Journaling: Clear Your Head, Reduce Stress, and Take Control of Your Business

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, stuck, or unsure what to do next in your business, this episode is for you.

I sat down with Anna Woolliscroft, founder of Writing With Purpose and journaling expert, to unpack how self-employed HR consultants can use journaling to:

• Clear their head and think more clearly
• Reduce stress that blocks progress
• And take back control of their business – and their life

Journaling isn’t about keeping a teenage diary. It’s about using a simple, powerful tool to create the headspace you need to make better decisions and build a consultancy you actually enjoy running.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• How journaling gives you space to think and plan without the noise
• Why even five minutes a day can reset your stress levels and improve focus
• Practical ways to use journaling for business planning and personal growth
• Nick’s own routine and why he swears by pen and paper
• Where to grab Anna’s free PDF journal planner to get started today

This isn’t “one more thing” on your to-do list. It’s a simple way to make business feel easier — and life a whole lot calmer.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Why HR consultants need clarity to grow
Nick on why getting out of your head is the first step to building a £70K consultancy.

01:05 – Meet Anna Woolliscroft
How the Writing With Purpose founder helps people use journaling for clarity and confidence.

02:45 – Journaling vs “dear diary”
Why journaling is a powerful self-awareness and growth tool.

04:30 – Creating space for smarter decisions
How journaling clears your head and supports better business choices.

06:00 – The simplest way to start journaling
Stress-free tips to begin — even if you don’t know what to write.

07:30 – Why pen and paper beats typing
The science behind why writing by hand boosts focus and creativity.

09:10 – Using journaling to manage stress
Nick on how his notebook helps him reset during busy periods.

11:20 – The five-minute habit that changes your day
Quick journaling routines for busy consultants.

13:10 – Directed vs intuitive journaling
The pros and cons of prompts vs free-flow writing.

15:00 – Journaling prompts that unlock clarity
Easy questions to help you think deeper and solve problems faster.

17:00 – Journaling for less stress and better client relationships
Why writing helps you regulate emotions and show up stronger.

19:20 – Spotting patterns that hold you back
Using your journal to find triggers, habits, and opportunities.

22:00 – Morning pages, gratitude, and more
Popular techniques to help you find the routine that works for you.

25:10 – Planning your consultancy’s future
How mapping thoughts makes goals clearer and more achievable.

28:50 – Get Anna’s free journal planner
Download prompts, exercises, and a guided meditation to start today.

Want My Help to Build Your £70K+ HR Consultancy?

1️⃣ Grab a copy of my book – The Complete Guide to Building a £70K HR Consultancy – and discover how to get every lead and client you need.

2️⃣ Apply to Join The Fastlane Formula – so we can work together 1-to-1 to get you earning £70K+ faster (and easier) than going it alone.

