I Recommend You Try: Writing a Journal

You may say “it’s a waste of time” or “journalling isn’t for me” or “who would be interested in reading?” but these miss the point of keeping a journal.

I took up journalling two years ago and write a few times each week. With the habit now established, I enjoy it.

Here are six reasons to consider about writing your own journal:

Doesn’t take long

My life is busy and there isn’t enough time to write. This was one part my thinking in the years prior to 2022, when I did start to write my own journal.

Now that my routine is settled, I write for about fifteen minutes each time. This is enough to get down what’s been going through my head and is about the right time for a coffee break. With my notebook and fountain pen in hand, I get away from my desk, phone, and computer.

I write rather than type my journal. It’s quicker for me because I can quickly scratch out a badly chosen word and replace it. If I typed, I could go back and overwrite it, but I would also rephrase things, move sentences around, etc., which would take a lot longer.

That kind of perfection isn’t necessary if I am the only person who will see it. So, I enjoy writing by hand.

Flexible

I don’t write every day, and when I write I don’t keep to the same time of day, and the amount of time I spend varies, too.

Journalling isn’t a task I tick off my to-do list. It fits with me and my schedule, where I’m at, and the time I make available.

In a busy week, I may not write for several days. But if there’s a lot to process through my head, I may write frequently, even several times in the day and for a few minutes each time.

In a quiet week, the same may happen. Thus, journalling fits for me, is not a chore, and is not going to be seen, reviewed or rated by anyone else.

Great for reflecting

This is the aspect of my journal that I rate most highly. Like most people, I mull over the events and experiences of the day, week or month.

Then I then about various aspects in my journal. Writing gives form to my thoughts, emotions, and questions. I find writing helps me to put things in order.

As I reflect, the way I think changes, too. An idea or model, or a set of feelings or emotions, or questions I need answers to, become refined and improved as I think and write, and then think and write again.

Record thoughts, emotions etc

Unless we maintain a diary, or keep a document with the date of a key event, it can be tough to remember when something took place.

Two weeks ago, might have really been two months. What felt like last year may have been much further in the past. Such is the pace that our lives move forward.

Such a diary or document may not have captured everything we want to look back on. The day, time, where and who is typical. And with a document, maybe what was discussed and agreed.

But how we felt at the time, and the thoughts running though our minds back then won’t be recorded. Nor how we processed these things.

Should we ever revisit a journal entry, it’s likely that these additional pieces will be there. The value they hold for us can only be judged as the occasion arises.

Useful for processing

We don’t always know why we react to certain words spoken or situations experienced. Reactions are often quite strong and negative, and need careful handling.

These reactions might hurt us and others, both physically and emotionally.

A response, on the other hand, will be better -thought through, measured, balanced. Designed to achieve the best outcome.

Journalling helps achieve this by giving us a means to process. It’s like a conversation with yourself where you talk about why and how and then consider perspectives other than your initial reaction. Then we might seek to understand why something had the impact it did, and what a reasonable (or better) response might be.

Helps, in many ways

For me, a few minutes taken as and when needed to journal makes total sense now.

I don’t write every day and am often surprised when I haven’t written for four or five days. It didn’t feel that long.

Similarly, there are times when I feel the need to write and get my thoughts down, and to question my motives, and understand why something triggered an unexpected emotion.

My journal is now an essential part of my week. I rarely reread it. I just don’t write for that reason. But I find that I remember things better than before.

In conclusion

I don’t include everything in my journal, such as what I ate last night. I don’t write about everything experienced in a day, just what has remained in my head that I feel is important. These are what I want to give more attention to.

Despite no-one else seeing what I wrote, there is a point to it. Journalling gives me points of reference and time to process that I never took before.

Will you try it for a few weeks and let me know how you get on? Oh, and if you want tips on how to journal, just ask!