7 Insightful Reasons Why You Should Keep a Writing Journal

Autobiographies are hewn out of accumulated sediments of daily journals and presented either in form of a compelling documentary movie or an inspiring prose. You don’t need to be a celebrity before you keep a journal. Regular journaling has immense benefits and can positively influence your personal life. If you are a writer, it will go a long way to make a writing genius out of you. Journaling helps you to make daily writing a habit.

Keeping a diary may sound like a tradition for exuberant teenagers who want to chronicle the minutest events of their days. Growing up, I remember how teenagers especially ladies hold on to their dairies tenaciously; they guard it jealously so no one was privy to its details. For diligent diary keepers, a diary serves as a compilation of varying moods and delectable memories. It’s a personal property, it’s their best pal and the one with whom they can share their deepest secrets. 

In 2015, while reading Platform, a book authored by American writer Michael Hyatt, he talked about how he created time in his daily schedule to have a personal meeting with himself. At that time, it sounded weird but I now understand the importance of salvaging a lone time for yourself; the world is noisy, busy and constantly moving at top speed with strategic events meant to distract you. Journaling helps you create a lone time for self-reflection and meditation; this is how creative people recharge. This will help you do more and cover more grounds in no time.

Keeping a daily journal where you write your daily goals, achievements and shortcomings can stimulate your ability to develop focus. Focus means the strength and vigor to concentrate on a task and complete it. To remain highly creative and productive, you need to be focused on your goals. You may never know how daily journaling will increase your focus until you start.

Turning thoughts and memories of the day into words is a product of imagination. Chronicling the peak and low moments of your day makes you relive those experiences. The words in your journal crystallize from pixels of mental pictures and add positively to your imaginative acumen. If you can imagine the past, then you can paint the future.

Journaling opens your eyes to the steps you have made towards achieving your goals; it’s an accelerometer that shows your pace and keeps you in check. When you cultivate the habit of writing a daily journal, you will be able to see your progress along the line of your set goals. Be thankful for the little victories and the seemingly minute triumphs.

Gratitude makes your face the headquarters of joy by dishing out millions of smiles to people; it makes you look good. In her book, Things We Could Not Say, Diet Eman describes journaling as, “this pouring thoughts out on paper has relieved me. I feel better and full of confidence and resolution.” Keeping an attitude of gratitude boosts your self-esteem and helps you build confidence.

• Develop formidable writing habits.
• Help you find your voice.
• Locate your tribe.
• Produce powerful ideas that can fuel other projects.

Ever since I started journaling, I have developed an interesting habit of paying attention to the details of my day. Whenever I am having a random but rare conversation with people, I take notice of such conversations with an intention of getting something meaningful for my journal. They always turn out to be stories that can inspire others or serve as portals of lessons for me in my daily endeavor. When you start journaling, you will have increased sensitivity to your daily interactions.

This is a grand opportunity for you to develop a positive habit – writing. You ultimately become what you consistently do, journaling adds one more positive habit to your list of daily routines. It may be hard and tough at the beginning but it will become easy with time. Journaling will steal some minutes from the hours you waste on social media; it will make you more positive about life and forge ahead with clarity.

How Do I Start Journaling?

• Your most memorable moments of the day.
• Your interesting encounters with people.
• The places you visited especially the ones you visited for the very first time.
• Things you could have done properly or ways you can improve the outcome of your daily output.
• Completion of tasks that got you excited.

In conclusion, I implore you to commence journaling this week and you will be amazed at the stunning outcomes. It will help you steer your life in the right direction and help you become the best version of yourself. You are doing yourself a lot of good and creating a collage of history notebooks for the unborn generation. You have a story and it’s worth sharing with the world. Before you can share it, you must first write it down.