Journal Writing and Hygge

If you have been anywhere near the news or the blogosphere in the last couple of years, then you may have heard mention of the high happiness ratings of the Scandinavians.  The tall people of the northern regions seem to have stumbled upon a recipe for a happy life, and the rest of us are just now hearing about their secrets. 

The Scandinavians have long been acknowledged as the happiest, healthiest, and most content people on Earth.  Yes, really.  Residents of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland routinely rank as having the highest levels of happiness, life satisfaction, comfort, health, and enjoyment.  And this is nothing new; the Norse have data ranking them highest for at least four decades. 

So, what is their secret? 

It seems that they have not one, but many, elements to their society that make life in the cold North so pleasant, and hygge is just one of them.  Yes, the Northerners love their bacon, drink, bicycles, and pastries, but they also love their down time, their cozy time.  That’s hygge. 

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Why Hygge?  
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I suppose that when a society survives in the subarctic region for centuries, the people get creative about finding ways to make it work.  Hygge is part of the formula for surviving and thriving in the Nordic countries. 

Hygge is coziness.  Hygge is warmth and love and comfort.  Hygge is a board game, a bottle of wine, and a warm fire on a cold evening.  Hygge is a shared meal, a warm pastry, or a book read by candlelight.  Hygge is the time people spend together for the purpose of enjoying the moment in comfort and conviviality. 

Hygge is a particularly Danish practice, although other Nordics practice relaxation and mindfulness activities, especially during the four to five winter months.  When people are cooped up indoors for months at a time, they create ways to get along and make the most of it.  Hygge just makes sense.  
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The Benefits of Journal Writing 
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OK, so if we non-Nordics want to take a card from the Danish deck, how might we be more hygge-like?  How might we engage in cozy activities that might increase our happiness even just a little bit? 

We know from practice, instruction, and research that people who engage in regular journal writing experience a higher level of happiness and a lower level of stress.  We also know that reading quality literature increases happiness, empathy, and intelligence.  As well, we know that journal writers are quicker to engage in creative and productive activities (perhaps daily writing helps them to generate ideas more quickly). 

So, if know that journal writing can keep writers feeling more satisfied and creative, and we know that the world’s happiest people spend a lot of time on hygge, perhaps we should combine the two are create a hygge journal writing experience.   
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When you think about it, hygge and journal writing are a clear match.  

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How to Find Hygge when Journaling 
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People hold onto very different, very individual writing rituals.  For example, my friend Heather writes with a glass of wine in one hand and her Macbook in the other.  Jason writes only late at night when the rest of the house is fast asleep.  And James writes at the kitchen table when the house is at its noisiest. 

We all have our writing rituals that work well for us, and once we can tap into what those rituals are, then we can do a better job of preparing an environment that supports our journal writing habits. 
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What do you include in your journal writing practice? 

Personally, I am a lover of coffee and tea both.  I love a hot cup of coffee when I write.  In fact, on Sunday mornings, I meet my friend Christy at the café and we spend about two hours writing, drinking coffee, and bouncing ideas off of each other.  The combination of hot coffee, a warm café, and dedicated writing time stimulates my creativity, and I usually write 2-3k words on Sundays. 

On a daily basis, I wake at 5am and write until the rest of the house wakes up.  I brew a hot pot of coffee, sit on my favorite green, vintage couch and write.  The setting of a quiet house, hot coffee, and my own writing time allows me to focus for an hour a day.  

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So, how can you find your cozy hygge feeling while journal writing?  

Start by identifying your ideal writing environment.  Do you need a hot drink, a chilled glass of wine, or a plate of sweet treats while you write? 
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How about the time of day?  Are you an early morning or a late night writer?  Do you write on the run while on the bus?  How about during your lunch hour at work?  Are you one to set aside the same time every day to write or do you write on a weekly basis, maybe just on the weekends? 

What are the best tools for writing for you?  Are you one who enjoys writing by hand?  Do you write and draw or doodle at the same time?  Are you someone who loves the pace of a laptop keyboard for high-production writing? 

And what about distractions?  Distractions do not mesh well with a cozy hygge setting.  Do you turn off your laptop’s internet connection so that you can concentrate while writing?  Do you close yourself into a quiet room to write?  Do you have to escape technology altogether to avoid the distracting draw of the internet?  

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Hygge writing might look like a writer up early in the morning with a hot coffee, a notepad on the lap, and a warm robe. 

Hygge writing might look like a writer in the evening in the living room while the kids play, with the laptop out and a warm cup of tea as the evening light fades. 

Hygge writing might look like a Saturday morning spent at a café or restaurant with a croissant and latte as people mill about all around. 
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Whatever your hygge journal writing practice looks like, get it started.  Create it.  Organize it.  Make it happen.  An environment that gives you hygge and supports your writing will give you the ongoing benefit of a productive space where you can be productive and creative.  

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