Ah keeping a journal is one of my favourite things. I remember the first time that I tried to keep one back in secondary school, I made one entry and I never did it again. I think it was about a girl that I was going out with at the time (how cute right), I looked back at it about a year or so after and I could not stop laughing about how cringe it was.
Since then I have always wanted to keep a journal, but I never kept it up. This is until I was inspired by a university trip to Amsterdam. During this trip we went to see Anne Frank’s Diary. Inspired by her living conditions I bought her diary and was compelled to keep my journal going. I initially tried to write in my journal every day however, after I saw that she didn’t, I no longer felt that pressure.
That is a very very short snippet into the start of my journal journey, but why should you bother keeping one? Here are 5 reasons why I think you should.
1) It’s Fun
Sometimes people tell me about things that have happened in the past and for the life of me I can’t remember. So it is super fun when you can go back and find out what you were doing on a particular day at a particular time.
Like the moment where I wrote something cringe about a previous girlfriend there are loads of funny moments like that captured within your journal.
2) Reflection
On top of it being a fun way to look back, it is also a great way to reflect. At times our thoughts are all in a muddle. As a result, it can be extremely useful to gain clarity by writing our thoughts down.
Some of us do not like looking backwards, but in those tough times when you feel like you haven’t accomplished anything, this journal allows you to go back and realise that you have come so far.
3) Release
Gaining clarity for reflection is great, but on other occasions there are times when you just need to release. Release all that emotion that you are feeling, it could be stress, pain, love, joy, anything.
It can be such a great feeling to release your emotions in a place where every single word that you write will be heard.
4) Keep sharp
This is particularly useful for writers. How do you improve your writing? You keep writing. Yes purposeful practice is the best practice as discussed in my book review of Bounce. However, there are times when you may hit writers block. How do you get out of that? Well you keep writing.
It may not always be great, but it will improve. You will be in a position where you are able to write when needed to. So just write, write, write!
5) Material
The journal also provides you with so much material. You can open up the doors to a plethora of topics, perspectives and emotions. The journal captures all of that raw emotion and it is all there for you to soak up when you are ready. It’s literally a gold mine. This is something I haven’t always taken advantage of, but it is definitely is a huge advantage.
Sooo, now that you have 5 reasons, where and when do you start? My advice is to start now. Even if it is just two sentences, like they say, starting is half of the journey.
In terms of where, I personally use Evernote because I like to be able to write wherever I am. That is whether I’m at home on my laptop or while I’m travelling on my phone. You can also use Microsoft OneNote. I believe that they have now provided the option to use a mobile app as well (This was not available when I started out 7 years ago).
The benefit of doing it digitally is that you always have your phone on you. In addition, you can create back ups so you don’t lose your precious notes.
Another option for those that prefer to write, is to go old school and keep a physical journal. If it works for you I would definitely suggest it, nothing really beats it. As well as the content, you also have your personal pen strokes to add to the authenticity.
If you are looking for a journal, I would definitely recommend Gazelle London. They make amazing African inspired journals. You can check out their website here.
The Relentless Dreamer
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