Journals of Joy
A collection of stories and reflections on living with intention in a digital world. From classrooms to communities, these voices share what it means to choose joy over distraction.
Discover stories that inspire balance, purpose, and digital well-being.
Six Ways to Tackle Senioritis
Senior year shouldn’t end in autopilot mode. This article offers six doable strategies to combat senioritis—boost motivation, manage screens, stay connected, and make your final months count.
Less Stress, More Joy: 3 Tips for Busy Students
October always feels full. When our phones buzz and assignments pile up, it’s easy to forget how we’re actually feeling. Slowing down a little — noticing your body, your people, your needs — helps reduce stress and opens the door to more joy. Here are three simple practices to bring balance back: mindfulness, connection, and movement.
Helping Students Build Focus and Attention Through Small Daily Habits
Inside the JOMO curriculum, practices like habit-stacking, purposeful pauses, and playful transitions are woven into everyday lessons. By linking micro-shifts—such as a two-minute stretch before class or a quick brain-break game—to existing routines, students move from distraction to presence and build attention one small step at a time.
Redefining Belonging: Wrestling with Social Imposter Syndrome
Feeling present but not quite accepted. In this honest reflection, Katie revisits her high-school journey through social imposter syndrome — letting go of the picture-perfect mold, embracing her unique interests, and discovering belonging in unexpected places. Redefining belonging began with leaning into who she is, not who she thought she should be.
From Phones to Freedom: Starting the School Year with Joyful Device Boundaries
Device policies aren’t just about removing distractions — they build the space for presence, connection and joy to flourish. As the school year begins, setting boundaries around our devices becomes an invitation to deeper focus, richer relationships and freedom from constant screen pull.
How to optimize your “Senior Season”
Whether it’s your last year at school or you’re stepping into unknown territory as a new senior, you’ve got one of the busiest — and most meaningful — chapters ahead. From grad trips to part-time jobs, from capturing everyday moments to embracing leadership roles, this is your moment. Don’t just survive senior-year chaos: lean in intentionally, say yes, try new things, and preserve the memories. Senior Season? Optimized.
What I Wish I Knew Before Starting a New School Year
Starting something new can feel overwhelming—new routines, new people, all the new unknowns. Instead of isolating, lean into it: be present in the early days, build supportive routines, set clear goals, and let the journey show who you are. You’re not alone in how you feel, and you don’t need to have it all figured out on day one
Back In The Good Old Days: The Return of the Phone Free Summer Break
Instead of letting screens steal our days, this summer invites us back to game nights, backyard baking, and campfire s’mores. A bucket list of real-life memories gives us new goals—not just scrolling habits. Let’s unplug from algorithms, rediscover boredom as creative fuel, and leave the season with joy, connection and stories worth telling.”
Rewriting My Summer: A Case for Curiosity (and Putting Your Phone Down)
Instead of letting screens take our summer days, we made one simple rule: try things we’ve never done and switch off the notifications. We rediscovered our communities, embraced new adventures and proved that our city (and our summer) had far more to offer when we were fully present.
Want to Curb Tech Overuse? Start with Belonging.
Senior year shouldn’t end in autopilot mode. This article offers six doable strategies to combat senioritis—boost motivation, manage screens, stay connected, and make your final months count.
The Tides Are Turning: Reflections on the Phone-Free School Movement in the UK
With youth well-being in steep decline, phone-free school policies are quietly shifting from fringe idea to foundational strategy. Across schools in New Zealand, the UK, Canada and the U.S., communities are reclaiming real-life presence and connection—letting young people talk, laugh and simply be without screens. The tides are turning.
The Future of Digital Wellness Starts with Student Leadership
Young people aren’t just the recipients of digital-wellness programs — they’re the architects. When students step into leadership, they shape the culture, set the pace, and create real change. The future of digital wellness begins with empowering them to lead.
The Joy of Missing Out: A Movement Rooted in Freedom and Presence
There is a quiet revolution unfolding — a movement toward reclaiming time, attention, and the fullness of life beyond the screen. Called the Joy of Missing Out (JOMO), it isn’t about rejecting technology; it’s about choosing what truly matters: meaningful relationships, quiet mornings, and presence over perpetual connection. Opting into real life is a subtle act of freedom in a world built to keep you scrolling.
Welcome to Converge 2025!
We’re excited to share more about JOMO’s mission—because in a world of constant digital noise, we believe in reclaiming the Joy of Missing Out. Whether you’re a student, parent, educator, or faith leader, the way we engage with technology isn’t just a cultural question—it’s a spiritual one. Discover how we’re equipping communities with tools for digital-wellness, presence, and intentional living.
Limited-Time Offer! Free Digital Declutter Webinar
Tired of your phone and laptop running you? Join us for a free Digital Declutter Webinar where we’ll help you tidy up your digital space, create healthier screen-time boundaries, and reclaim focus and clarity. Organize your devices, streamline your social media and email, and make technology work for your life instead of controlling it.
Embracing the 'Joy of Missing Out' This Holiday Season
This holiday season, choose presence over pressure. Instead of chasing every event and feeling obliged to be everywhere, embrace the freedom of missing out—on overload, on comparison, on endless scrolling. Create the space to connect, rest, and rediscover real joy in what truly matters.
Shifting the Focus: Embracing 'Joy Over Shame' in School Technology Use
What if, instead of focused on the shame around technology, our schools emphasized the joy of presence, real connection and choice? By helping students use devices thoughtfully—not because tech is bad, but because life-off-screen matters—we empower culture change built on freedom, not guilt.
The Power of Balance: Embracing Real Connections in a Digital World
In our tech-filled world, screens and social media offer endless connection—yet too much can leave young people feeling isolated, anxious and disconnected from themselves. The goal isn’t to ditch technology entirely, but to rediscover balance. By choosing presence over distraction, unplugging with intention and investing in real-world relationships, students gain the freedom to engage fully in the life around them.
Digital Well-Being for All: CSI x JOMO(campus)
Together with CSI, we’re launching a five-part virtual series to empower schools, families and students toward healthier digital habits. In a time when screen overload is the new norm, this collaboration gives us a chance to build presence, community and intentional tech use—not just in classrooms but across homes and school culture.
Phone-free Schools are Only the First Step
Making schools phone-free is a strong start — but it’s just the beginning of building a culture of digital wellness. True change comes when students, teachers and families embrace deeper agency, purpose, and intention—beyond simply banning devices.
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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.