The world seems to be divided into two camps: those who journal, and those who don’t. Among those who do not journal, or have done it on a consistent basis, the often touted reason is that they feel that most of their experiences are insignificant, or that their lives are highly routine, which makes for boring writing, and even more boring reading. Further, they are likely to claim that their lives are so busy that they really do not have the time to journal. However, there are several benefits that can be realised when we make journaling a daily practice.

 

Journaling Can Take Many Forms

Most people have journaled at various points during the course of their lives, as there are several different types of journaling – though some of them are not what people expect. For example, and at some time or other, we may have kept a food journal, or fitness journal, or even a to-do list, which help us to not only keep track of, but also recall, what we have eaten, or our workouts, or the tasks we need to complete.

When we broaden our view of what a journal can be, it is likely to be seen as something far more utilitarian, and not so ‘airy-fairy’. Once again, some examples are:

• a gratitude journal, to help us remember the many blessings we experience on a daily basis;
• a dream journal, in which to take notes of our dreams, and to begin to tap in to the subconscious messages within them;
• a stream of conscious journal, in which to offload all thoughts and feelings that come to us, regardless of whether or not they make sense;
• a daily recap journal, which is the one we typically think of as journaling, and where we jot down our experiences or other occurrences that happened throughout a day
• a goals journal, in which goals that should be achieved within a specific time period – days, week, months, years – along with the plans and strategies to achieve them are also documented and tracked.

However, it is important to emphasise that a journal does not have to conform to any single specific type. Instead, it can serve multiple functions, to suit the needs of its owner.

 

The Benefits Of Journaling

First, be it the lowly to-do list, the dream journal, the daily recap journal, or even the more sophisticated stream of conscious journal, all of these options provide us with a medium through which to document our thoughts and/or experiences. Essentially, we no longer need to keep everything in our head, as we either will forget some experiences, thoughts and ideas completely, or over time, we will not be able to recall them in great detail.

Second, and although a lot of us women might depend on the people in our lives, such as our girlfriends, to be our sounding boards, ‘voice of reason’, etc., with the busy lives we are all living these days, having those intimate and in-depth conversations may not always be possible. Further, and It happens more often that we would like to believe, many of us are dealing with situations that we have not shared with our closest friends – relationship problems, health issues, family issues, to name just a few. Sometimes, and even with our closest friends and confidantes, some things are just too private, and/or we fear being judged, so we keep our own counsel. But that can be extremely lonely and stressful, as we have no outlet for all of the thoughts and feelings that are rolling around inside us.

In offloading into a journal, we have an opportunity to organise them, and to unpack them over a period of time. For example, should we, or someone in our circle, be experiencing a traumatic situation, we may not have the time, nor might we be in the headspace to properly process what is happening. However, journaling may offer a safe space in which to express the thoughts and feelings that we might not (yet) be prepared to share with others.

More importantly, and at a later date, having a journal can be invaluable in allowing us to review and revisit our early thoughts and feelings on a matter – especially after the dust has settled. Again, noting that some of the detail will be lost over time, our journal entries can remind us of the breadth and depth of what we were experiencing, and not what we can recall several days, weeks, months or years later.

Third and in the realm of productivity, and with 2022 imminent, over the next few weeks, we are likely to be setting some goals for the new year, or recommitting to our Life Plan. Documenting our goals, and thereafter tracking them, can not only make us more accountable, but also serve as a reminder to keep us going. Even the no-frills to-do list does the same thing. We jot down our to-dos, that is the tasks or activities that we would like to complete, and refer back to list on a regular basis to be reminded of those tasks, and to keep us on track.

Finally, and just noting how stressful our lives can be, and more so when we are grappling with challenging situations, journaling can be a way to reduce stress and anxiety, which can affect our bodies in a multitude of ways, in addition to compromising our emotional and mental wellbeing. Studies have shown that journaling not only improves our emotional wellbeing, it also can boost our immunity and decrease our risk of illness, especially over the long-term.

 

Wrapping Things Up

In summary, with the fast pace of our lives, many of us are just trying to keep up. Days are a blur, and we can just about remember our name – most days. It is easy for us to be perpetually busy, but not be able to recall what we did days, weeks or months ago. Being able to keep some kind of record can help us account for how we have been spending our time.

Further, and perhaps more importantly, we cannot really process all of the experiences that we are having in real time, and they may either end up forgotten or overshadowed by new situations. However, over time, a lot of unaddressed issues may start to bubble up, seemingly from nowhere, that we now need to process; but we may not even know where to start to identify the source. Having some kind of journal can be instrumental in providing clues to long-forgotten situations that may still be affecting us, but which we can now properly address, in order to make peace with them and to move forward.

 

 

Image: Mathilde Langevin (Unsplash)