Overwhelmed? Start Here: A 5-Minute Journaling Reset

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately — like your brain has 47 tabs open at once, — I just want to say: I get it.   If you’ve been telling yourself, “I don’t have time to journal,” I also get that. 

Lately, I have been hearing a lot of my customers say, “I really want to start journaling’” or “I’ve been wanting to start a journaling practice, but I haven’t gotten around to it.”  

I have been journaling for over a decade now and I want to share with you what I've learned over the years: journaling doesn’t require an hour. It usually starts with five minutes, a timer, and the willingness to show up messy. 

The easiest way to start (when you “don’t have time”) 

If you want to begin a journaling practice, the smallest version is the one that works. 

Set a timer for 5 minutes. 
Open the journal. 
Write anything that’s on your mind — even if it sounds ridiculous. 

And if nothing comes to mind? Write that. 

You don’t need pages and pages. You don’t need a perfect quiet morning. You just need a few minutes to give your thoughts somewhere to go. 

And honestly… once you start showing up consistently, those 5 minutes often turn into 20 without you forcing it. Not because you’re “disciplined,” but because your mind finally has space to breathe. 

What to write when you feel scattered or emotionally drained 

When your mind feels scattered, write about those scattered thoughts. 

One thing that helps me is what I call the “scatter list”: 

You will be surprised at what you uncover when you stop trying to be “organized” in your head and just let it land on paper. 

If you’re emotionally drained, try asking yourself: 

There’s usually an underlying reason we feel mentally fatigued or anxious — and writing is one of the simplest ways to start seeing it clearly. 

Consistency is what builds the ritual — not perfection. And if you miss a few days? That’s not a failure. That’s being human. The only thing that matters is that you come back. 

Grounded vs productive 

“Grounded” seems to have become a buzzword lately, so let me tell you what it means to me: 

Grounded = being fully here — physically, mentally, emotionally. 

That’s why writing can be grounding. It shifts your focus from all the noise of daily life to the page you’re on right now. 

Journal prompts can help with this too, especially on the days you don’t know where to begin. Prompts guide you back into presence — not as a checkbox, but as a way of reconnecting with yourself.  If you are interested in trying journal prompts, click here  

My simple daily supports for stress + burnout 

I’ll share three things that have truly helped me daily through anxiety, stress, and burnout — in the ER and now while running my own business.