Transcript

00:02 Nick Poninski: Hello there, and welcome back to another episode of Marketing Made Easy for HR consultants with me, Nick Poninski. As ever, you know that this show is all- about marketing and sales.
00:13 Nick Poninski: And that is because how do you achieve all your financial goals that you've got for your business? If you don't, how to generate leads, get clients, get sales, get profits, all that good stuff.
00:23 Nick Poninski: But, as you will also know, sometimes we talk about how to So, the best you that, the best you that you can be.
00:30 Nick Poninski: So that you achieve all your hopes and dreams. And today's show falls into that category. We are talking about how to be the best you that you can be.
00:40 Nick Poninski: And to do that, we have a- guess, guest wiffles to their Anna Wooliscroft. 
00:45 Anna Woolliscroft: Hello Anna. Hello there Nick. Thanks 
00:48 Nick Poninski: for being here. Yeah, thank you for joining me. I'm 
00:52 Anna Woolliscroft: excited about what's to 
00:53 Nick Poninski: come. Yes, I can't wait because this is something- I, it's a topic obviously, well, let's get in there. The topic is journaling and you and I have been messaging back and forth talking about journaling.
01:07 Nick Poninski: Journaling is something I've been doing for years now actually. Yes, when I say that out loud. He is. So I love it, but I know that I'm not as much of an expert as UI, hence UI here to talk about 
01:19 Anna Woolliscroft: journaling. Thank you very 
01:21 Nick Poninski: much. Yeah. It's going to be fun. Um, so yeah, so, um, obviously. Well, I say obvious. So not obviously. Anna, you're here to talk to us about journaling.
01:33 Nick Poninski: So give us a, give us a quick introduction. Who's Anna Wooliscroft? Why should we care? 
01:38 Anna Woolliscroft: Oh, okay. So, yeah, my name's Anna Woolis Goughs. Uh, company is writing with. So it's all about putting pen to paper, making up connection between yourself and the page, and finding those insights that come out.
01:50 Anna Woolliscroft: Um, and, well, my background is copywriting. So I've always been a writer, loved writing stories when I was late. Um, I used to write stories about a pink sea surferance called Ben.
02:03 Anna Woolliscroft: It was a bit like a planning timber. Um, but yeah. Um, so yeah, writing my purpose really is by kind of passion project that was born about two years.
02:13 Anna Woolliscroft: Years ago, and I'm on a mission to help a hundred thousand people over the next decade to realise the benefits of writing for their own wellbeing.
02:24 Anna Woolliscroft: So as you said before, you know, all about becoming your, your best self. And, uh, I'm trying to make it my life's mission to, to just share that with everybody as many people as 
02:33 Nick Poninski: possible. Oh, love that. That's awesome. So remind me, what was the goal? A hundred thousand in ten years? Yes. Wow, that's a lot in 
02:43 Anna Woolliscroft: ten years. It is a lot. It is, it is a lot. But, uh, you know, I've got some ideas. I've got resources as well as workshops and things.
02:49 Anna Woolliscroft: So, uh, you know, you gotta have a big 
02:51 Nick Poninski: goal. I like it. Why not, right? Um, I guess from the compound effect in my mind. My brain immediately splits up 10, uh, 100,000 into 10 lots of 10,000.
03:03 Nick Poninski: But the compound effect would suggest that that's not actually gonna happen. You'd probably end up with, like, 1,000 in year one.
03:08 Nick Poninski: But then, 
03:09 Anna Woolliscroft: you know, 
03:10 Nick Poninski: 90,000 in, like, year nine or something. So that's, 
03:14 Anna Woolliscroft: Yeah, and it's all about the ripple effect as well, isn't it? I might not necessarily speak to 100,000 people myself.
03:21 Anna Woolliscroft: But if I can speak to 10,000, then they all go and speak to, you know, a 10 or so each, then that will all light up.
03:30 Anna Woolliscroft: Erm, I've just realised, as I've said that, then I need a robust way of tracking 
03:34 Nick Poninski: that. Hahaha. Excellent. I guess you could give some sort of freebie download and then track how many downloads are I?
03:43 Anna Woolliscroft: That, indeed, I could. Which is where I've started. I'll see you in a few minutes. I have a free PDF journal planet and an entrance for dictation.
03:49 Anna Woolliscroft: Um, so yes, if anybody wants to, to learn a little bit more, then I'm happy to share that link. 
03:54 Nick Poninski: Perfect. We will do that. I love that. Okay. Thank you. So that's one problem, so that's how you're gonna track 
04:00 Anna Woolliscroft: it. Yeah, there we go. The reason why, is the reason why you're into sales and 
04:05 Nick Poninski: marketing. I do try. I can't, my, my, my brand immediately does that. I was talking here a week. I was saying with you before the show was talking to you.
04:14 Nick Poninski: Um. Mm hmm. Uh, what's the name? Kate was talking to Kate yesterday about, erm, taking information and making it more accessible and immediately started talking about marketing sales, but hey ho.
