We already discussed making reading and journaling rituals in our lives. Another important aspect of creating and sustaining a reading and journaling habit is automation. How can you get reading and journaling to come to you?
I have a few resources to help reading come to me, but they all are the same idea – subscriptions. I subscribe to have news articles sent to my inbox. I also subscribe to industry newsletters, which come directly to my inbox. I subscribe to reading recommendations from Amazon and Good Reads. I even have subscriptions that bring books to me. As an Amazon Prime member, I get to choose from a selection of free books each month. And I subscribe to two curating services, Book Bub and Fussy Librarian, which send me daily book recommendations – some a free and most are inexpensive.
Automating journaling also boils down to subscriptions. I use Penzu to journal online, and you can sign up to have Penzu send reminders and prompts. Penzu even offers a prompt each time you open it up to write. You can find several agencies happy to email you journal prompts regularly. Setting an ongoing reminder to journal on your calendar app on your phone may also help.
These are just a few suggestions for automating your reading and journaling habit. Which will you try? What other ideas do you have to help maintain reading and journaling as self care?
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Roshaunda D. Cade, Ph.D. is an educator, writer, and creator. She lives in St. Louis, MO with her husband and teenage children and enjoys reading, writing, dancing, and pushing her creative boundaries. Jumpstart your self care journaling habit with one of her free downloadable journal pages.