Journaling: Complimentary Practices for Behavior Tracking

Posted on by Taylor Wilkes Duffy

Last week we talked about strategies for tracking data and finding methods that work for you. This week we’ll introduce some complimentary practices that may even unleash some creativity! 

Most of our clients at Pet Harmony are dealing with maladaptive behaviors, intense situations, and a lot of emotional rollercoasting from day to day. I mean let’s be real, even without finding a harmonious way to work with our own pets, there is the general stress of life to contend with. 

You may notice that we’re big about enrichment and emotional welfare here at Pet Harmony, not just for our pets but also for ourselves! We’ve got to make sure that we’re taking care of ourselves in order to enact any kind of change or lasting progress! So, since we’re already talking about tracking behavior anyways, let’s talk about journaling.  

Tips for Journaling Outside of Behavior Tracking 

There is some wild value that can come from journaling and notetaking!! I can go on about the values for days, based on my own experience and practice, but take it from some scientists in the resources listed at the end of this blog post.** The practice of journaling can improve the way our brain functions, reduce psychological distress, improve our physical health, and improve our cognitive processing. And that’s just the cliffnotes!  

The methods we outlined above may help create the routine of checking in on yourself, so if you’re not sure where to start consider looking back through the data tracking options from last week! 

Tip 1: Limit your “Should”s: Your Journaling Should… Benefit You!

There’s no need to be wildly serious if you just need a foot in the door!  

Regardless of what kind of brain you’re coming in with, we need to work with our brain, not against it. If you start hearing the dreaded “should” when considering how you “should” journal or how journals “should” look, remember that your journal’s most important purpose is that it “should” benefit you. No other “shoulds” exist! 

If you’d like to approach journaling in a different way, expand your current journaling practice, or simply start your journaling practice, then let’s set the goal of practicing once a day in whatever format you can.

Track how many coffees you drank, how long you stretch for, maybe how many times you say the word “like,” or the intensity of how you’re feeling throughout the day. (If you tried out last week’s blog post, then you’ve already got a head start!).

Remember the “um” guy from last week’s blog? These simple tick marks next to a timestamp to track the number of “ums” on paper is a form of journaling!

What do you reach for first? What is easy to access? You can use a spare piece of paper, the back of a notebook you already have, a pocket notebook; whatever works! It doesn’t matter right now that it is all in one place; the important thing is to make note (no pun intended) of when and where you would gravitate towards journaling. 

For example, I found out that having smaller sized notebooks suited my needs best after cleaning out a bag from a busy week, and finding a lot (I mean, a lot) of napkins and spare paper towel notes. I didn’t need a big book that stayed at home on a shelf, I needed something that would follow me out and about in the world, and was small enough to pull out at a bus stop. Below is an image of just a few of the journals I have around in different sizes.    

Tip 2: Have Prompts for Your Journaling.  

Are you struggling to start or to find a time to journal? No worries! Consider putting aside a small part of your day and add a little structure to it. 

This can help if you are overwhelmed or not sure what to say other than “Hey journal, it’s me again.” There are plenty of lists online that you can use as a starting point, but I’ll include some that I’ve liked or that resonate for me as some additional ideas. My personal journaling has benefitted from not being too serious with these prompts and would prefer a number of silly sounding things. 

  • Where do I feel this emotion in my body? When did it start? 
  • What did my animals see me do today? What did they think I was up to?  
  • When did I start this habit/routine? Has it actually helped or changed over time?
  • What’s easy for me to do? What’s hard for me to do? 
  • What do I still like even though it’s like the dumbest thing I’ve ever enjoyed? 

 

Tip 3: What You Put into Journaling Will Come Out. 

It’s easy to forget when things have been good in our life if we’re only documenting the bad.  

I won’t go wildly into the hypotheticals here. But this was a part of journaling that tripped me up for longer than I would like to admit, so if I can help someone else avoid the mistake I will! Looking back at your journaling efforts you may wonder if anything good was even happening if you have used it solely as a complaint board. Or, and I’m guilty of this, when things are going well, all of a sudden we forget to journal. Which is a shame when you may need that joy or happiness to pull from later!

