5 Reasons to Start Keeping a Journal
Keeping a journal is a great idea for everyone, regardless of your age.
There are so many benefits gained from taking a few minutes each day to record your thoughts in a journal. The costs are minimal and the payback is huge.
A journal is a great idea for you and your children and many life coaches require that clients keep journals as part of their success program.
5 reasons to start keeping a journal:
1. Keep a record of your life for yourself
How many times have you tried to remember when some particular incident in your past actually happened? Was it 1994 or 1995? Do you remember the facts differently from others that were involved? Who’s actually right?
If you keep a journal, you’ll have all the dates and facts right there. More importantly, you’ll be given the opportunity to see how your life has progressed.
As we get older, every day seems to blend into the next. We get up, go to work, go home, eat dinner, watch TV, and repeat for 40 years.
By writing down the day-to-day aspects of your life, your life will become more interesting. Just the act of recording will encourage you to live a life you deem worthy of recording. You might add more fun and adventure to your life, just so you can write about it.
It’s possible you might want to pass your journals on to your children at some point. Wouldn’t you like to read about your parents or grandparents?
2. You can record the lives of your children.
Imagine how great it would be to keep a journal while your child is growing up and then give it to her later in life?
You’ll record everything that happened during the years when they are too young to keep a journal themselves. It will also be a great reminder for you.
I created a scrapbook for my daughter that began when she was born and ended with her high school graduation. Some pages are all journaling and some are all photos but it all balances out. It’s a beautiful, photographic record of her life and she absolutely loves it.
3. Journals are great for processing feelings
Things are always a little clearer when we get them out of our heads and down on paper. Everything is a little more objective and realistic.
You might be surprised at what you figure out about yourself if you take the time to keep a journal. Looking back through what you wrote about a difficult situation may help you be better prepared next time you’re going through something similar.
4. Work towards your goals with a journal
A significant part of reaching goals is recording progress and prioritization. By writing about your goals each day, you can continually reaffirm your goals are worth achieving.
How often have you set a goal and then forgotten all about it after a few days or a couple of weeks? If you write it down in a journal, there’s less chance that will happen.
Record the progress you are making towards your goals and make notes about new ideas to move closer to your goals.
When you achieve a goal, you’ll be able to look back and remember how great it felt to accomplish it. The next goal will be even easier.
5. A journal will reduce the amount of stress in your life
Journaling forces you to unplug and focus your mind. Sometimes the best thing for a stressed mind is to turn off the computer and sit quietly with your thoughts.
When you record your challenges, your brain starts looking for solutions. Having a solution to a challenge relieves stress!
Now is a great time to get started keeping a journal for yourself and your children. The benefits are considerable, and it doesn’t have to take more than a few minutes per day. When your children are old enough, encourage them to keep journals as well.
Journaling is a great tool that doesn’t cost much at all. A pen and notebook are the only items required.
JOURNALING SUPPLIES I RECOMMEND
Even though you only need a pen and paper, here are some of my favorite journaling supplies if you want to check them out:
I like to use a few different notebooks for journaling but my favorite is this Leuchtturm1917 Softcover. I prefer the squared pages but you can also get the dot grid, lined, or blank formats.
If you would rather use a spiral binding, these notebooks are the best! I love that they come in a three-pack so I always have an extra one on hand. These are also a squared format but I think they are available in lined and dot-grid too.
To be honest, my go-to pen is a simple, classic black Bic but when I want something a little fancier I use either use these Muji Gel Pens or these Micron Sakura Pigma.
Get creative with your journaling and add some Washi Tape, Stickers, or if you’re artistic you can draw your own doodles.
Sometimes I like to add photos to my journaling and over the years I’ve tried a bunch of different printers. I started out using this Fujifilm Instax Mini but it wasn’t very practical to carry around all the time. Since the quality was so much better when I use my phone for pictures I decided to splurge on the Canon Ivy Mini Printer. It connects directly to my phone through the app and easily prints on 2x3 sticker photo paper that I can add right to my journal page instantly.
I hope today’s post inspires you to pick up your journal and start writing! Here are a few Everyday Journaling Prompts to get you started.
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BEFORE YOU GO:
Here are a few more journaling posts you might like:
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