Many of us did this when we were kids. You had that journal that if you went back and read it now, you would probably be so embarrassed by the contents that you would try and find the nearest shredder to be able to deny that it ever existed. Maybe your parents had encouraged you to write a journal, or it was one of those ones you wrote every week at school that your teacher used for writing marks. Either way, it doesn’t dismiss the fact that it is still embarrassing. But why did we stop doing it? For some, it may have been tedious. Some may have wanted to keep a journal but found you were at a loss of what to talk about.
That seems to be the misconception about journaling.
The hobby has taken off over the last two years, especially over the course of 2020. People needed somewhere to vent feelings and thoughts when they couldn’t with friends and family as much as they used to. However, journaling is so much more than that. It can be that traditional space where you write through different experiences. It can be a space where you allow yourself to get creative. Maybe you want a space to help you become more consistent with habits. The concept of journals has expanded to being a space where you use it how and when you want to.
If you use a journal how you want to, studies have shown that there are incredible benefits to journaling, whether the traditional version or your own version of it. Harvard Business conducted a study on journaling and performance markers in a school setting. Researchers found that those who journaled had a 25% increase in performance compared to the control group, who did not journal. Other studies have shown that the reason for this was the reflective nature of traditional journaling. When we experience things, we don’t fully process them while we are in them. When people take time to reflect on experiences, especially ones that may be highly stressful, it can improve psychological health. And, because that reflection was done instead of sitting with it without processing it, it can lead to other things like better sleep and more clear communication with others.
So, maybe you’ve been told that journaling is something beneficial to do but, you’re not sure what you want to do with it. Here are some of the common ways people are journaling.
1. Traditional Journal: if this is new for you, start small with traditional journaling. You can find prompts online that could work for you and put a single line down for each prompt. Starting small makes things sound more achievable and harder to put off or tell yourself you don’t have time to do it. And remember, you don’t have to be incredibly profound in a journal. You don’t have to solve world problems and commit to doing this for the rest of your life.
What to try: Start with one line: say how you feel, something you did, something you are excited about, something you are grateful for, and what is on your mind.
2. Tracking Journal: Maybe you are one of those people that find a blank page incredibly intimidating, as many of us do. Whether is it an assignment, a work project, or something for fun, a blank page seems like too many possibilities. And tracking something could take away some of that stress of too many options. Maybe you’re an avid reader and want to track how much you are reading and the types of books you are reading. It could be the workouts that you want to track better. Maybe a mood or stress tracker. Or, you want to track decisions that you made and their outcomes. Tracking style journaling also helps those who don’t want to write in full sentences. List form journaling makes things easier and feels easier to accomplish.
What to try: Start with something that interests you. If you are interested in how well you are sleeping, start a sleeping tracker. If you are noticing your mood or stress may be fluctuating more, maybe track your mood/stress levels and what is going on during that time.
3. Bullet Journal (BuJo): Also known as the KonMari for racing thoughts, BuJo is about staying organized and staying consistent. You can create a morning or evening routine, start new habits, stay consistent with old habits, and limit distractions. There are many ways you can set up your BuJo; you can use boxes that you colour in or mark off for each task, it can be a simple daily list, or make a mini-calendar for each item you want to track. It is a great way to make it individualized to your aesthetic is and what makes you more likely to use it.
What to try: Start by BuJo-ing (if that’s a word) a single thing. Like traditional journaling, it is important to do a little bit and then add more if you decide to BuJo in the long term.
4. Inspo-Journal: As it sounds, this is just journaling how you want to and about whatever you are inspired by. It can be drawings and doodles, idea dumps, using stickers, washi tape, and stamps to make it creative. This is a great version of journaling if you just want a space where you don’t want to be writing anything or it can be whatever you want.
What to try: Take any book that has blank pages and get creative. There isn’t much of a process to any setup like there may come with the other types of journaling.
We hope this information helps you learn more about journaling! Message us with topics that you would like covered.
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