04:28 Nick Poninski: But yes, that's where my brand goes. But anyway, okay, so, let- Oh, so journaling is so many things, but I like to think of it 
04:37 Anna Woolliscroft: as a little self-help pocket coach that you can have with you all times. So it's- a non-judgmental friend. It's a companion that will always be there whenever you need it.
04:52 Anna Woolliscroft: Umm, and I think that's important to point out something about journaling, some misconceptions. People think that they have to do it in a certain way, or maybe they have to do it at a certain time.
05:02 Anna Woolliscroft: fine. Umm, whereas just having that notebook, that pen, or a digital app, if that's something that you prefer. Umm, and just using that to be able to jot down your thoughts, work, work some challenges out, you know, plan for the future.
05:12 Anna Woolliscroft: I the same. I same. It's been a very different ways that you can use a journal, but the important thing is there's always there, whenever you need it, and you can trust it, it's non judgmental, it's private.
05:27 Anna Woolliscroft: Umm, and yeah, it's the outcome of doing that of that practice. Is. Please. It's kind of unlimited, really. It's how you choose to use it and what techniques that you use that will bring you the outcome that will allow you to have that better life.
05:43 Anna Woolliscroft: Be that best version of yourself. Oh, I like that. 
05:46 Nick Poninski: I like to think of journaling as having my own private therapy. A free therapist. Yes. When I like to say I talk, I write about whatever's on my mind.
05:55 Nick Poninski: Sometimes I have nothing to say and I just write. I don't have anything to say today. Today was a good day or whatever.
06:01 Nick Poninski: But I do like to think about what's happened. In the past, what I'm thinking about for the future, what I'm actually going through at that moment in time and just writing, just writing, just pouring it out 
06:12 Anna Woolliscroft: of me. Yeah. And that in itself is very cathartic because if you just started, like, you've just said that a lot of people don't journal.
06:19 Anna Woolliscroft: Because they don't know what to write or they don't know where to start. And that is a place to start by just writing.
06:25 Anna Woolliscroft: I don't know what to write. I don't know where to start. I wonder what, what, what will come out today?
06:31 Anna Woolliscroft: Or even trying a sentence such as, what do I need to hear today? Or what do I need to- I don't know today.
06:36 Anna Woolliscroft: And then, you know, if you just write like that, you might have to repeat it one, two, three times. But then, that's when the beauty of what's inside you starts to, to pour out.
06:47 Anna Woolliscroft: And I think, uh, I think it was get Beth Kempton, uh, who's written some beautiful materials. She's a Japanese geologist, but she describes journaling as, uh, documenting your thoughts and feelings as opposed to a diary, which is documenting your day.
07:03 Anna Woolliscroft: Uh, so there's, there's kind of that subtle difference. There you're bringing out into a journal, everything that you thought, you know, how you feel, even making as far as, you know, how your body feels when you're writing about something, because, you know, that can be a very insightful form as well
07:18 Anna Woolliscroft: . That's really 
07:19 Nick Poninski: cool. I never- I thought about that as, I guess, yeah, there's so many different types of journaling, which I was aware of, but I do generally talk about events, but then I do talk about how I'm feeling about things as well.
07:31 Nick Poninski: I guess- umm. Do you have a daily journal? Have a silly- 
07:35 Anna Woolliscroft: Yeah, you heard it in my voice. I'm not journaling that much at the moment. Um, and yeah, the one thing that I do do, which I didn't do is- I didn't- yeah.
07:48 Anna Woolliscroft: Well, it's there when you need it, that's what I say. It's a misconception that you have to do it every day.
07:53 Anna Woolliscroft: Um, I- I dream journal most days. So that's kind of my main- my main habit, yeah. Um, so in the morning.
08:02 Anna Woolliscroft: Um, so dream journaling, really, it's- you have to do it- or it's almost as soon as you wake up. Otherwise, you know, as- as we know, we know that we had a dream one night, we might remember a certain part of that.
08:13 Anna Woolliscroft: Maybe a character, maybe an environment, but we really don't remember what's happened. So it's important that if you want to start collecting your dreams is that you- we call those straight away in the morning.
08:24 Anna Woolliscroft: Umm, and then that's part of it, of course, of just, you know, writing down your dream. But then you can actually go in a little bit deeper and ask about the dream, you know, talk- talk in your journal about that dream, or even have the- dialogue with some of the characters or the situations in your 
08:40 Anna Woolliscroft: dream. Because when you think about it, a dream, you know, it's your- it's your subconscious, you know, yeah, it's all of that stuff that isn't- isn't front of mind for you that's coming out.
