Journal Writing through the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

Journal writing has given me a new sense of urgency as our global community goes through the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  There are days when it is so hard to write.  Sometimes, my journal is blank; at other times, it is just a sentence of gratitude.  One day, the only thing that I wrote was the date. 

Like many of you, I’m grappling with the immediate and long-term impacts of the pandemic on the local, state, national, and global levels.  Moreover, this semester I am teaching a graduate Epidemiology course.  And, while I expected us to delve into a food or medication recall or two, my students and I are deep into this pandemic.  Furthermore, I can’t help but notice that 10 years ago, I taught Epidemiology when the massive earthquake decimated Haiti on January 12, 2010.  Hmm, a decade ago.

So, here I am this morning with my fingers flying on the keyboard, sipping a cup of Masala chai tea, and making the commitment to push through today. And, as with a previous post on the importance of journal writing, these beautiful words of William Wordsworth haunt me when I slack off or feel too numb to write, “Fill your paper with the breathing of your heart.”

“Fill your paper with the breathing of your heart.”

William Wordsworth

I believe that journal writing during the pandemic boils down to this.  Whether writing daily or weekly, journal writing through the pandemic will help us to explore and understand its historical impact on us and our society. Moreover, it can help us process our “new normal” and how we adapt to and create new communities. 

So, in this post, I present the importance of journal writing about the pandemic and how I am being challenged as I do it. 

One: Varying My Journal Writing Gives Me More Freedom

Well, it’s important for me to point out that I have different types of journals and do different types of journal writing.  So, you know how you read more than one book at the same time?  Well, that’s the way I do journal writing.  I kid you not, I have 3 journals that I am currently writing in, and I have about a dozen blank ones waiting in line.

However, I have dedicated one journal to this pandemic, and hopefully, I won’t need two. Long sigh.  Furthermore, I am doing different types of writing and expressions.  So, if you don’t feel like just “writing” in your journal, here are some things to do or incorporate: 

Doodles

I am a doodler, and some days I write the date in my journal and just doodle.

Small Drawings

I am not good at drawing, but since I am not entering a contest or care what people think, I am quite content to draw happy faces, sad faces, and stick people.  I also like to draw cat faces. 

Short Stories

I love writing short stories. In fact, my first short story was published when I was 16.  And, while I haven’t written any during this pandemic as yet, I encourage you to do so.

Letters

I write a lot of letters in my journals.  The letters are usually to myself or God. However, I have also written short notes to people who I am still trying to forgive or extend grace.

Poems

I love writing poems, and sometimes I write silly limericks.

Haikus

I love the idea of haikus, but I have never written any.  My friend, John Warford, writes beautiful ones and posts them occasionally on Facebook.

Memes

I love writing captions for memes; this is a great stress reliever.  Sometimes I find the right photo to go with them and post them to the Keep It Tight Sisters’ Instagram feed of stories.

Daily Affirmations, Prayers, and Blessings

I write two or three of these daily as part of my daily devotion and meditation and post them on various Keep It Tight Sisters’ Pinterest boards or Instagram accounts.     

Here’s the bottom line: It’s your journal, and anything goes!

Two: Journal Writing Helps to Record My Important Life Events

So, I think most of us understand the importance of taking a history class.  However, we often forget that we are a part of history.  Yes, every day that you’re alive is a day in history.  And that’s where journal writing comes in.  Essentially, my journal writing partially documents the History of Dee.  Many of my important life events during the pandemic (so far) include:

• Bringing home kittens weeks before the outbreak
• Panic buying (but most stuff was already gone)
• Working remotely from home
• Social distancing
• My life in Zoom
• Not being able to celebrate my students, friends, and family members graduating from high school or college
• Being thankful for friends who became ill and survived
• Mourning friends who became ill and did not survive
• Attending a 3-day virtual conference that replaced the in-person one in San Diego (definitely not the same)
• Flying to and from Palm Springs, California, to the Alt Summit the first week in March, Spring Break
• Watching Super Tuesday primaries in a hotel in Palm Springs
• Returning from Spring Break with the mandate to move all classes online, followed shortly by the mandate to work from home
• Attending online church live

You get this, right?  And there are pages and pages of all of these events.  So, our lives are filled with joys, disappointments, lessons, and people we meet along this social distancing phase of our journey called life.  And, what is the best way to capture these events and lessons learned? Journal writing, of course!

