Sis, Why Tracking Your Emotions with a Bullet Journal is Valuable
Happy May, beautiful people!! Wow, it's actually May! We may be in the midst of a world pandemic and subject to quarantine, but time has definitely still found a way to pass on by. This post is meant to help you grab a hold of time and in particular, grab a hold of how you’re actually feeling and coping, as Canada doesn't have any signs of fully opening back up any time soon. Not until the summer actually.
Yes, you heard me right. My oldest son's senior prom has been canceled. His graduation has been canceled. But life hasn't been canceled yet. So we might as well do our best to show up. Cause clearly the world keeps turning and has no intention of waiting for anyone or slowing down.
bullet journal.
So I was on YouTube and saw one of my subscribers post her May bullet journal pages as she was making them. Although I've never tried bullet journaling, I love watching people draw them. Is that weird? If you don't know what a bullet journal is, it's essentially a journal that you draw and write out in a blank journal, which according to its founder, is meant “to help you track the past, organize the present, and plan for the future. It's an amazing system that keeps a record of everything you could ever want to toss at it.” This is because it's 100% customizable to what you want to track, record, and journal.
Here's a video of a YouTuber sharing some of their May bullet journal pages. (It’s not the same girl I’m subscribed to, because that girl is Swedish and her video also in Swedish, I figured the one below would be of more value to you).
Now don't get it twisted, it doesn't have to be that intricate, and you don't have to be Picasso to bullet journal yourself. But I think that's part of the reason I never started doing this myself. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, and I don't necessarily love my handwriting either, lol. I know, bad habits. Note to self:
“The pursuit of perfection is frustrating and a waste of time, because nothing is ever perfect.”
mood tracker.
The particular section of the bullet journal though that I want to hone in on today is the mood tracker section. (Starts at 10:33 in the video above). The YouTuber above chose to illustrate hers with 3 different versions of her flower and will throughout the month draw how she felt each day by adding a flower to each of the pre-drawn vases/vessels.
So why track your mood to begin with? Well, plenty of psychologists agree that knowing and acknowledging how you're feeling can help you spot patterns, understand your triggers, and a host of other benefits that you can read up on here and here. Essentially it comes down to self-awareness, which leads to higher EQ (emotional intelligence), which in turn will also helps with your mental health as higher EQ (or EI) is linked to improved psychological and physical health.
[Related: How We’re Maintaining Good Vibes in 2020]
mental health.
Next week is mental health awareness week here in Canada and while we're in the midst of a pandemic, our emotions have been affected in a whole other way than before. It could be a worthwhile exercise to track how you're feeling and perhaps evaluate possible reasons as to why that is and possible solutions. There's power in journaling period. Just to let everything out on paper is a form of release in and of itself.
I will say that I haven't seen a lot of sistas bullet journaling. And that's not to say that they aren't. They're just not documenting it online. So for the month of May, I want us to track our moods together. Simply print out the sheet below (click to open) and choose your Key colors to represent your different moods. I've never done this before, so we're doing it for the first time together if you haven’t either. This should be interesting.
final thoughts.
On a serious note though, I want y'all to take care of yourselves. Everyone's circumstances during Covid are different, but us going through it is universal. We're all in the thick of it to one degree or another. Frontline worker or not. Mother or not. Married or not. No one is immune to Dat Rona or to our feelings. There is no right or wrong to feel either. So don't beat yourself up for how you're feeling. I'd love to hear how you're coping, how're feeling, or anything else you'd like to share. Let me know in the comments below.
Until next time,
Grace & Peace!
-Vi