Thinking of starting a Journal?
By: Sarah Shams
Tags: Writing, Progress, Journal, Problem Solving, Therapy

Why do you think you should start writing a journal? What made you come up with this idea? Let me guess. Maybe you want to discover new things. Maybe you want to be remembered by your loved ones or even the upcoming generation — because you might die a legend (who knows, right?). Maybe you are just a pragmatic person and you want to make use of your creative self by writing down your emotions and your perception towards life. Or maybe you just want to declutter your mind. Maybe you have some other reasons. Whatever your reason might be, it was very wise of you to think of keeping a journal. Even the greatest minds from all generations kept a journal, eminent people like Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Frida Kahlo, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Frederick Douglas and the list goes on.

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart” — William Wordsworth

Why should you start writing a journal?

Simple. Because it is therapeutic.

Journals are the cheapest way of therapy. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you start writing journals and disclose it yourself? I promise that it will be worthwhile.

There are various other benefits of writing a journal, but I have picked these following five usefulness for you readers:

Clears your mind: When you bring everything that is inside your head down on paper(or the screen), you de-junk your mind and release the negative thoughts. You can write about everything that’s happening with you, the thoughts you are getting, the goals you are longing to accomplish. The best part is — your journal will never judge or interrupt you. It will remain as private as you can keep it. Getting rid of all those mental rubbish also helps you to focus and boosts your creativity. Also, you get to know yourself better.

Helps in problem solving: Journal writing will help you solve your problems more easily. When you note down everything wrong happening with you, it helps you to understand and clarify your problems and makes you concentrate in finding a solution, just like sharing your problems with your friend, makes you feel more relieved and reduces your stress.

Tracks your progress: By writing a journal, you become aware of your intentions, ideas and goals. It shows you the changes you have been through. It also keeps reminding you of your raison d’être and motivates you to achieve your holy grail. Not only that, journals can also help you establish future goals.

Heals your body: Do you think that you are suffering from an eating disorder? Track it down. Make a note of what you’ve eaten through the day and do you need to eat more or add more nutrients to your diet. Do you think you need to become more fit? Note down your work-outs, keep a track of how many miles you run everyday. This will help you catch sight of your improvement. This also offers you an insight of some bad habits that need changing.

Improves your writing skill: Writers like Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Path, Ralph Waldo Emerson and many more kept diaries or journals. Having a routine of writing everyday, even if it is for a few minutes, makes you a better writer and this amelioration is inevitable. You will come across hundreds of new words and even discover your inner creative self that you were unknown to.

Now that you have made up your mind to start writing a journal, you must be thinking where to jot down your thoughts and which medium would be perfect for you. Let me help.

There are plenty of options but what works for one person, does not work for another. Here are a few options, choose for yourself, by yourself.

Paper notebook: If you are the “reject modernity, embrace tradition” type of person, if you prefer paper over screen and pen over keyboard, then a paper notebook is perfect for you. Just open up the page and write down whatever is inside your head. You will love that feeling when you go through the pages after you complete the notebook. The only disadvantage is that if you lose it once, it’s gone forever since notebooks don’t have back-up notebooks.

Journal Apps: Using a Journal app is the ideal way if you are perturbed about your privacy. Just lock the app and nobody will ever read your journal. There is another advantage — you can open your journal on any device if there is a log-in option. There are thousands of journal apps available, just search and choose one. In my opinion, even the default Notes App of your phone works perfectly fine as a journal.

Blogs: If it doesn’t bother you that other people, strangers can read about your thoughts and feelings, blogging is the best idea. Blogging gives you an audience but you will have to sacrifice your privacy. There are several free options like WordPress and Medium, if you are willing to share your story with the world.

Try journaling, I’m sure that you will become fond of it in no time.