Three: Journal Writing Helps Me to Chart My Goals and Progress During the Pandemic

So, I must admit that I have strayed from my health and self-care goals during the last two weeks of working from home.  My gym closed, and I could not do my 6 am workouts.  I walk in the neighborhood a few days a week primarily to get some sunshine and keep my sanity rather than to stay fit.  In fact, I will say that I go for strolls.  And, if I get my 10,000 steps in, I celebrate.  However, if I don’t, I suck my teeth and keep on living.

Now, all of this may shock you since I write about health, self-care, and fitness.  As I mentioned in a recent blog about the essential fitness equipment you need for a home workout, I have enough equipment to open my own yoga or a CrossFit studio.  So, please empathize with me rather than judge me.

The bottom line is that the pity party is over, and I am back on track today.   And with my journal writing, I am setting new eating, sleeping, and exercising goals during this pandemic to document what I achieved and how I got there.   

Four: Journal Writing Improves My Focus while Working from Home

So, this is probably one of the best reasons for journal writing!  Girl, working from home as a mandate takes a new set of skills and a different level of focus. I have so many Zoom video conference meetings daily that it is hard to focus and do my academic (and blog) writing.  And, I think I’m going cross-eyed.

Additionally, I have had to adjust my research project since I can no longer do in-person surveys, interviews, and focus groups.  So, I have fallen behind in that respect. And I am trying to adjust to the fact that my student researchers are also off-campus and scattered throughout the country with their families. 

So, what am I doing to stay focused and have a decent level of productivity?  Well, I use one of my trusted productivity routines.  I use Sunday afternoons to plan the week, and that planning session starts with a brain dump.  A brain dump means that I make a random list of everything that must be done at work, home, etc.  And I am sure that you can relate that if you don’t get the thoughts, ideas, and feelings out of your head, they replay in your head and haunt you.

I do a major brain dump of everything I want or need to do on Sundays.  Then, I organize the list into major categories:

• Writing
• Classes
• Zoom meetings (Haha)
• Emails & phone calls
• Home chores
• Errands (not many during social distancing)
• Self-care (I am doing my own nails and facials and going for the wild hair look)
• Health and fitness

Then, each day I make a daily schedule based on the list in each category.  Of course, there are many days when I don’t stay on schedule, but I am being gentle and kind to myself anyway.

Five: Journal Writing Preserves My Mental Health during the Pandemic

Journal writing gives me insights and helps me process what I am seeing, doing, and experiencing.  Essentially, as I write, I am having a conversation with myself.  So, I am sure that you are familiar with the voices in your head.  Well, journal writing allows me to listen to the voices in my head and those in my heart, soul, and spirit.

Now, let me make a confession. I am having difficulties sleeping and staying asleep during the pandemic. And, of course, this is a classic mental health warning sign.  So, I am using journal writing to stay sane and have much-needed heart-to-heart talks with myself.  I am writing about:

• Social distancing
• Being far from family and friends
• Worrying about elderly parents
• Not being able to attend funerals and participate in homegoing ceremonies for loved ones
• Watching news updates and feeling numb
• Procrastinating

And, of course, I have a daily list of people and things for which I am thankful. 

Now, It’s Your Turn

So, I hope that you will consider journal writing as we go through this pandemic together.  I usually do it in the morning as a part of my devotion, prayer, and meditation practice.  Additionally, I am trying to do it before bed so that I can process where I felt stuck during the day.  But more importantly, I use it to celebrate my big and small wins. 

You can write in a notebook, computer, phone, or table. Just get started!

1. What important life events do you need to document during the pandemic?
2. When will you set or adjust your health, self-care, and fitness goals during the pandemic? 
3. How has the pandemic impacted your mental health?  What keeps you up at night? Are you stress eating?
4. What do you need to celebrate?
5. What variations of journal writing will you try? For example. doodling, drawing, or writing poems?

I am sue you will enjoy these previous posts on 5 reasons for journal writing and journal writing for love joy and success. 

We look forward to hearing about your experience with journal writing.  And you can join the conversation on the Keep It Tight Sisters Facebook Page.  

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Keep It Tight, Sisters.

Eat. Move. Breathe.