08:51 Anna Woolliscroft: So, you know, there's some message- is in there, and if you can get into the habit of writing them down in the morning and then giving it some reflection time, then you can start to work out, okay, well what's happening in my day life, and then what's happening in my dreams, and you know, how could these
09:06 Anna Woolliscroft: kind of work together that so that I can. Work through a challenge or, you know, put some steps into place so that I can achieve this goal that I've set to achieve, and you know, the stuff, it's, it's powerful 
09:18 Nick Poninski: stuff, so. 
09:19 Anna Woolliscroft: Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I dream journal most mornings, erm, at the start of- the year, my, my ritual was a diary where I would record what I did during the day, because then that's a reflection back.
09:30 Anna Woolliscroft: It's a, you know, it's a nice way to just capture your life in those little moments. Um, and then I would also take a page where I'd write about, you know, what-in.
09:39 Anna Woolliscroft: detail what I thought about the day, how I felt. And again, this is a way of tracking things. But I would also give the day, uh, a word.
09:48 Anna Woolliscroft: So I'd have like a, a big green one and three words, so I'd have a nice little word cloud at the end of a month.
09:53 Anna Woolliscroft: Um, and it's. I think for people that can be a little bit biased negatively because a lot of us are negatively biased anyway.
10:03 Anna Woolliscroft: We, you know, we kind of think the worst about things. And we also think for ourselves that we haven't achieved anything in.
10:10 Anna Woolliscroft: June, for example, whereas while we keep a diary and we look back and you think, oh wow, I've achieved a ton of stuff.
10:18 Anna Woolliscroft: And when you look at the words, if you capture something like that, you know, just a word a day, then you actually realise how much positive stuff's happened.
10:25 Anna Woolliscroft: There's very little negativity there. So, erm, so yeah, but the reason why I left and you asked me that question is that I haven't done my, my full page for about a month or so now.
10:35 Anna Woolliscroft: Um, and I, maybe that's because I don't feel as though I need it at the moment. Possibly. Umm, but maybe there's an opportunity for me to journal about that.
10:46 Anna Woolliscroft: Oh, I love that. 
10:47 Nick Poninski: Yeah, journal about why you're not 
10:50 Anna Woolliscroft: journaling. Get to the height, that matter. Yeah, but I still do the dream journal and I still do the, the, the, the day of- rising at the end of the day.
10:57 Anna Woolliscroft: So I still do those two things habitually. Yeah. No, that's good. Yeah. 
11:03 Nick Poninski: So I've been doing, well, as I say, I've been doing those event journaling and some thoughts and feelings and, you know, I've, I've, um, we'll move on to the advantages of journaling.
11:12 Nick Poninski: Why people should actually journal, um, in a minute. But I find personally, when I was writing my journal on keyboard, it was not as good as when I've been writing with pen and paper.
11:25 Nick Poninski: Like pen and paper is just, I have not. I have not gone back to writing keyboard journaling since I made the switch.
11:34 Nick Poninski: Yeah. Can't do it now. I just love having my journal with me. I'm writing things all the time and I have random thoughts that pop into my head and I get my journals right here.
11:43 Anna Woolliscroft: Yeah, there you go. 
11:44 Nick Poninski: With me at all times. I put, you know, email stories that I want to share and stuff that I want to 
11:49 Anna Woolliscroft: introduce and 
11:50 Nick Poninski: whatever else. I 
11:52 Anna Woolliscroft: love it. Yeah. It's there all the time with you wherever you go. Yeah. I think. Yeah. And, you know, there's those reasons why some people will prefer an app, you know, maybe they, they're handwriting, you know, that kind of connection isn't very good for, for whatever reason.
12:07 Anna Woolliscroft: But, you know, when you write, when did the whole point of a pen touching the paper, it switches. There's a things in your brain anyway, you know, right, and left-hand side of the brain.
12:16 Anna Woolliscroft: There's a lot more science too than what I've just described there, and I've been kind of doing that whole field, and then just, in justice if I tried to describe it.
12:24 Anna Woolliscroft: But, uh, yeah, it switches on more parts of your brain. Um, and also. also journaling writing in general. It's, it's a bodily practice.
12:33 Anna Woolliscroft: You know, it's not necessarily an intellectual practice, but because we've been taught in school, you know, the structure of language in the street.
12:42 Anna Woolliscroft: The structure of words and sentences, you know, we, we kind of think that it needs to come from, from up here to more.
12:49 Anna Woolliscroft: Exactly. Whereas journaling really is a lot more about, you know, letting that come from inside and it's, it's a bodily practice.
12:57 Anna Woolliscroft: It's more intuitive. Then it is intellectual, um, and, you know, to have that sort of collection. It is, yeah. And to have that connection with the pen and the paper, there's, there's just a whole lot more going on.