I’m not saying to keep a positive-only attitude when you’re trying to start a habit of journaling, or to find one “happy” thing that happened. If your day sucked, it sucked! If you’re mad or frustrated, journaling is a way for you to process whatever you need!  BUT- as we are establishing a practice, look out for something good. Even if the good feels miniscule. You have a roof over your head, or shoes on your feet, or you survived today. That good may not save your day. It may not improve your situation. But prepare your brain so that this practice doesn’t revolve around only the things that were tough, challenging, saddening, depressing. Joy is a revolutionary act in the midst of adversity*. 

In short: even if the day was miserable, try to find at least one good thing to sit with at the end of it. Start a pattern so that when we get to the good, we haven’t become so accustomed to the bad that we can’t recognize the good! When recapping on things that are upsetting or sad or frustrating or rage inducing, keep in mind: 

  • Do I need to know why I feel this way? 
  • Is this process of journaling helping me or improving my life/well being? 
  • Do I just need this feeling to exist somewhere and then I can move on and turn the page? 

Disclaimer: THIS IS HARD. I am not a qualified therapist in the field of behavioral psychology. If you find yourself struggling with this tip, consider reaching out to find help near you. In the United States, here are a couple of resources if you need them. 

*Joy is a revolutionary act as a phrase is nuanced in its history. I am not the one to deep dive that aspect but do not want to ignore its roots entirely. Just know it didn’t start here, and there is a wide community of marginalized populations to whom this phrase has significant meaning. 

Tip 4: Adapt Your Journal to What Feels Right for You. 

What shapes or forms speak to you? Long form can often be long writing prompts. But (especially after a long day) sometimes words are not happening. Or sometimes my head is only in a space to reflect on what went wrong. Consider additional options for your process (and there are examples below as well!): 

  • Drawing/doodling (no need for them to be “good,” whatever that means).
    • Observation drawing is a mindful way to see the world around you, and is proven to help improve our mental health and even how our brain operates (prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum get some nice observable benefits, who-hoo!).***
  • Create word maps. 
    • Start with one thought or word and dive into it! Or put all the words on the page and pull the string of one you want to go down. You can put what you wish or what you want. You can describe what you’re feeling or what happened. It’s like a little web!
  • Add colors or whatever makes you feel good. 
  • Try out a stream of consciousness. 
    • Write out short sentences or “clips” can sometimes help get things out quickly and spontaneously. You don’t even need to think about grammar! Yay! 
  • Lay it out like a calendar. 
    • You could even track what you do in a day, to remind yourself that even if you don’t end the day feeling great, you accomplished things! And there is proof!!

The image above is an example of word mapping. The words and phrases jotted down are connected by lines. There are doodles of a long-haired person doing activities and animals snoozing.

The image above is an example of stream of consciousness writing. Phrases jotted in cursive writing with doodles of a person.

The image above is an example of playing with colors, with smears of brightly colored paint on a page. Next to is a planner page tracking feelings and behaviors with different colors and headings written in different styles. 

The Stationary Rabbit Hole

As discussed last week, our equipment needs for tracking behavior are different based on our personal needs. The stationary rabbit holes I’ve gone down are deep and long and expensive but they don’t have to be. Avoid buying things all at once, but it makes it easier once you know better what you like. As someone who likes to change it up every year or so I’ve trialed a lot of items. 

Journals

Yes, there are a lot of digital options! However, I have a bias towards physical options. My journaling involves stepping away from screens, and I like having physical breadcrumbs that won’t suffer from an overfilled hard drive or failed back ups. But I did some digging and found some options others recommended! (Thank you Reddit). 

 

Digital Options

Since I have not personally tried them out I won’t include details on them. So! If you are a digital journaler and you’ve tried any of these out, feel free to share what you use in the comments below! Help us fill out our collective knowledge together! 

