Why You Should Keep A Journal
My goal at the start of this year was to journal every day. I’ve always heard of its benefits and I like the thought of having a document of my life happenings, and to be able to have chapters of my life to read back on. One of my friend’s dad has kept a journal every year, for over 20 years! Even before she was born. How cool is that! He writes in it everyday and my friend sometimes reads his journals, like she can read about the day she was born and how he felt and all the small details of the day before the birth. Isn’t that just amazing?
In the past, I would buy a fresh one at the start of the year with full intention to write in it every day, but I find that it becomes neglected and ends up being mostly blank at the end of the year.
I told myself that this year was going to be different. And so far it has been. I’ve probably written in it almost every day so far (sans the whole month of June. I don’t know what happened there haha). I also think that being mostly indoors this year due to Covid-19 had given me extra time and motivation to write in it. I just tell myself that it would be cool for future Joan to read back on, like what did I do on that particular day during my early twenties, and read about my thoughts and feelings about online university, people, news and other random stuff, and how exactly did I spend my 24 hour day during the Global pandemic.
I’ve been recommending journaling/diary entry writing to my friends because I’ve enjoyed it, especially reading back on some of my favourite days, or just reading about a random day can bring so much joy.
If I haven’t convinced you by now to start journaling regularly, I have some actual scientific facts to convince you why you should write in one:
Increase IQ & EQ
Increases mindfulness
Improves your memory
Improves confidence
Inspires creativity
Reduces stress, improves your mental health
Strengthens the immune system - idk the correlation here haha
Improves cognitive functioning/problem solving
Improves your writing and communication skills
Helps you achieve your goals
More on it here: link
My 10 Tips for journaling:
My A5 Milligram Non Diary - with dates and lines
Buy a journal with dates in it already, so it will motivate you to write in everyday. I use the Milligram non diary, it doubles as a planner as well. I also recommend buying a good quality one like the Moleskine, it will motivate you to write in it everyday.
Choose a time of the day to write in it - at the end of the day, or as soon as you wake up. It will become a habit. Make an alarm or reminder if you need to.
Try to write anything. I mean anything. This one is hard for me because it takes so much energy for me to physically pick up a pen because I procrastinate so much.
Write about what happened in the day, your thoughts and feelings, decisions, choices, news, reflections, fears, worries, struggles. Putting them into words can clear your mind.
Write in it as you will never share it with anyone. It is just for you. If you write with the intention of sharing it in the future, you will write in a different tone and you will not write authentically and honestly.
Prompts - If you don’t know what to write: 3 things you’re grateful for, 3 things you are looking forward to, something that is on your bucket list. Or just google one haha there’s plenty.
Keep a section at the back of your journal to document your happy moments of the year - It is similar to the ‘Happiness Jar’. concept (@velljko on TikTok). When something really good happens in your life, write a little note of it and date it. At the end of the year, you can have a read on all the amazing happy moments of the year. You would’ve probably forgotten most of it, and reading them back will help you remember it again. I think this is so important because it wires your mind to look for the happy things in your life. When your friend said something funny, do something exciting, meet something new. etc
If you did nothing, write that you did nothing. Or if all you did was watched Netflix all day, just write one sentence saying ‘I watched Friends on Netflix today’. Just that one simple sentence. Trust me it will be so worth it to look back on in a few years time. Don’t put pressure on yourself to fill a whole page. Sometimes your day is spent just doing nothing and that’s fine. Your everyday mundane life will be so special to look back on because your ‘every day’ day will change in the future as you age.
It doesn’t have to be neat and tidy. At first, my diary was written in only black ink, using that one specific pen. But now its blue, green, black ink with sticky notes, drawings and random sheets of paper in it. I think that’s how it should be.
If you need to write in your journal, but you don’t have it with you physically, you can write it on your phone notes, and transfer it over when you can.
Do you journal? Let me know why or why not? Have you found it useful?