13:10 Anna Woolliscroft: Yeah. And it's slower as well. Yeah. Very important point. Yeah. 
13:15 Nick Poninski: Yeah. Yeah. I, I can type so quickly, but writing is slow. It's 
13:20 Anna Woolliscroft: really slow. So 
13:21 Nick Poninski: it means more of my thoughts come to the, the fore as it were. 
13:26 Anna Woolliscroft: Yeah. And I think as well when you've got the. Black blank page or lined paper or even squares, you know, people prefer different ways to, to journal, but you've got the opportunity to use it as a bit of a scrapbook as well.
13:38 Anna Woolliscroft: You could stick things in it. You can doodle in there. You can, you know, you can draw. A big kind of bubble type word and then just do some, you know, blue points and a bit like a mine map.
13:49 Anna Woolliscroft: And you can't really do that on an electronic app. No, it's, no, it's much more creative. Difficult. 
13:56 Nick Poninski: Yeah. So, okay. So. We've, I guess we understand what right, uh, journaling is now. So journaling is the act of writing out your thoughts and your feelings.
14:05 Nick Poninski: And that can either be in a directed way with questions, which you can, I guess, find from the internet or from, I know you're from your website, I guess.
14:14 Nick Poninski: And, and then there's in that, 
14:21 Anna Woolliscroft: not instructional, 
14:23 Nick Poninski: instructional and non-instructional. Is that right? Intuitive. Intuitive. Yeah. Intuitive. Yeah. And then you can just write whatever the 
14:26 Anna Woolliscroft: hell you want to write. Yeah. Yeah. 
14:28 Nick Poninski: Yeah. Which is kind 
14:29 Anna Woolliscroft: of, Yeah. A stream of consciousness writing or free flow writing that's generally referred to as an, uh, this is, yeah, a technique called morning pages, which was popularized by a lady called June.
14:41 Anna Woolliscroft: It's actually a camera, um, where as soon as you wake up in the morning, um, here theory is that you write three pages before you get on with your day, 
14:50 Nick Poninski: which is before your 
14:51 Anna Woolliscroft: letter. Three pages. You can do it. You can do it. You used to take me about 40 
14:57 Nick Poninski: minutes. There you go, yeah, text too long. 
14:59 Anna Woolliscroft: Yeah, you used to get earlier. 
15:03 Nick Poninski: Ha ha ha ha ha. 
15:04 Anna Woolliscroft: You get that. But that's the whole point, Nick. You do it before you get stuck into the things that you've got to do because that's when, you know, that's when the insight comes out.
15:12 Anna Woolliscroft: It's still half awake, so. Umm, half asleep, sorry. Alright, well 
15:16 Nick Poninski: you, good look with 
15:18 Anna Woolliscroft: that one. It is quite difficult, umm, but you know, you, you, you'll either love it or hate it like a lot of different techniques.
15:25 Nick Poninski: Yeah, fair enough. Let's try and keep things accessible. So let's, let's stay with the more mainstream of journaling. Um, so we've got, um, a directed or, or intuitive, right?
15:37 Nick Poninski: So what are the advantages on that? Why should somebody pick up their pen and paper or their, Apple? Whatever it is that they want to use.
15:46 Nick Poninski: Why should somebody do 
15:48 Anna Woolliscroft: the journaling? So the, the first thing is that it helps with self-awareness. So the way that we live today, we do a lot of things on auto-part.
15:59 Anna Woolliscroft: You know, we've got things coming out of us from all directions. We don't really take that much time to be with ourselves.
16:07 Anna Woolliscroft: So journaling is great for self-care. Uh, it gives us some time that we need. It allows us to slow down, but it allows us to get in touch with us.
16:16 Anna Woolliscroft: So it, that, that kind of self-awareness piece, for me, is, is kind of the start of that journaling habit, that ritual that you create.
16:26 Anna Woolliscroft: It's not to get you to know yourself better. You start to realize situations where you might be. We were talking before about being a people pleaser, or affectionism, or, you know, comparisonitis, or imposter syndrome, all of these things, when we journal, it's not just in our heads, it's on paper so
16:44 Anna Woolliscroft: we can work with it better. And it really does help us to. Be able to get to know ourselves better in that whole self-awareness piece.
16:52 Anna Woolliscroft: And of course, what comes with that is better emotional regulation. It helps to reduce anxiety, reduce stress, because you're starting to see the situation.
17:02 Anna Woolliscroft: Maybe the people, maybe the circumstances that you put yourself in that might be making you feel anxious. Um, but because it's a private space and it's something that you can work with on your own, you're able to think, okay, well, maybe it's work and maybe I can make these sorts of changes.
17:18 Anna Woolliscroft: So, you know, the benefit is also you've been able to organise your thoughts and feelings, but from the point of view of being able to, um, then put some steps in place to make some changes to help you make better decisions.
