Hello, this is Asato and I recently call myself “a life coach with a journal”. Thank you very much for visiting my website “minimalish life”. I write about anything related to planning, journaling and stationery.
I am excited to share with you that the 4th year of journaling workshops in Kigali, Rwanda has just started. In this article, I want to share a little bit about the major activity I’ve been enjoying in the past 3 years.
Journaling workshop in Kigali
I host journaling workshops in Kigali, Rwanda. We get together at cosy cafes, and pull out our notebook and pen. Then, we simply open the book and write individually. It is such a beautiful mix of socializing but also creating space to reflect on ourselves. It’s actually great for introverted people like myself!
Though I call it a “journaling workshop”, I always think of this as a “monthly journaling club”, where everyone enjoys writing.
Bonus point, I really love switching up the venue so we get to explore various cafes in Kigali, Rwanda. I really appreciate it when the participants say “I didn’t know about this place but it is beautiful!” or “Coming to this workshop allows me to discover new places!”.
Another bonus point, I really love secretly checking on your stationeries, especially for the nice notebooks. Well, I may not be that “Secretly” but even ask which brands because I am a serious stationery lover.
How it all started
Just to give you a background, it all started when I became a mother of our boy. I was in the midst of figuring out how to balance my new adventure of motherhood and my responsibilities for my day job.
Then I noticed, I have no time to take care of myself. I also felt so-called “mama guilt” to do something for myself, while leaving the baby to someone else.
On the other hand, I instinctively noticed I do need some time for myself, to keep me sane. To keep me “me”, not just a “mama” or an “employee”.
I tried going out and sitting at a pretty cafe by myself, but I quickly noticed it tends to get overwritten by any other duties that come up. So, I decided to make it a true appointment.
I asked 3 of my good friends to join me on Saturday afternoon. We sat at one of my favorite spots, Inzora Rooftop cafe in Kacyiru and tried journaling for an hour. That is how the journey started!
Ever since then, I have hosted two workshops every month. One on weekdays and the other on Saturday. This is to accommodate people with different calendars, but also, to secure 2 hours of solid journaling time for myself.
>> To know about my background, I’ve posted an article sharing about myself!
How it turned out to be
Monthly journaling workshops are happening every month, except for a short maternity leave I took at some point.
It started with my good friends joining me, but then people started bringing other friends. Also, people started finding me through some WhatsApp groups and Instagram. Step by step, the Kigali journaling community started expanding, beyond my acquaintance.
To make it more interesting, a friend offered to collaborate for a yoga & journaling workshop. Another friend proposed to me to host an in-depth life coaching related workshop, which I summed up my courage and started this year.
I’ve hosted year-end reflection workshops, goal setting workshop, work-life balance workshop etc…
Within these three years, I am surprised that I’ve hosted 80+ workshops with 300+ participants! Wow!
I am so blessed with so many encounters and insights I received throughout this journey.
And here we are. The 4th year has just started.
December is a busy month for all of us. But also, it is the time when a lot of reflection is needed.
How did my year go? What did I learn from this year? What do I want to remember from this year? How do I want my 2025 to be?
To secure quality journaling time in the busy season, I offer my very consistent journaling workshop together with another year-end journaling workshop.
I’ve learnt a lot through hosting journaling workshops in 2024, and I cannot wait to see how the 4th year is going to turn out to be!
If you are in Kigali and want to join one of the workshops, please check the latest calendar pinned on my Instagram, and book your spot by simply sending a DM!