Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign hello and welcome back to the Bottom Line Me podcast. I'm your host, Ann Allard.
Today we're going to dive into a practice that many people swear by for clarity, creativity and emotional well being. And that topic is journaling.
I think that whether it's a way to purge negative thoughts, brainstorm some new ideas, or simply start your day with a clear head, journaling is a habit that can truly transform your day, your week, even your life.
Joining me today is Jen Greenberg. Jen recently started journaling and is here to share some of her thoughts, tips and and insights around this topic.
Jen, welcome back. It's great to have you on again.
[00:01:00] Speaker B: Thank you. I'm excited to be here. This is starting to become one of my favorite things to do.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: Excellent. Well, we'll have to make you a regular.
For those that may have missed your last episode with us, can you take a minute or two just to tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at Old Republic? Title?
[00:01:20] Speaker B: Sure.
As you said, my name is Jen Greenberg. I am the agency strategy manager here at Old Republic Title. I've been with the company for over 11 years and prior to that I spent many, many years on the agency side in varying roles. So I really feel like I have found this sweet spot and a dream job doing what I do now. So, so happy to be here.
[00:01:49] Speaker A: I know exactly how you feel. I kind of feel the same way.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: So, well, let's thank you for sharing that with us.
And I, it's, it's always nice to be able to take a moment to thank you and your team for all that you do to make all of us look good out there. So thumbs up to all of you.
[00:02:08] Speaker B: Thank you. We appreciate that.
[00:02:10] Speaker A: Great.
Well, back to journaling. As somebody who journals regularly myself, I am, as I said, really excited to have this conversation with you and talk about how this practice can impact your, our thoughts, our emotions, and even maybe inspire some of our listeners to give it a try.
So let's start at the beginning. What got you interested, curious or motivated to start journaling?
[00:02:40] Speaker B: Well, honestly I just kept seeing different articles about journaling and the benefits, and I was like, you know what? I am all about mind, body wellness and, you know, trying new things. I started doing yoga last year, like very frequently.
So I think that, you know, this sort of goes along with our mind, body, health.
And I was like, you know, I'm just gonna give it a shot and see what happens.
[00:03:15] Speaker A: Awesome. Awesome. Well, great. Well, I think we're kindred spirits.
I do a lot of Pilates, and I just recently started chair yoga, so. Oh, yeah. Kind of interesting. And it's harder than you think.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: I bet it is. I bet.
[00:03:34] Speaker A: Well, let's go back to our topic.
What aspects of journaling really appeal to you the most is do you find that it's a chance for you to clarify your thoughts, process your feelings or emotions, or is there something else entirely that intrigues you with it or appeals to you?
[00:03:54] Speaker B: Absolutely. I think that it's a way to get your thoughts and feelings on paper.
And if you are struggling with an idea or struggling with, you know, something that you said, that, you know, I tend to beat myself up about things that I say. So if I write it down, I can let it go.
So that has been a tremendous help.
You know, that thought that keeps running through your brain of, you know, why did I say this or why didn't I say that?
You know, writing it down really is like.
It's just a cleanse. It's like, okay, you know, I've written it down, I've dealt with it. I can let it go now.
So that has been the biggest benefit for me.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: Wow.
I agree with you. I do that oftentimes if I'm feeling stressed or, you know, beating myself up too, sometimes just sitting down and writing out what happened, what I did, what I might have done, what I could have done, I find those things very helpful, too. So I'm. I'm with you on that. So, yeah, now, you know, it's all. It also takes a commitment. So when you're building or developing a new habit, sometimes it can be really hard. Do you find that there are any challenges that you faced starting this new habit?
[00:05:21] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh, Ann, Building habits is so hard.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:05:25] Speaker B: I mean, you really have to, like, commit to it. So I wrote down a sticky note and put it on my desk so that I start my day off with journaling before I open my computer. Because once I open my computer and get going, then I may not come back to it. So it's important to just for me to start it in the morning, get it done, and then, you know, if something happens during the day where I feel like I need to, you know, noodle this or write down, I can pull my book back out. But, you know, starting first thing in the morning is. Is very helpful for me.
[00:06:08] Speaker A: What about your preferred method?
Is it. Is it formal? Do you use prompts? Do you have kind of a structured way that you do it, or is it just kind of free floating, writing things down?
[00:06:23] Speaker B: Usually it's Free floating. And sometimes if I'm having trouble getting started, I will start with some thought of gratitude so that I, at least I know I have something to be grateful for. You know, I woke up this morning. That's, that's one thing.
[00:06:41] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:06:43] Speaker B: So, you know, I, I am interested in the prompts because I have never explored that before.
And I think that might be another helpful way if you're struggling to get started or if there's, you know, you're running out of things to, to write about, maybe, you know, look up a prompt on the Internet and see, you know, what other people are doing.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I've run into that myself and I use the gratitude thought myself oftentimes if, if I know that it would be good for me to pause and sit down and, and just drop, put on paper.
If, you know, if my head is blank, a lot of times I'll just ask myself a question, you know, what am I grateful for today? Or you know, what do I have to look forward to today? And then all of a sudden it, you know, if you ask the right question, your brain will give you the answer, you know.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:07:37] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. What about keeping it interesting or engaging over time? You know, we were just talking a little bit about when you're kind of stuck, anything else that you do or that keeps engaged or wanting to get back to do it. If you miss a day or two. I mean, I found that it. There are times a week will go by and I haven't put anything down in my journal and I'm out of sorts and oftentimes I think, ah, maybe I need to sit down and, and just purge those thoughts. As you said, any thoughts like that or you have anything like that?
