Why the Practice of Writing a Sentence a Day Changed my Life
I have been writing a sentence a day, every single day since the summer of 2013. That is approximately 3800 days or 10 ½ years! This simple practice has given me a snapshot of my daily experiences and emotions, all neatly tucked away in a few journals. I’ve used these journals to recall certain dates/events, track my personal growth, and even help me write my wedding vows. My journals have captured every day of my time studying abroad in Australia, my college & MBA graduation, moves from Raleigh to NJ and to Austin, meeting my now husband, and having both of my babies. The best part? It only takes me a maximum of two minutes each day. Writing a sentence a day has truly changed my life, and I believe everyone should incorporate this practice into their lives.
Discovering the Practice & How to Do It
I originally learned about the practice of journaling a Sentence a Day from Gretchen Rubin’s book,” The Happiness Project where Gretchen test drives various sources of happiness to see which would have the biggest impact on your life.
A Sentence A Day Journal is as straightforward as it sounds; you write a sentence each day.
Personally, I reflect and journal every night and oftentimes expand to several sentences. While you can use any journal, there are specially designed ones available, like this one I currently use, with a page for each day of the year. Each page has room for five different sentences or one for each year, allowing you to capture your thoughts over five years.
Here's how it works: you open to today's date, write a sentence, and the next day, you turn the page and write a sentence for the new date. As you progress through the journal, you can revisit your entries from the previous year on the same day. If you can stay consistent, the completed journal will show your reflections from every day for the past 5 years.
The beautiful thing about this process is that you can start this practice on any day that holds significance for you, be it your birthday, January 1st, or today. Missing a day is okay too (I do quite often); you can catch up by writing a few days at once or simply skipping some days. It's your journal, and you have the freedom to use it as you wish.
Benefits and Impact
As Gretchen explained, keeping a Sentence a Day Journal can boost happiness by helping to keep happy memories at the forefront of our minds. Additionally, it can help us to identify patterns, celebrate our growth, and navigate challenging times. Moreover, it can serve as a record of our memories for our future selves or future generations.
I have been writing in my Sentence A Day Journal for this long simply because it is easy. It takes less than 2 mintues every day, and I can feel the benefits. For me, it feels good to get my thoughts from the day down on paper, especially when I had a bad day. My journal also serves as a gratitude practice, allowing me to reflect on the day’s events.
The benefits of gratitude practice range from increased happiness to improved overall health. Furthermore, I have found these benefits multiply year after year. When I encounter a journal entry from the previous year, I find myself instantly transported to happy memories, which positively impact my mood. When reading older entries, I’ve also found that many worries or stresses I had at the time turned out to be insignificant or never materialized. Having this perspective has helped me to better handle the stresses of today.
Beyond the benefits I already mentioned, a sentence a day journal practice can offer the following benefits:
Place for reflection and gratitude
Place for tracking your personal evolution
An avenue to transport back in time and relieve memories
A creative outlet- you would be surprised with how much you can do with a couple of sentences
A memory anchor-a way to recall specific dates and events
Minimal effort for a large impact
Utilizing the Sentence a Day Journal
As I mentioned, I use my journal as a place for reflection. Typically, I provide a quick synopsis of my day, but sometimes my journal becomes an outlet to work through my feelings. I try to avoid having any rigid rules around what I document and have even included quotes I heard or funny/cute anecdotes about my kiddos. The options are endless, and you can make this journal what you want it to be. Other ways you can use a Sentence a Day Journal includes:
Traditional gratitude journal
Record of the sweet moments from your children every day
Track the progress of a new venture
Take notes about an experience
Use as a travel journal
Traditional journal
One idea I read was to use the journal to track children’s progress with the intention of giving the journal to your child one day
I have gifted many of my friends and family one of these journals and am a strong believer that everyone should incorporate this daily practice into their lives. The incredible benefits I've experienced, coupled with the minimal time investment, make it an absolute no-brainer.