How to journal effectively: setting intentions for 2022!
- Ava S
- Dec 11, 2025
- 3 min read
Ava S
University of Oxford - BA in modern history
As we get into the year 2022, it is normal to start thinking about what we may want to achieve in the coming year and what we should prioritise within ourselves. Setting up goals can both be freeing and limiting, and it is important to make sure that your intentions and goals fulfill certain criteria in order for them to be sustainable. This article will teach you more about setting appropriate and maneagable intentions & goals for the new year!
While goals and resolutions are result-oriented, intentions tend to be more long term and more broad. It is useful, therefore, to differentiate between whether you are setting a goal or an intention.
For example, Your resolution may be to read 50 books in one year. Why not try to keep your reading habits going throughout the year through the constant process of reading instead? This would be setting an intention, as opposed to a goal.
By making this into a resolution you are less likely to feel disappointed if you cannot achieve it, for example, reading all 50 books on the list. The intention, on the other hand, is broader, and allows you to use it in different ways throughout your life. For example, you could extend this intention to doing better in your schoolwork.
Here are some examples of intentions that you may want to set:
● I want to do well in my school examinations.
● I trust that what is meant for me will come to me.
● I want to feel inspired by the life that I lead.
● I want to be kinder to my siblings and parents.
Goals, on the other hand, need to be more fixed. It is tempting to set large goals, but in order for them to be manageable, they need to be effectively time-bound and specific.
For example, a goal needs to have a time limit. How long will it take you to achieve this goal? Will it be two days, two months or a year? In order to prioritise your goals, you need to be able to effectively give them a time limit.
Additionally, your goals, unlike intentions, should be extremely specific. You need to give exact details about what you want to achieve in order to best be able to achieve them. Try and quantify your goal where you can; how many scarves do you want to knit? And in what time period? This will help you to create goals that are more centred around specific experiences. You may choose to link some of your goals to your wider intentions for the year.
Getting yourself a journal will be a means by which you can keep track of your progress. Check in regularly to see if your goal is being achieved, and if it is not, this would be the time to adjust your goals according to a more realistic time period or system. This will also help you to refine your goals to make them more intentional and achievable. You can do this!
There are many journals that may be suitable for this purpose; you may choose to use a bullet journal but you may choose to buy a diary with pre-written prompts. These can be useful as a first journal, if you are unsure as to what you should be writing about.
Good luck with your journalling, and we, at Tutor Impact, with you a happy & healthy new year!
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