 

Physical Options

  • Mochi
    • I like the daily planners and the graph ones! They are customizable and inexpensive, great for ADHD and neuro-spicy brains. 
  • Oasis Notebook
    • Sizing: A5 5.8” x 8.3” (fits perfectly in a medium sized backpack and bag!)
    • Graph/Dotted for a unique breakdown of pages. 
  • Septcouleur Notebooks
    • 3 mm Grid, and lovely paper quality! Also comes in ruled. 
    • (My current notebook is a Septcouleur Grid notebook, and I love it!)
  • Fabriano notebooks: Ecoqua  
    • Sizing: A5 5.8” x 8.3” (fits perfectly in a medium sized backpack and bag! 
      • Combine with a hole punch and an A5 binder if you’re using a notebook that isn’t spiral bound. Awesome for keeping track but focusing on just one page at a time.  
  • Field Notes
    • Sizing: 3½” × 5½”
    • Wonderful variety of designs available, and the durable options they have are unmatched!  
  • Moleskines 
    • I don’t use them very often anymore! But they used to be my go to. Possibly controversial opinion; the off brand Moleskines are also not that bad and I have used them in lieu of the funds for a new Moleskine.
    • Sizing: A4, pocket sized (fits perfectly in a medium sized backpack and bag, and the pocket sized can even fit in small handbags and back pockets)
    • Dotted, graphed, or blank
    • You can’t beat the texture of these pages! Writing with any pen or pencil becomes so smooth.  
  • Canson Mixed Media Notebook 
    • Comes in all types of sizes!  
    • Blank options only. 
    • Thick enough for paint splatters or bold markers, light enough to be an easy notebook to travel with. I love this option as an explorative notebook option! 
    • Not very expensive and generally available in stores like Michaels, Blick, Walmart. 

Additional notebooks include Leuchturn notebooks and Bullet Journal notebooks, but their formatting (and pricing) don’t regularly fit into my budget!

 

Writing Utensils, Pencils & Pens & Highlights 

Pencils: 

  • Cheap mechanical pencils are my absolute favorite pencil. 
  • If going fancy, try Blackwing! They don’t smudge, they write sooo smooth, but if you have a tendency to lose pencils or pens… maybe get a pencil case first. 

Pens: 

  • Pilot G2 pens
    • Will bleed with some highlighters!  
  • Zebra Sarasa Pens 
    • Smooth and doesn’t bleed/smear easily. 
    • Multiple colors, and they even have a vintage color palette that I adore, with a readable yellow/sepia pen). 
  • Pentel Arts Hybrid Technica 
    • So smooth, and I love the 0.3 (disclaimer: I write pretty small). 
  • LePen 
    • Smudge proof! 
    • Colorful variety available, so you can really pick and choose. The sample table at places like Blick are a great way to trial them.  
    • The true  flex tip!  

Colors/Highlighters: 

  • MildLiner Highlighters 
    • The variety of colors are awesome, from neon to pastel to earth tones! 
  • Posco Markers
    • Very solid markers but can make for bold breakdowns or helping create graphs, boxes, or just a cool shape. Use with heavy paper. 

 

Consider Supporting Small Businesses!

 

Additional Resources 

(Okay I have some thoughts on this one since the comparison showed more benefits to writing than drawing related to people’s comfort level and skill level but that is a tangent for another day-if you’d like to hear about it let me know!)

*** Observational Drawing in the Brain by Katz, Forloines, Strassberg, Bondy

 

Now What?

When we looked at data collecting last week, we tried out different options to see what worked for you. This week, let’s try out some different methods of journaling! Which tip resonated with you the most? Which tip have you never tried before? Below are the four tips we covered. Choose one and be conscious about your process to focus on that tip. 

Tip 1: Limit your “Shoulds”: Your Journaling Should… Benefit You!

Tip 2: Have Prompts Written Out for Your Journaling. 

Tip 3: Remember- What You Put into Journaling Will Come Out. 

Tip 4: Adapt Your Journal to What Feels Right for You.


Which tip did you try? Which one worked best for you, or worst for you? What was something new you learned about yourself during this process? 

Happy Training (and Journaling)!

Taylor

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