Keeping a journal has always been something that I’ve done without knowing its true benefits. It has impacted my adult life for the better. I can’t lie, I’m not always the best at keeping up with my journal. When I don’t I definitely feel more anxious and overwhelmed.
Journaling serves a different purpose for everyone. For instance, you can write in your journal to document your life over the years, or to hold yourself accountable. It is easy to lose sight of your goals, passions, or simple to-do lists. Keeping a journal helps me keep track of my life. Here is a list of reasons I keep a journal.
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Types of Journals
A journal can be written down or kept digitally. I often jot down ideas and thoughts on my phone using the notes app. There are so many benefits of keeping a journal, but before we get into those I wanted to share different types of journals. I found a total of 17 different types, but here are a few that stood out to me.
- Bullet Journal – Ryder Carrol developed this method of journaling. It helps organize schedules, reminders, to-do lists, and brainstorming in one notebook.
- Food Journal: This comes in handy if you are trying to lose weight, or if you have allergies or health issues.
- Gratitude Journal: Once a week I write down three things I am grateful for and how these 3 things make my life better.
- Idea Journal: This is great for all my creatives out there. Those ideas can leave just as quickly as they pop into your head.
Related: 20 Ways to Practice Self-Care
Accountability
Holding yourself accountable can be quite a challenge. Accountability is all about making conscious choices and decisions with everything that you do. Keeping a journal is beneficial for holding yourself accountable in so many ways and for so many things like working out or setting goals.
Organization
I struggle with this one all the time because I am very forgetful. It is hard for me to stay organized especially when my plate begins to fill up. Keeping a journal has helped me stay organized and less overwhelmed. However, this will get real messy real quick. This is when a bullet journal can be beneficial.
Keeping A Journal Inspires Creativity
Journals are perfect for writing down your ideas. If you see something that sparks an idea or concept, you don’t want to lose that thought. As a content creator I am constantly thinking of new ideas. Writing them down quickly allows me to keep the idea fresh in my mind. Then later I can begin to develop the idea into a concept.
Set & Achieve Goals
A lot of us are visual learners and for me, this is one of the biggest benefits of keeping a journal. When I write down the goals I have set for myself they become tangible. Take some time to write down a few goals and the resources you need to successfully achieve them.
I have separate pages for both short-term and long-term goals. On each page I write down my goal, an action plan, and the purpose of this goal. It is important to always write down your why because this is the driving force for your goals.
Self-Reflection
For me, journaling is a way to keep my thoughts contained and organized. I like to write down my thoughts and ideas when I am feeling overwhelmed or anxious. It’s also pretty amazing to look back on hard times that I thought I’d never get through. Seeing how far I’ve come and how much I’ve grown makes all the struggles worth it.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post. Do you keep a journal if so, how has it helped you? Let me know down below!
xx,
Brianna