one is what i use and i don’t know where i would be without it!)

5. use incentives. finishing a task is an achievement so treat it like one! before you study, decide on something that you will give yourself as a reward for doing it. this may be watching that new episode of your favourite programme or a tasty snack! 

6. set timers. don’t just launch yourself into a task, because that again can make it seem daunting and feel unending. rather, set a timer for a specific time because you’ll know that you just need to focus for that specific length of time and then you can go take a break and do something nice. for timing your study sessions, you could use the Pomodoro technique 

7. allow for breaks (but try to avoid long ones). you are not a machine and as much as it would be great to be able to, you cant study for hours on end without giving your mind a break from focusing. so schedule in break time for yourself, particularly for times that you know your motivation dips, and do something nice. but be very careful that you don’t accidentally slip back into procrastinating habits and keep breaks short. unless you are very disciplined it is unlikely that an hour-long break will stay just an hour.

8. know how you study but don’t be afraid to mix it up. everyone studies differently and so there are going to be some study methods that work better for some than others. so try to make sure that you are studying smart and that you aren’t wasting your own time cause that can be incredibly unmotivating. HOWEVER, if there is anything that I’ve learnt from online school its that doing the same task all the time, every day is mind-numbingly boring and you just want to do anything else. so try to switch up what you are doing. if you usually just type notes from the textbook, maybe try doing it in a mindmap one week, or on flashcards, maybe do some practise questions to keep your mind engaged. 

9. play music. now this one really depends on the person and how you study. some people need absolute silence and that is fine, but others need something to fill the silence or maybe cover up background noise (for example if you live in a busy household). try to pick music however that is not going to distract you - the key tips for this is to pick music without lyrics. this can be classical music, video game music, or general ‘chill’ music (there are so many playlists out there for chill studying music). i personally listen to Francesco Parrino religiously while studying because he does piano covers of pop songs, so i know the songs and enjoy them but there are no lyrics that can distract me 

10. stay hydrated, well-rested and not hungry. this is part of eliminating distractions because if you are thirsty, you are going to be thinking about how you want a drink; if you are tired, you are going to be thinking about how tired you are; if you are hungry, you are going to be thinking about what you want for lunch or whatever. make sure you are hydrated, well-rested and not hungry so you can focus solely on your task or work.

Unconventional Tips

these are some slightly more unusual tips that you might not have seen before but that I’ve nevertheless found very useful!

1. video yourself or do a timelapse. this is something that I’ve only recently done because i saw a tip on this from someone during my quarantine challenge and thought that it would be cool to do. and it really works! i did it twice once when i was typing notes and a second time when i was handwriting notes and it really made me focus on what is as doing because the video put some pressure on me to look like i was properly studying - i could take a 5-minute break in the middle of my work to mess around with my pen, I just had to keep going so it really forces you to do the work. also watching the video when i was done made me really proud cause i had visual proof of how much i completed!

2. accept that some days you are going to get very little done. this may seem a little bit odd to put on a post that is meant to avoid getting nothing done but it’s actually a very important thing to remember. sometimes you need to take days off because otherwise you are going to burnout and some days you are just not going to be in the right mindset for studying because maybe you are exhausted after a big exam, or you have a headache or you feel unwell. you just need to accept it, draw a line under it, take time for yourself, and resolve yourself to work tomorrow once you feel a bit better. there is no shame in taking time to make sure you stay healthy. if you can, try to get your quickest, easiest task done so you have some sense of accomplishment.

3. ‘churn it out and f**k off’. this was my mum’s motto when she was studying and working in academia. and she recently told it to me when i was getting stressed about all the big tasks during online school. i am a perfectionist and i always want to hand in my very best work, put 100% into everything, but honestly that is impossible. some days you just need to get stuff done and if that isn’t your very best then it doesn’t matter too much because at least you got it done. and once you get it done you can just forget about it.

4. ask a friend or parent to check up on you. when you are studying by yourself it can be hard to motivate yourself because you know that no ones actually going to check whether you made those votes or did the reading, so ask a friend or someone you live with to check whether you’ve done the work or get them to read essays. you then get an external reason to study or do your tasks because you need to show them something.

5. rephrase how you think of tasks. when you think that ‘you need to do this task’ or ‘you have to get this done’, a lot of the time this causes unneeded stress and anxiety that is not going to help you at all. also it makes it seem like you are being forced to do something and human beings generally don’t act great when they are forced to do something. so try to change your language when thinking about task into one that is more forgiving such as ‘i choose to do this project so that i can go meet my friends tomorrow’ and ‘i choose to read this book now because it will help me in the lecture next week’. this is probably the most difficult strategy on this list and it will take a lot of practice (i am certainly still practising it) but in the long term, it can help you change the way in which you view studying for the better. 

