Do you ever have so much to do that you don’t know where to start? Or, so much on your mind you can’t clear your head and focus on what you have to do?

Journaling helps us to clear our minds in order to focus on what’s ahead of us. Think of your mind as an Etch-a-Sketch and as journaling as your hands shaking off the past, in order to be awake in the present.

Here are some ways to use your journal to help clear your mind, while honoring the sticky thoughts and feelings that might be lingering for your learning.

Try the following journaling prompts when you wake up:

• What dream elements do I recall?

• How did I sleep well last night? Why or why not?

• Anything about yesterday still clinging to me?

• What are my wishes for today?

Use these reflection prompts when you begin your work day:

• What’s already happened this morning that’s hard to let go of?

• What lessons can I learn from these thoughts/feelings/experiences?

• What are all the things I’d like to do today: Which are most crucial and which should I just begin to explore?

• How can I maintain a holistic, healthy balance in my busy day?

And before bedtime, as we’re transitioning into rest, answer these:

• What do I do today that I can feel proud of?

• Who made an impact on me today? Why?

• Anything about the day I feel I could have done better?

• Anything funny/poignant/loving/moving/special I’d like to recall?

Journaling isn’t an indulgence*, it’s a productivity partner and a way to center your health in a sometimes chaotic and challenging world. We have to honor the thoughts and feelings of our lives. Sweeping them under the rug, lodges them in the body, creating dis-ease and tension. As in the fateful words of Socrates, "the unexamined life is not worth living.”

*Not that’s there’s anything wrong with indulgence when it comes to self-care!