Journaling - An Exercise To The Brain

Schools restrict the creative thinking abilities of students by limiting their reading and writing skills to academic books. In my preadolescence, I wasn't aware of the fact that writing pertained to so many genres and from which I would fall in love with memoirs and fiction.

I remember the first time I read quotations and excerpts pencilled in my English teacher's diary.

I was amazed at the way it was composed. If he could write I can too, was the instant attitude. But due to a lack of proper guidance in the writing field and no proper resources, I took a step back.

Years passed, and the goal changed to becoming a software engineer. It was in 2017 when I got a chance to get back on the trajectory of love. My first love of communicating with people through stories. I got the chance to write for a college magazine. Although I did it for only a couple of months, the inner spark surfaced. And from then, I started joining different online writing groups and worked on the craft to achieve my goal of becoming a best-selling author. Although there is so much more to achieve, seeking happiness and joy while working on what I love seems to be the real success.

How Did Writing Change My Life?

Reading and writing have changed my perspective on life in so many ways. Sometimes it becomes hard to face the reality, as we live in a technological world where we are dependent mostly on electronic gadgets, be it executing or advancing our work.

With our emotions entwined with these gadgets, we have lost connection with the neural network in our brains. We have started to live a life dependent on our job titles even after knowing that letting out emotions is a requisite to human existence. My biggest fear is not being able to read and write. I would rather choose to die instead of losing my mental ability to read and write. It makes me feel empty and depressed if I don't do this. Reading or writing fuels my mind and ignites my true purpose in life.

Reading fiction helped me in calming my anxieties by taking me into another world of virtues and compositions with whom I can relate and even apply the tactics in my day-to-day life.

Self-help books have made me realize that it's only me who can change myself for the better. And that nothing in this world is worth taking the load.

I believe Memoirs are the best kind of works persisting in written form. As they breathe experiences, ordeals and optimistic behaviour of real people in the hardest of times.

How Writing Can Help You Change Your Life?

Writing has mystic powers as it makes reflective learning better and faster. It helps your brain to subconsciously behave and enact a positive approach letting out raw emotions and enthusiasm.

With plenty of distractions (one of which is social media) ready to pull you away from your passion, writing in any way, be it journaling or notetaking rewires your brain in the most extreme way possible. At times social media can also be a major source of inspiration for trending topics and stories, but it depends on how best you make use of it.

One of the best ways to understand and reflect on yourself is through journaling. It relieves you from stress and helps you take better decisions in life.

Especially expressive writing about past events be it negative or positive has shown to lead to a slew of optimistic developments. As writing frees up the cognitive resources along, it also helps in reducing anxieties and depression. This way brain also develops the physical health of an individual.

Writing while using electronic gadgets can be beneficial but most of them will find more power when jotting down opinions in handwriting. You express better when your thoughts are written down on paper. This also helps you identify stress-inducing impressions and beliefs that are distortions of reality. You begin to notice when you’re in a bad mood or when you go dismal with words like “always” or “never” in describing ordeals.

Benefits of writing regularly

1. Reduces stress
2. Boosts efficiency
3. Coordinates and strengthens brains hemispheres
4. Enhances learning abilities
5. Improves memory power
6. Journaling helps you learn from your experiences.
7. Helps you get more creative
8. Improves communication skills
9. Journaling also helps in moving towards your goals
10. Helps you sleep better
11. Improves mood
12. Changes perspective at times
13. Solves problems
14. Helps you come out of a traumatic event
15. Enhances sense of gratitude
16. Helps you find your voice
17. You can track your self-growth and reflect upon the old you through your writings.

How to begin your journey to journaling?

Journaling for beginners might seem a little arduous task at first. You must do a little research about which technique works for you as there are different types of journaling. If you love art, you can opt for art journaling, letting out your emotions through drawing and painting. If you are a busy person and want to manage your time and improve productivity opt-in for bullet journaling. You can also choose Lynda Barry's list-making journaling or scrapbooking method or even a line-a-day method of journaling.

You can list out daily tasks, brain dump or just let your writing flow without any judgements. All you need to do is keep your expectations realistic and dump whatever comes to your mind in a notebook that speaks to you. What I mean when I say "a notebook that speaks to you" is, to find a notebook or journal that excites you to fill in each day. If you don't want to spend much on journals, start with a notebook or a notepad and get as much creative as you can as you move ahead in your journey.

At first, this might look tiresome or even uneventful but this habit once formed helps you work through your emotions, become self-aware and gain meaningful insights.

What do I use to become productive?

I use my self-earned Samsung S7+ tab (one achievement that I am proud of, will tell you about it if you want to know) to journal in my Samsung notes.

I also use the Day One Android app whenever ideas and thoughts pop up in my mind.

As a mother to a 2-month-old baby boy I cannot carry journals or notes everywhere I go. So, I use my tab to save it all in one place. And I love using S-pen. Plus I can even lock it so that my writings are much safer and secure with me. Because I'm the kind of person who doesn't want anyone to peep through my tasks or mind dump.

Having a secure feeling makes my cognitive responses judgment-free which in turn lets my writing flow like butter. That's how I stay organized and stress-free making time for both household chores and work amidst the unresting hours of the day.?