During this holiday season, a great way to reminisce and reflect on your life is by capturing special memories through journaling. This habit can benefit anyone, but is especially powerful for older adults who have a lifetime’s worth of experiences and wisdom to capture. While writing a memoir or autobiography may seem daunting, sitting down every day to journal is a terrific way to record your life and make sense of the world around us.
At Montereau, we are lucky to be around such an amazing group of residents, and we work hard to support them with a full calendar of social activities and wellness opportunities. One cornerstone of wellness is finding something new and exciting about every single day—and taking up the pen (or opening a word processor) to do some writing can be very exciting indeed.
While the practice of journaling has been around for ages, many people don’t know where to start.What do you write on? What do you write about? Are there rules for journaling?
Discover the Benefits of Journaling
Retirement is a great time to start the habit of journaling. Not only do you have a lifetime’s worth of material to record, but you also have the freedom and flexibility to spend your time on new interests. Beyond the intellectual stimulation, journaling also offers a number of benefits for older adults. According to Healthline, some of these benefits include:
5 Tips to Get Started with Journaling
There’s really no right or wrong way of journaling. Because it is a private practice, you are writing for an audience of one, which frees you up to do what you want, when you want and how you want to do it! But to make the most of the practice, here are a five tips to make journaling the best experience it can be:
How to Get Started
Unlike fiction, journaling recounts the many experiences and events that happen in your life, and who knows your life better than you do? At the same time, you may find that you’re sometimes stuck wondering what to write. The blank page has intimidated even the most seasoned professional writer. To break yourself out of your regular routine and get some fresh ideas, consider one of these writing prompts:
As you continue to journal, you may even find that the same list of prompts brings varied ideas to mind at different times. Feel free to have your own list that you go back to every time you feel stuck.
Notebook Recommendations for Journaling
While you can use any book to journal, having one that you absolutely love helps to get you excited about writing. Nowadays you can find notebooks that are made especially for journaling and will give you an even better experience. These include features such as writing prompts, dotted pages, or even themed books for travelers, professionals, and more.
Here are a few notebooks you might consider for your journaling project:
Make Montereau Part of Your Story
The exciting thing about sitting down to write your stories is that your story is still ongoing. In fact, retirement might be the best chapter yet! At Montereau, we would love to be a part of your story. Residents of our Life Plan Community enjoy the flexibility to live retirement on your terms and enjoy maintenance-free living.Our residents are an active and welcoming bunch that will make you feel right at home. To learn more about our community and get started on your next story, contact us at (918) 495-1500 to schedule a tour.
Saturday, December 10, 2022
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