Your basic journaling format should be simple and applicable to every day

I had a tough night. I wasn’t in my bed or house.

I was listening out for the baby, who typically wakes up for a bottle in the middle of the night. I knew the five-year-old would be up early. Did I mention I wasn’t in my bed?

Don’t misunderstand; I love being available to babysit my granddaughters. The downside is I end up out of routine for two days.

No matter where I am my daily journaling routine doesn’t suffer.

I have a plan for daily journaling, and so should you.

My basic journaling format is simple and applicable to every day. 

It's easy to journal no matter what my day brings. I use my basic format of gratitude and intent. They can be written at any time of the day. 

I took five minutes to journal before going to my son's house. I left my journal at home (I could have taken it with me). When I got home the next day, I followed the same format.

My two days out of routine were not two days away from journaling.

Gratitude and intent are always applicable. You might also consider the following for simple basic formats:

Happiness and friction

Emotions and reasons

Actions and reflections

A simple and applicable basic journaling format makes skipping a day unnecessary.