Pause

The start of a new year always brings a flurry of advice about becoming the new you. We may be making lists  of the things we resolve to do in the coming year. You and those you write with are already writing. You may not be writing every day (and that is a gentle aspiration) but you are writing. So keep going. Writing makes a powerful contribution to your well-being -mind, body and spirit.

Let’s begin by thinking about journals and diaries. Maybe someone who knows you well has given you a beautiful notebook. Maybe you have treated yourself to a notebook that invites you to write in it. Sometimes the beauty of a notebook can prevent us from writing. We feel that we must write something worthy of its handsome cover and gorgeous paper. Try and overcome that feeling. Or save the notebook for another project. Find yourself a cheaper notebook, or make one. Make a single signature notebook from any paper you have. And get writing.

See if you can set aside five minutes to write each day. You can write for longer if the fancy takes you. I know an artist who buys a page a day diary at tis time of year, waiting for the sale bargains. She makes a drawing every day and has just posted on Instagram a little clip of her flipping through the pages of the 365 drawings from last year. You could draw each day if you wish. You could write. You could do both. There are benefits to be had from that daily practice. And great pleasure when you look back through the year.

Just one thing. Try not to worry about completing the task every day. That is why I don’t especially recommend the printed diary. A missed page accuses. You are less likely to keep going. So just find a notebook. Write the date and time -and the place, if you like. And write for five minutes.