17:33 Anna Woolliscroft: Umm, so, yeah, there's a whole host of things. You gain more clarity from doing that. You become more creative from doing that.
17:41 Anna Woolliscroft: You learn to trust yourself more from doing that. And, you know, the list, the list really does go on. Umm, but I think a lot of- people, certainly from a therapy point of view, um, expressive writing really does help them to deal with tough emotions and challenges and trauma.
17:58 Anna Woolliscroft: Um, and I was- I've read somebody's linked in post the other day and they'd- they'd had a horrific. experience with a family member when he was younger and he actually said, just, you know, the process of writing that down helped.
18:14 Anna Woolliscroft: And the more that we do that sort of thing, the more that we can work through these things. So, yeah, start with self-awareness.
18:20 Anna Woolliscroft: Helps with emotional regulation. Helps to reduce stress and anxiety. Helps you to come to terms more. I wouldn't say that it's a healer, you know, a very kind of conscious of not using the word heal or cure, but it helps to support you to improve your way of coping with your things.
18:37 Nick Poninski: Oh, I like that. I think, erm, for me as well, I think it, it, it made me feel present the 
18:43 Anna Woolliscroft: other day. It was Wednesday 
18:46 Nick Poninski: and I was finding myself going from task to task to task and my brain felt like it was like. Like, I just couldn't focus.
18:53 Nick Poninski: I was just, you know, flitting around and then I stopped and I thought, why the, why am I struggling? I thought, oh, just grab my pen and paper and I just grab my pen and paper and I just started, why am I struggling to concentrate today?
19:06 Nick Poninski: And then, words just- I poured out of me and I, and I realised, like, because I was putting from task task, I wasn't 
19:14 Anna Woolliscroft: focusing. Um, when we got there in the end. But yeah. 
19:17 Nick Poninski: Yeah. Like, you say it relieves that stress and anxiety there because I didn't realise it, but I was getting stressed and anxious about the fact that I was- wasting a day.
19:27 Nick Poninski: Mmm. Wasn't 
19:28 Anna Woolliscroft: being productive. Mmm. Yeah. And I think when you were able to write it down in that way, it's a little, and even, you know, write it down, leave it for a while, and then go back to it and reflect on it.
19:40 Anna Woolliscroft: And a good t- So the is to, when you're reflecting on something that you've written, it's to circle any words that are, um, frequent, you know, or any words that you think, oh, that's interesting, you know, makes you a little bit curious.
19:52 Anna Woolliscroft: And also, over time, you'll start to, start to focus patterns as well. And then- it's going a little bit deeper around those words that make you curious or those repeated words and then those patterns that you start to spot.
20:04 Anna Woolliscroft: And like, what, you know, what, what is the link here? And that just allows you then to go a little bit deeper and start to notice these things.
20:11 Anna Woolliscroft: And it might be as simple as- Oh, every time I go to this place or every time I do that in this person's company, you know, I feel overwhelmed or something.
20:20 Anna Woolliscroft: But until you start writing those down and notice those patterns, you might never come to that realization. So, yeah, it's a, it's a great thing to do.
20:28 Anna Woolliscroft: As you say, just grabbing that, erm, notebook and pen and asking yourself that question. Questions are great because it opens up the floodcates almost for you to write something.
20:39 Anna Woolliscroft: So, you know, great journaling prompts are always open-ended. 
20:43 Nick Poninski: Yes, I was getting a s- I thought you were talking about prompted, directed journaling. So, why is that so beneficial?
20:51 Nick Poninski: Give us, give us one benefit for that because I'm conscious of 
20:54 Anna Woolliscroft: time. Yes, I could talk forever about 
20:57 Nick Poninski: this. Oh well, I don't. I think that, you know, what you're saying is not useful. I'm just conscious that we don't.
21:03 Nick Poninski: I mean, I, we, as we know, you and I can quietly sit here and talk for 
21:08 Anna Woolliscroft: hours, but, We can't eat. Yeah. No, it's, with, with those sort of daras. It helps you go deeper.
21:20 Anna Woolliscroft: So rather than just, um, you know, reading something that's more of a statement, you might just have a one sentence reply to a statement.
21:28 Anna Woolliscroft: Whereas if you ask that question, You know, a lot more comes out of it. And this, you know, you can use the example of, uh, such and such a person made me angry today.
21:38 Anna Woolliscroft: Well, that's, that's a statement. Whereas you could say, oh, why did such and such a person made me angry? Or, how did I, Why did I respond with that emotion to that person?
21:49 Anna Woolliscroft: And then it just helps you to kind of approach it from a different perspective and go a little bit deeper.
