Thoughts are fleeting, time passes by too fast, and moments are difficult to trace back. The idea of recording them all in a journal is part of your mindfulness as you go on with your day-to-day life.
Others see journaling as a tool to strengthen one’s mental health. Writing down thoughts or ideas has become their therapy for anxiety, stress, depression, and other emotional baggage.
Academicians, business people, and scientists also use a journal for self improvement or to track their creative thoughts, strategic plans and record the progression in their discoveries.
For ordinary persons, they may see journaling as a daunting task. However, this is not true. Since journaling is a personal activity, then anyone can do it.
Writing a journal applies to everyone. Since pens, paper, and writing apps are now widely available, journaling should be everyone’s interest.
Journaling is not merely wasting time documenting or writing the ins and outs and the humdrum of our daily existence. Journaling brings many benefits. It enhances our memory, improves our writing and communication skills, calms our troubled minds, and helps us organize our life.
You can do journaling any time of the day. As long as you can find time to do it, you can write your journal anywhere–inside your room, during your work break, or even while waiting for your bus ride. Just be ready to set aside a few minutes of your day to sit down and take control of your thoughts and feelings at the moment.
You will find immense purpose and meaning in writing a journal. In this way, you will become more mature and responsible with what you want to do with your life.
The journal will be your coach, a mirror, or a springboard for your personal development. Rereading your journal will also give you a different kind of joy and nostalgia. It will help you develop your self-knowledge and eventually propel your career and other life goals in life.
You can write anything in your journal. It can be about your goals in life, a thankful note, or simply your stream of consciousness. And you don’t need to be a proficient writer to do it. You need to write it either in a physical journal or on your smartphone apps. As long as you keep track of what you are doing, thinking, or feeling at the moment, then you are on your way to journaling.
Writing a journal is a personal effort, so it is up to you whether you want to let others or the entire world know about it. It’s entirely up to you how you are going to do with it. You can even publish and earn from it if you desire it. However, it is also best to show its portion if you are obliged to do it.
For example, singer-composer Taylor Swift used her old journal entries to complement her special album Lover. Helen Keller, Leonardo da Vinci, Anne Frank, and Albert Einstein were other famous people who kept journals.
Journaling serves as a cathartic experience that can lead to other more significant things in your life. It is a liberating experience. Let your inner thoughts run free, and catch them in paper or apps is a beautiful thing you can gift to yourself.
Best journaling tips
Use a real journal
Don’t kid yourself. You can afford to buy an actual journal if you are serious about starting this. A leather-bound journal doesn’t cost much.
There is a different experience in writing your words on paper and smell the ink or see how your pen glide as you put down your thoughts into words (and tear the pages afterward, if you feel like doing it). Not to mention, writing in an actual journal will also give you a necessary and healthful break from a computer or mobile screen. You can also scan or keep your journal in digital storage for your other private use for posterity.
Find a schedule
Set a time for your journaling activity, no matter how busy your day is. You can set your alarm clock and allow at least five to ten minutes for you to pick your journal and write. It could be in between your lunch, before your bedtime, or right after you wake up in the morning.
You might find this a bit silly and inconvenient at first, but remember you decided on this already! Be accountable to yourself.
Write for yourself
The journal is yours and yours alone. Do not think much about how you are going to do with it. Write freely, randomly if you want, with no thoughts of grammar or editing apps. You can doodle, draw, sketch or even stick a photo in between your journal entries.
Journaling is not an activity to impress other people. It is not a time to ask the opinions of others. Be honest with yourself, look inwardly, and write. You can start small and simple.
Do not put pressure on the number of words you write because journaling is not like book writing.
The essential thing is you can arrive at your goal: that is, journaling your thoughts, feelings, or ideas at the moment.
Keep it up!
There is a short-term and long-term goal in journaling that will not reveal itself the moment you are doing it. If you feel like you want to keep track of your entire life while you are still around, keep journaling.
Journaling serves you well over a long period.
The moment you look back and read your old journals, you feel a mighty change in your inner self. Whether you gain new insights from your former life or learn better from the process of writing down your thoughts, journaling will always serve you best!