Rise and Shine: 7 Reasons Why a Daily Intention Journal is a Must

"The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day." - Henry Ward Beecher

When you take a moment to tune into what you need on a given morning, it can make a huge difference in how satisfied you are with your day by the end of it. The way you day your morning sets the tone and trajectory of it.

It is well understood that journaling is an extremely powerful tool for improving mental health, especially for people dealing with challenges like anxiety, ADHD, grief, and depression.

The intersection of these two concepts is what lead us to create our Daily Intention journal.

Every single morning, before you start your day, answer three simple questions:

• 🌹 What would make today a good day?
• 🥀 Am I anticipating any challenges today?
• 🌱 What's one positive thing you I do for myself or a loved one today?

The process takes about 5 minutes (but can go longer if you need to dig deeper on anything that comes up).

7 Benefits of Morning Journaling

The benefits of maintaining a daily journaling are well studied.

1. Improved Mental Clarity

Journaling in the morning can help to organize your thoughts and emotions, enhancing mental clarity. According to a study in the Journal of Psychology, expressive writing can lead to improved cognitive processing. Starting your day with mental clarity can allow for better decision-making, greater productivity, and a sense of calm that boosts overall well-being.

2. Greater Productivity and Focus

Writing down your intentions can be particularly beneficial for those dealing with ADHD. Dr. Gail Matthews' study at Dominican University found that those who wrote down their goals were significantly more likely to achieve them. Taking a moment to lay out your goals for the day allows you to consciously design your day and choose to make space for what’s most important to you.

3. Enhanced Mindfulness

Journaling is a great way to experience mindfulness — the state of being fully engaged in the present moment. The way you start your day can significantly influence the tone and trajectory of the rest of your day. By choosing to shape your morning consciously, you lay the groundwork for a day that is more aligned with your values and goals. This heightened awareness of your thoughts and feelings, according to a Journal of Health Psychology study, leads to improved well-being.

4. Emotional Resilience

Grief journaling or expressive writing about your intentions and emotions can contribute to emotional resilience, making it an effective stress management technique. Research in the Journal of Clinical Psychology revealed that such a practice helps individuals better cope with negative emotions and stress.

5. Increased Self-Awareness

Reflective writing, such as logging your daily intentions, cultivates self-awareness. According to a study in the Journal of Social Psychology, this self-insight can be particularly beneficial for managing mental health conditions like anxiety.

6. Strengthened Immune Function

The act of expressive writing doesn't just help your mind, but your body as well. The Journal of the American Medical Association presented a study showing improved immune function in individuals who engaged in this type of therapeutic writing.

7. Encourages Personal Growth

Intention journaling, akin to keeping a daily self-care journal, fosters personal growth. Research in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that writing about one's future and desired qualities spurred more motivation for self-improvement.

How to get started

Rosebud is an interactive daily journaling app that makes building a habit easy and fun. It automatically extracts insights and tags from your entries, and helps you identify and track meaningful outcomes for your life. It's like having a conversation with a mentor who really gets you and keeps your best interest in mind.

In my intention-setting today, I focused on rest and recovery, listing a few planned activities. Rosebud encouraged me to be truly present in these activities, not just ticking them off. This small shift had a big impact on me this AM. — Andrew, California