21:54 Anna Woolliscroft: But also by asking those prompts helps to avoid that writer's block that we talked about. If at the start, I don't know where to write.
22:03 Anna Woolliscroft: And quite often that's called a sentence stamp where you, you do ask that sort of question and then you use that almost like a jumping off stage to, sorry, not a sentence stamp, a springboard.
22:13 Anna Woolliscroft: You ask that question and you spring off. That question to then write that paragraph and you can always set yourself a timer and just do what's called a five minutes sprint.
22:22 Anna Woolliscroft: Just write for five minutes and you'll be amazed at what wisdom comes out in. What you think is a short space of time but you're probably right near enough half a page.
22:31 Anna Woolliscroft: Look at that. 
22:32 Nick Poninski: Wow. Ah, interesting. I like that. It's not something I'd thought about again because when I think that I can't write I just kind of avoid that stress and anxiety of trying to write something.
22:47 Nick Poninski: I just write, I have nothing to say today. Today was great. You know, 
22:50 Anna Woolliscroft: whatever. I just pay it 
22:51 Nick Poninski: so I can take off on my list that I've done my journaling. Um, you know, I've got my habit. I wanted to make sure that I've done it.
22:57 Nick Poninski: Um, but yeah, I try and avoid that. Yeah. Uh. Yeah. 
23:00 Anna Woolliscroft: Maybe, Nick, you could, next time you feel it. So that's what you're starting to write. You could then ask, why do I feel it?
23:10 Anna Woolliscroft: So I've got nothing to say today. Interesting. And just see if that might open up. Yeah. Does that open up?
23:18 Nick Poninski: Because I think, yeah, I think those, I think that for me, I think one of the big benefits of directed journaling, rather than just writing whatever the hell I want, writing whatever the hell I want is really good because it just.
23:33 Nick Poninski: It just gets my thoughts and feelings and I just bring them. Whereas directed brings me out of the present and makes me think about the future or the past, like, you know, what, what's happened and why does, how has that affected me?
23:46 Nick Poninski: Where do I want to go? How am I going to get there? And I think that's where I get the most benefit out of the occasions when I do some directed prompting.
23:58 Anna Woolliscroft: Yeah. Do you ever do anything that's often referred to as clustering, where you would sort of, you know, you talked about.
24:05 Anna Woolliscroft: Maybe, say, looking into the future, and perhaps with, with business, for example, maybe something there that we want the business to, you know, we're here at the moment in A, and we want to go to B, and then you've got some goals to get there.
24:18 Anna Woolliscroft: Do you ever sort of do any clustering around? Your goals, and then see, you know, a bit of brainstorm, as to what 
24:24 Nick Poninski: might come off, 
24:26 Anna Woolliscroft: and come off that. 
24:27 Nick Poninski: Uhh, no, hahaha. Long story 
24:35 Anna Woolliscroft: short, hahaha. Uhm, yeah, 
24:39 Nick Poninski: well, maybe I'll do that. 
24:41 Anna Woolliscroft: Yeah, yeah, it's just a way. I mean, you know, mind mapping and brainstorming is a technique that's professionally used in a lot of business situations anyway, but, uhm, yeah, yeah.
24:52 Anna Woolliscroft: You can, it's, it's, it's very similar to clustering and journaling. Um, and you can be a little bit more wacky if you label it as journaling as well and just let whatever creative ideas come out instead of just what you think is a little bit more logical.
25:06 Nick Poninski: And I like that. Mine mapping just to touch on that quickly. Uhm, I, yeah, I love mine mapping. I think it's 
25:16 Anna Woolliscroft: fantastic. So 
25:17 Nick Poninski: it's just for all my exams because then your brain creates those links and then you can remember that mind mapping.
25:22 Nick Poninski: You're going to your exam and you're like, I think, yeah, it's 
25:25 Anna Woolliscroft: a piece of, well, it's a piece 
25:27 Nick Poninski: of, well, it's 
25:28 Anna Woolliscroft: easier. Easier, yeah, yeah, using different colors and pens and, and aligning things 
25:33 Nick Poninski: and. I didn't do 
25:35 Anna Woolliscroft: that. Didn't you? Linear 
25:37 Nick Poninski: only. Yeah. Just like and why. Just remember what I need to remember. Hey ho, no pictures. Pictures were probably of hopes though, right?
25:48 Nick Poninski: I bet. I guess if you're listening along to this and your kids are going through exam time, mind maps. That's Nick's 
25:54 Anna Woolliscroft: recommendation. Yeah. Well, pictures again, you know, when you're journaling, some people will get more out of being shown a picture 
26:01 Nick Poninski: as that 
26:02 Anna Woolliscroft: sort of jumping off prompt, if you like, then they will from a sentence, a worded sentence. Um, so yeah, it's just about finding what works.
26:11 Anna Woolliscroft: For all the people, I'm a bi, I love picture cards, I like to look at abstract images because I see metaphors in things, and then whatever metaphor comes out is usually something that's going on in life at the moment, it might be a business challenge, it might be something for a person.
