Why You Should Keep a Journal & The Best Way To Get Started

Science-based Tips to Create a Successful, Consistent, Happy, and Fun Journal.

Apr 17, 2022

You have been told that journaling is really beneficial and it has helped many people track their goals and thoughts, yet you have been procrastinating on testing it out for different reasons, Right?

Well, you’re not alone, I’ve been thinking the same way before until I decided to actually give it a try and see if I can gain anything out of it. After sticking to the habit of journaling for more than 15 months, I can tell you that it can be a game-changer ONLY if you do it the right way.

In this article, we’re going to dig into exploring what scientific research reveals about the benefits of journaling, along with the best ways to create a successful journaling habit. At the end of this article, I am going to share with you how I keep my journal and why this way has succeeded for me all to give you some inspiration for starting your journals today.

🤷Why Journaling??!!

Journaling is the habit of keeping a diary about experiences, ideas, insights, and anything else that life evokes in our minds. Journaling is a simple activity that has an outsized return when practiced regularly. It’s been shown to have significant mental and physical health benefits and to improve a person’s overall quality of life. Here are the 5 science-based benefits of journaling:

1. 🧠 Better mental health

We have pointed about in previous articles that journaling can be helpful for dealing with stress. In fact, countless studies show that frequent journal writing can lead to decreased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Some studies show that journaling can be as effective as CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).

When you put your emotions down on paper or a computer, it helps you release the negative thoughts from your mind that cause you anxiety and depression. Journals get out your bad emotions like anger, hate, and sadness. It is probably the healthiest and safest way to release your emotions without hurting other people’s emotions.

2. 🦸‍♀️Better physical health

Journaling has also been shown to increase overall immune function and reduce your chance of sickness, which may come as a surprise. According to researchers Karen A. Baikie and Kay Wilhelm, participants who journaled for 20 minutes 3-5 times each day found the following benefits:

Fewer stress-related visits to the doctor
Improved immune system functioning
Reduced blood pressure
Improved lung function
Improved liver function

3. 🎯Better track of your goals

Several studies show that we are more likely to remember our goals if we write them down. Keeping a journal will keep track of your intentions and goals. This way your journal works as a reminder of what you need to accomplish and what it is you actually want to do, which ultimately gives you more clarity and focus.

4. 😌Better self-esteem and self-confidence

Your writing is a space for you to talk to your inner self as your journals belong to no one else but you. This is the safest space to talk truly to yourself and to totally be your authentic, real, vulnerable self because no one is there to judge you for anything.

Seeing your progress can also give you a serious confidence boost. You can feel proud looking back at the challenges you faced and seeing how far you’ve come.

5. ✍️Improve your writing and communication abilities

Writing, like everything else, gets better with practice. Every day, you practice the art of writing by keeping a journal. Using a notebook or an app to convey your thoughts and ideas will also help you enhance your overall communication abilities.

💫 How I keep my journals

Journals, to me at least, don’t mean to write about all the events that happened to you in your day as it’s most of the time a waste of time. With that being said, it’s been proven that writing down the little wins in your day can be a really good tool for better gratitude practice. So that was something I kept in mind when doing my journals.

There are many different types of journaling; dream journal, food journal, fitness journal, travel journal, and so forth. In my journals, I only focus on implementing three types of journals that I think get me the most value. These types are the gratitude journal, the planning & to-do list journal, and the reflecting journal.

I’ve tried many different ways to keep my journal but found Notion to be the best and most effective tool where I can keep regular and structured journals. It does not matter though how you keep your journal. What matter is that you find a way that works best for you. The ultimate goal is to make the habit of journaling as easy as possible so that you stick with it long enough.

In the beginning, I tried so hard to stick to this habit every day, and I mostly succeeded. However, later down the line, I found it much more efficient to journal when I get to a point where my tranquility is disturbed at least for the reflecting journal. Although I try to do my gratitude journal and planning journal as often as possible.

The 3 struggles with journaling & how I deal with them

The biggest 3 struggles that you will face when keeping a journal are:

Trying to write down all of your day’s details.
Don’t know what to write about.
Find it too hard to be consistent.

The best solution for the first and second struggles is to create a journaling template where you have some specific questions that are adequate to empty the thoughts in your mind. These few questions cover the three areas that I’ve talked about (gratitude, planning, and reflecting).

In fact, I have two journaling templates; a morning template and an evening template to give better and more relevant questions depending on when I’m writing the journal.

Link to the template

The best solution that I found for the third struggle was to track the habit of journaling daily in my habit tracker template, which reminds me of my journals as well as gives me a sense of satisfaction when I uncheck the boxes after writing my journals.

Explaining My Journal Database in Notion

📍Conclusion

Now, I dare say that journaling is one of the most important things to do in your life. If done effectively, it will defiantly change everything in your life for the better.

No matter which type of journal you decide to keep, remember there is no right or wrong approach. It’s all up to you. The simple act of taking the time to get in touch with your mind, body, and spirit is what’s truly important.

The Notion template might work for you and might not, so find the best way that makes you stick to this habit long enough. Finally, don’t let perfect become the enemy of good. Your journal doesn’t have to be brimming with profound thoughts and experiences, so try to separate your urge to edit from your desire to write.

If you need any help with setting up your journal in notion, feel free to leave me a dm on Instagram or Twitter.