I do! For the past couple years I’ve been slacking somewhat (mainly because I used to do most of my writing in my high school classes, so when I stopped being a high school student, the habit waned) but for the past month or two, I’ve gotten back into it with full force.
For me, the most important tip for getting myself to write is to keep my journal in a physical location where I will be at a time when I can write. For me, that’s right next to my bed, because the minutes in between going to bed and going to sleep are a convenient, relaxing time for me to write. I also sometimes take it with me when I’m going somewhere where I might have to wait around (doctor’s waiting room, café, theatre, whatever) and might have time to write.
I’ve never thought of journal-writing as “selfish or unproductive” because it’s always been very productive for me. I read over my old journals fairly often and find them endlessly amusing and interesting. They teach me so much about my personal evolution and it’s also fantastic to have a record of all the silly things I did and said and thought as I was growing up. Trust me, you’ll be happy to have any of your old writing when you get older!
The two basic questions I ask myself when I write in my journal are “What happened today?” and “How do I feel about it?” Those questions are fairly open-ended – I don’t have to write about what happened in MY life, necessarily, if nothing did; I can write about something that happened in the world at large, or to a friend of mine. I can write about a TV show I watched and how it made me feel and why I liked it. I can write about thoughts I’m having, goals I’m forming, fears I’m going through.
I find that journaling is a lot like physical exercise, in that a) you get better at it the more often that you’re doing it and b) sometimes you’re hesitant to start a session, but once you get into it, it starts to feel good and actually easy.
Hope that helps! Happy journaling!