26:27 Anna Woolliscroft: There's no point of view, but I'll see a metaphor in that that I can then write about and then usually come up with some kind of solution or sensible end or outcome to it.
26:40 Anna Woolliscroft: So that's, yeah, that's a good thing that people can try as well. 
26:42 Nick Poninski: Another type of journaling. Bloody hell. I'm throwing loads at us today, aren't I? There's loads. There is loads of little, I guess if somebody wanted to go down that rabbit hole.
26:55 Nick Poninski: Uhm, yeah, let's wrap things up. Okay, so there's- Loads of benefits, we know all that. Uhm, journaling is the art of getting your thoughts and feelings out on whether it's directed or just freestyle.
27:09 Nick Poninski: Uhm, that's really beneficial for ya, because it reduces stress. And it gets your present and all that good stuff as you shared.
27:16 Nick Poninski: And there's all sorts of different types of journaling. So, if somebody, let's wrap things up. So, if somebody wanted to get started today, I guess what would be one takeaway.
27:25 Nick Poninski: And then where would somebody go to find out more about you and what you offer, etc. 
27:29 Anna Woolliscroft: So, yeah, I think a good place to start would be just to, you know, get yourself a notebook or a journal.
27:38 Anna Woolliscroft: Start off with a blank page or you can get something that's got prompts in, but, but start off small and just, just write for five minutes.
27:44 Anna Woolliscroft: Just write for five minutes, erm, and a good place to, a good thing to ask yourself is, is what's going on for me today?
27:51 Anna Woolliscroft: Or what's going on right now? And, you know, that's an open-ended question. Set a timer for five minutes. And just see what comes.
27:58 Anna Woolliscroft: And, guaranteed. Majority of people will be surprised when they look back at what they've written and think, oh wow, where did that come from?
28:06 Anna Woolliscroft: Oh, oh, okay. Yeah, that, that's interesting. And there'll be, there'll be some link there that means something to them at that, at that time.
28:15 Anna Woolliscroft: And I think another good place for people to start is, is just gratitude. 
28:20 Nick Poninski: So, 
28:21 Anna Woolliscroft: um, three to five things at the end of the day. What are you grateful for? Um, and that helps us to just really notice the little things in life and appreciate the little things in life.
28:32 Anna Woolliscroft: And usually what comes out of that as an exercise is, you know, what, what means something to you, what your values are.
28:39 Anna Woolliscroft: And from that, you can then, you know, develop that a little bit further and think, oh, you know, why did I put that?
28:45 Anna Woolliscroft: Um. So yeah, start small, write for five minutes, ask where you're at, or what do I need to know today.
28:52 Anna Woolliscroft: And, uh, three to five things that you're grateful for. Boom. Love that. 
28:57 Nick Poninski: Okay. I'm worried somebody goes to find out more about you, 
28:59 Anna Woolliscroft: Anna, if they want to get downloadable prints. 
29:02 Nick Poninski: Yeah. Print print, prompt 
29:04 Anna Woolliscroft: store. Yeah. Best place to go would be my website, which is writing with purpose.co.uk. So I've got a links page on there, which has got all of the social media.
29:14 Anna Woolliscroft: I'm on Facebook, um, Instagram. I do have a TikTok. But I can't find the password, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
29:22 Anna Woolliscroft: Um, LinkedIn as well. Uh, and then also, yes, I've got a free PDF journal planner, um, which has got 20 plus prompts in there.
29:31 Anna Woolliscroft: It's got two or three different activities in there. It's also got more about journaling and the benefits. And there's also an entrance meditation recording, which is a sort of nice guided way for people to then lead into a five minute sprint, which is one of the, the recommendations go, yeah.
29:50 Nick Poninski: You've covered every base there, Anna. 
29:52 Anna Woolliscroft: Super! 
29:54 Nick Poninski: Right, well. Um, thank you for coming along. 
29:59 Anna Woolliscroft: Surely enjoyed it. 
30:00 Nick Poninski: Yeah. Thank you 
30:01 Anna Woolliscroft: very much for inviting me, 
30:03 Nick Poninski: Nick. No problem. Maybe we'll have you come back sometime and talk about some other element of journaling. 
30:09 Anna Woolliscroft: Yeah, we could do a little session, couldn't we? We could do proper little journaling 
30:12 Nick Poninski: session. Hello, hello, hello. We could. I like that. Um, excellent. Well, for the- those of you who've listened along, hopefully that was a useful and enjoyable lesson.
30:24 Nick Poninski: Hopefully you've, uh, got the nudge and you're going to start journaling because I swear by it, and I swear by it, it's really awesome.
30:31 Nick Poninski: Um, but either way, thanks for listening along. And as ever, get Mike's in because without Mike's in, there's no sales.
30:38 Nick Poninski: And without sales, there's no business. So get Mike's in. Done.