Hello and Happy New Year!
Welcome to our blog, The Simple Happy Journal. This is the first post and I’m so happy you’re here! This is a space where we share reflections on reading, journaling, creativity, and building steady rhythms that support a slower, more intentional life.
I’m Sabrina, founder of Simple Happy Journaling. Like many of you, I’ve been thinking about the year ahead. Not in a pressure filled, change everything kind of way, but in terms of what habits or rhythms I want to hold, return to, or gently build.
One rhythm I always come back to is reading.
Some people call it a reading habit. I prefer to think of it as a rhythm. Something steady, flexible, and able to shift with different seasons of life.
Why a Reading Rhythm Matters
Reading does not need to be an all or nothing habit. It doesn’t require long stretches of uninterrupted time or ambitious goals. A reading rhythm is simply the practice of returning to stories and ideas regularly in small, realistic ways.
That rhythm can include physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks. Audiobooks count too!
One of the easiest places to begin is here...
Daily, read a book for five minutes or even one page. Or listen to an audiobook for five minutes or a chapter.
Maybe that looks like keeping a book on your nightstand and reading a page before falling asleep or when you wake up instead of scrolling. Or choosing to listen to an audiobook while cleaning up or driving. These small moments count, and they add up.
Small Choices Add Up
In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear reminds us that habits are shaped by small actions repeated over time. Those choices compound quietly and influence who we become.
That idea aligns closely with what I have seen firsthand.
Before starting Simple Happy Journaling, I earned my master’s degree in social work and worked in hospice with the aging population, including research with veterans. During that time, I spent long hours with people in the later seasons of life. While every experience was different, one pattern stayed with me. Those who continued to read, listen to books, or regularly engage with stories often seemed more mentally present. They held onto language longer. They remembered details. They lit up when talking about what they were reading or listening to.
It was not a cure or a guarantee, but it was a reminder that staying mentally engaged matters. Reading gave many of them something familiar to return to. Something steady in a season when so much else was changing.
Research continues to support this. Regular reading helps reduce stress, supports brain health, and is associated with slower cognitive decline as we age. Neuroscience research has also shown that the brain processes meaning in much the same way whether we are reading words on a page or listening to them spoken aloud. Audiobooks engage the same areas of the brain responsible for comprehension, memory, and emotional connection.
Reading and listening are not just enjoyable. They are protective.
The right time to begin building a reading rhythm is now.
Creating a Reading Rhythm That Fits Your Life
A reading rhythm should feel supportive, not demanding. Instead of rigid rules, think of steady anchors that make it easier to return to books again and again.
Begin with the smallest possible yes. One page. Five slow minutes. When the barrier is low, consistency becomes possible.
Let reading live inside your day. A few pages with your morning tea. A paragraph before bed. An audiobook playing while dinner simmers or laundry gets folded. Listening in the car on the way to work, during school pickup, or while running errands. Reading does not need its own time block to belong.
Create visual invitations. Stack a book on your nightstand. Leave one on the coffee table. Keep one in your bag. When a book is within reach, it slowly invites you back.
Follow curiosity, not obligation. Read what you are drawn to. Fiction, memoirs, audiobooks, essays, or a book you have already read before. Enjoyment builds trust with the rhythm.
Use steady support. Reading can be personal, but it does not have to be lonely. Reading alongside others through a book club, shared challenge, or simple check in can help the rhythm hold.
Allow imperfect weeks. Some weeks will be fuller than others. If you miss a few days, simply return. A rhythm is shaped by coming back, not by perfection.
Journaling Your Reading
A reading rhythm becomes even more meaningful when you give yourself a place to set the experience down.
Journaling your reading helps you slow down and engage more deeply with what you are reading. Instead of rushing from one book to the next, it allows you to pause and notice what stayed with you and why it mattered.
Writing about what you read can strengthen comprehension, support memory, and help ideas linger longer. Just as importantly, it reinforces the rhythm itself.
You do not need long entries or perfect words. A few sentences, a quote, a question, or a creative spread is enough. This applies to audiobooks too. You can jot down a moment that stayed with you, a line you replayed, or a thought that surfaced while listening.
A Simple Tool to Support Your Reading Rhythm
The Simple Happy Reading Journal was created to support this exact rhythm. Reading slowly. Reflecting intentionally. Making space for creativity without pressure.
Inside, you will find thoughtful prompts for fiction, nonfiction, and personal growth reads, along with open space to write freely, collage, sketch, or simply sit with what a book offered you. There are no daily trackers and no rules about how often you need to show up.
This journal is not meant to help you race through a stack of books.
It exists to help you slow down, notice what stayed with you, and make space for reflection.
Let Reading Be a Place You Return To
Reading does not need to be another thing on your to do list. It can be a place you return to for rest, reflection, growth, and joy.
A few minutes at a time is enough.
Whether you are beginning a reading rhythm for the first time or returning to one that has been waiting for you, I hope this year invites you to slow down and savor the stories that meet you where you are.
I’d love to hear how reading fits into your days right now or how you are hoping to incorporate a reading rhythm this season. Share with me in the comments.
Sabrina
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