[00:08:15] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, it'll be a couple days where I might miss and then, yeah, I'm like, oh, I need to get back to this. But you know, if I'm, if I'm struggling with something and you know, I have a, some kind of challenge coming up. I love a good list. You know, I go back to like the pros and cons list and, and I use that and just write down and compare, you know, pros and cons. And then it. That often leads to other thoughts and other things that I can build on that too.
[00:08:51] Speaker A: Exactly.
And it's, you know, it's funny, sometimes you're, you can't have that conversation with someone else or you know, just unpack it with somebody in journaling is like having a conversation with yourself. I find sometimes it's, I ask the question, and then I. I come up with the answer, so. Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Any other particular ways that you think it helps you to navigate through some. Any particular or difficult challenge or. You know, I find sometimes it can just help me to make a decision. What do you. What do you think on that?
[00:09:26] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I think that, you know, just really putting pen to paper sometimes is all that it takes to.
[00:09:37] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:09:37] Speaker B: You know, really unpack what you may be thinking about that you may not realize or something that's holding you back that you may not realize. So it just helps to clarify some of your thoughts and feelings.
At least it does for me.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Or sometimes it may be just that you had such a great day that you want to sit down and sort of go over it again in your mind and put it on paper and go back and take a look at what. What happened that was so great.
So I find that sometimes it's not just to resolve, you know, a conflict or an issue or something that I might be struggling with. Sometimes it's just a great way to sit down and. And.
And appreciate what. What the day brought you.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Celebrate your wins, too.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: I mean, there you go. Exactly. Yeah. Anything else that kind of excites you about? I mean, how long have you been journaling now?
[00:10:39] Speaker B: It's been, I think, since January, so just a couple of months. I mean, I'm excited to go back and look at some of the things that I've written.
I may not want to read everything, but, you know, just to, like, skim it and see, you know, what. What has developed over time and how has my writing or thoughts or, you know, perspective changed with just doing the exercise? Because, you know, this is. This is a way for you to grow and really deal with things that you may not even know that you're struggling with.
You know, things like that. I mean, it's. It's exciting to go back and look at your progress and.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: That.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: That, that. That's a really. I think that's really great insight.
I've done that myself at times. I. I'll just flip open a page and it'll be a year ago that I wrote something, and I'll think, you know, did I really accomplish that, or am I still challenged with that? Or, you know, where am I? Maybe I need to revisit it. Yeah.
Yeah, that's great. And I, you know, I think, you know, as you pointed out at the beginning of our conversation, if you open up your email or you start working, the day gets behind you. Know, gets by you. And all of a sudden you haven't taken a. A minute or two to just kind of stop and process your own thoughts and feelings. And I think, particularly in the business that we're all in, your day can, you know, take on a life of its own and get away from you really quickly. And this is. This is a great way, I think, for all of us to start our day. So. Yeah. Do you prefer morning?
[00:12:35] Speaker B: I do prefer morning.
[00:12:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:37] Speaker B: Yeah. The day gets away from me so often that sometimes I sit here and I look at the clock and I'm like, it's 5:15 already.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Well, I've switched it up. Sometimes there's been times when my mornings were. Were just too, too busy or maybe I overslept and I might do it in the evening. And I find sometimes the evening reflection can be really helpful, too. But I. I think for purposes of starting your day on a positive note or giving you something to think about or what you want to accomplish throughout the day, journaling really has helped me with that, to focus on what is it that I'm going to do today?
[00:13:21] Speaker B: So, yeah, I mean, I like the evening idea too. I might have to try that.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes it's nice to just go back and do a little reflecting. So. Yeah.
[00:13:32] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:13:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
Anything else you'd like to share with us about your journaling journey?
[00:13:40] Speaker B: One thing I did do this year was in January, I wrote down some personal and professional goals.
So I really want to try to remember to do that every year and then go back and see, you know, what have I accomplished and, you know, what do I still have to do? And I think that all ties into, to journaling because it's the same thing. It's like, you know, releasing things, but also, you know, what are your goals? What are your goals for the year?
And then maybe touch on that throughout the year, you know, write down a couple more goals or look back and see what you've accomplished.
[00:14:20] Speaker A: I think that's, you know, attaching goals to that is because I know. I think for all of us, January is always the time when we all want to make a fresh start and define some new goals for ourselves. But adding a quest, you know, that those prompting questions into the journaling process or experience is a. That's a great suggestion. I'm going to do that, too. Go back and take a look at the goals I established for myself and maybe tonight ask myself, where am I with those goals?
That's a great suggestion. Thank you.
[00:14:52] Speaker B: Yeah, sure.
[00:14:53] Speaker A: So great.
Well, let's get to the bottom line here. So I think my bottom line question for you today is what advice would you give to somebody who's curious about it or thinks they might want to start it, but they don't really know what to do or where to begin?
[00:15:13] Speaker B: I mean, I would say just, just start. Just start. And maybe start with the gratitude, because that's really the easiest thing to start with. You know, just start writing down one or two things that you're grateful for each morning, and then it will probably lead you to other things where you can write about, you know, other feelings or, you know, some wins. Write down some wins. I mean, it's, it's, it's easy to get started if you just take the time to do it.
And then, you know, maybe you need a sticky note to remind yourself to do it in the morning.
[00:15:55] Speaker A: I do. That's great. Well, I keep my journal, you know, out visible every day. So, you know, it's talking to me and saying, come over here.
[00:16:04] Speaker B: Remember me.
[00:16:06] Speaker A: Exactly.
Well, Jen, this is, this is really a great conversation, and I love the gratitude portion of it, and I guess that's a great way for me to end. I'm very grateful to you for taking the time to share this experience and what you're doing and to hopefully encourage others out there in our listening audience to give it a try. So thanks so much for joining me.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:16:30] Speaker A: Great. And to our audience, we are always grateful for you. And until we meet again, I hope we'll all continue to learn, grow, and prosper. Thank you.
