I started keeping a journal a few months ago and it helped me to keep it simple, quick and as painless and fun as possible. I've been heavily inspired by technique called minimalist journaling [1] which is something I read about somewhere (maybe even here on HN).

As you're probably a problem solver at heart (since you're on HN during Christmas), it might also help to write a list of things that you want the journaling to do for you (self-reflection? better mental health? loving-kindness? keeping track of memories?) and then try to come up with some system that will optimize for those values and also minimize the stress and time-commitment. Your brain is programmed to stir away from any stressful work, you the last two are mainly to make sure you aren't biologically forced out of your new habit.

[1]: https://medium.com/better-humans/draft-how-to-hack-your-brai...