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i hope this was helpful and that these tips will be useful, and perhaps you’ve discovered some new ones! if anyone has anything to add please feel free to reply or reblog with the advice <3

time and space.

journal/writing prompts!!

Words:

Rain

The future

Reality

Friendship

Dreaming

Disconnect

Flower petals

Cracked

Hope

Fearful/fearless

Fulfilled

Burned out

Comfort

Uneasy

Trust

Terrified

Lists:

The best things about fall/winter/summer/spring

Little things that make you happy

Places that feel like home

Places that don’t feel like home

Things you love about (insert name here)

Where you’d rather be right now

Snapshot childhood memories

Scary things about the future

Things to do less of

Things to do more of

Books to read

A playlist to describe how you feel right now

Where you hope to travel

Wishes you made as a kid when throwing coins into a fountain

Things you wish you were better at

Dreams you’ve had

Dreams you wish you’ve had

Things to think about:

Factors that led you to be the person you are today

What heavy things have been weighing your heart down recently?

What is happiness to you?

Things that scare you about the world right now

If you could rewrite one thing about your story, what would it be?

The questions you’ve been asking yourself lately

When was the last time you cried?

What place feels like a huge breath of fresh air?

If you were going to conjure a Patronus, what happy memory would you use?

What things are different about you this year than last year?

What would you want people to remember about you?

Things you can do now you never thought you’d be able to do

What is alternate-universe-you like?

Listen to your favorite song - Draw it, write down what it makes you think of

Why do you love the people you love?

Your favorite kind of adventures

What are you thankful for today?

Are you actually experiencing life? Or are you just going through the motions?

Advice you would give yourself

Things to do for your own personal self care

Ways you say “I love you”

Remember:

Don’t be afraid to make ugly art

It does NOT have to be perfect

It probably won’t be perfect

Don’t compare your work to other people’s!

Creating art and writing is COOL. Keep doing it!!

Bullet Journal Pages

Basic

Future planning

Index 

Yearly

Monthly

Daily

Weekly

Trackers

Weight

Exercise

Grade/assignment

Mood

Habit

Savings

Gratitude 

Blog stats

Water

Study

Car maintenance

Sleep

Period

Dreams

Weather

Lists

A-Z - Make a list from a-z of things that inspire you, you love, your favorite _____. Whatever you want!

Movies - Watched/to watch/favorites/review

TV shows - Watched/to watch/favorites/review

Books - Read/to read/favorites/review

Foods/recipies - What are your favorite foods? Favorite recipes? Any recipes you want to try?

Words - Favorite words, words that inspire you, words you love the meaning to.

Favorite blogs - Make a list of your favorite blogs. 

Places - Make a list of places you’ve been to/want to go to. For more creativity draw a map and color in these places!

Currently - What are you currently listening to, reading, watching, feeling, doing, eating, needing, wanting?

Things to try - Want to try some new restaurants, crafts, projects, etc?

Happy - Make a list of things that make you happy. 

Sad - Make a list of things that make you sad. Maybe add things that you do to feel better.

Firsts - First kiss, date, job, house, car, concert, vacation, thing you do in the morning, thing when you get home, teacher?

Rainy day - What are things you like to do on a rainy day? What do you eat/drink? How do you feel?

Bored - What are things you do when you’re bored? Ideas for the next time you’re bored?

Wants/needs - What are things you want? What are things you need?

Songs/artists - What are your favorite songs?

Bucket list - What are things you want to do before you die. 

Advice - What is your favorite advice you’ve given? Received? 

Relax - What are ways you relax?

Questions - What are questions you want to know the answer to?

Fears - What are your fears?

Funny - What are some funny things that have happened to you? What are things you find funny? 

Games - What are your favorite games? What are some games you want to play?

DIY projects - What DIY projects you want to try?

Playlists - Create some playlists for your moods. 

Colors - What are your favorite colors? Color schemes?

Smells - What are your favorite smells?

What I learned today - What is something you learned today? Maybe do this by month/week/day. 

Flowers/plants - What are your favorite flowers/plants? What’s their meaning? Draw doodles of them.

Admire - Who are people you admire?

Things you can’t leave the house without - Or a what’s in your bag list.

Drinks/beverages - What’s your favorite drink? Any drinks you want to try?

Childhood memories - What are some of your favorite childhood memories? Memories in general?

Stationery - What is your favorite stationery? Pens, notebooks, etc. 

I hope you all enjoy these prompts! I might add some if I think of more! X