Everyday Life,Goals,Uncategorized

5 Reasons to Journal Daily

posted on : April 14, 2019 posted by : Heather 145 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.

Did you keep a diary when you were a kid? I never did and looking back, I wish I had. Writing down our thoughts, dreams, and struggles is therapeutic. A couple of years ago, I received a journal as a gift. Each page contained a writing prompt. For example, 20 things that make you smile or write a letter to your future or past self. I enjoyed going through the journal and writing on a different topic. Once my journal was full, I simply took a pretty notebook and each morning jotted down some thoughts. It has been a habit for well over a year. Perhaps you have thought about keeping a journal, but not sure what you would get out of it. Here are 5 reasons why it is beneficial to journal.

  • Great way to start the day. Each morning take 5 mins and write down how you want your day to go. Write it as if it has already happened. For example: I woke up early and exercised for 30 mins. I made my to-do list for the day and checked off everything I accomplished yesterday. I went into the office and got through all my e-mail, successfully set up my meetings for next week, and finished making edits to three agreements in my inbox. As you can see, I laid out how I wanted my day to go. By jotting this down, it is in my head and sets my mindset for the day. I am set up for a productive day.
  • Promotes healing. We all have tragedy in our lives. We all have relationships that have gone bad. By writing down your feelings and thoughts about these events, it can start the healing process. It’s not healthy to keep everything bottled up inside, but many of us are not comfortable speaking to someone about our feelings. This makes a great alternative.
  • It helps connect us to our goals and dreams. Do you have a big, scary goal or dream? I do. Actually, I have a couple. One of which is to own a beach house on the North Carolina coast. I have a series of goals to reach in order to achieve this dream. From time to time, I may sway from these goals. In doing so, I am moving further away from achieving my dream. When I journal about, it brings me back to my goals and reinforces my why. I write the entry as if I am already there, owning my beach house. I describe what it looks like, how I feel, who is visiting me, what a typical day on the beach is like. What time do I get up? What is my morning routine? What is my evening routine? Get real descriptive with your writing. The more you can envision this, the harder you will work to stay on course with your goals.
  • Use it as a brain dump. A brain dump is when you take all of your thoughts and put them down on paper. It is everything. It is feelings, emotions, questions, worries and things that you need to do. By putting it all on paper, you are organizing these thoughts outside of your brain. It allows you to take a look at everything and become more organized. Once it is down on paper, you can go back and organize these things into buckets or categories. This may include, work, family, exercise, meal planning, paying bills, school events, self care, friends, etc. Once you have gone through and made different categories, you can use this as a reference as you cross the items off your list. I don’t do this every week, more like once a month, but it works!
  • Self reflection. Journal about how your day or week went. Take a moment to reflect on what went right or what was a struggle. It is important to acknowledge the highs and the lows. It is how we grow as a person.

I hope these tips have been helpful. I would love to hear about your experience with journaling. If you have never journaled before, but would like to start, I am offering to all new subscribers to this blog a FREE PDF checklist of journaling prompts. IN ADDITION, for every 25 subscribers, I will be giving away a journal. Please share with your friends and lets journal together.

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Heather

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145 COMMENTS

  1. Charline forrest | 18th Apr 19

    I like your tips on why to keep a journal. They are precise and to the point.

    • Heather | 18th Apr 19

      Thank you very much. 🙂

  2. Anna | 18th Apr 19

    For me, journaling is a great tool to reflect! I love journaling. It really helps a lot. Thank you for sharing

  3. Ramae Hamrin | 18th Apr 19

    I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to journal! I love to write, but I also like to edit my writing quite a bit, and maybe that’s why I seem stuck. I do believe that journaling is so powerful. Your post is a good reminder for me to get going. Thank you!

  4. Lisa | 18th Apr 19

    I have always kept a journal, kids have made ITV harder I try once a month!

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      It can be a challenge to find the time.

  5. Pauline Reynolds | 18th Apr 19

    Journaling can be very helpful. I recommend it alot of the times as a coping skills or a way to track mental health or illneds symptoms as a way to communicate with a provider.

  6. Karla | 18th Apr 19

    I have kept journals and diaries through different periods of my life and for all the reasons you gave us. The past decade or so, Facebook has been my unofficial journal. After being a foster parent for so many years, there are not many things that is not public knowledge (constant social workers, home visits, etc). I have a VERY strong and supportive community and family and Facebook has been my way of putting my days out their so they know what to help me celebrate, what to help with, when I need extra attention (or one of the kids), and just to generally support my mission. I share the good, the bad and the ugly.
    One way I AM journaling now, though is through helping my kids journal in some form. Most of my kids come from trauma and neglect and because of constant crisis, they hate school… they often are far behind and they hate to write. So…. they roll their eyes when I suggest journaling. But I’ve managed to get some of the kids, over the years to mom/child journal with me. We write notes back and forth in the journal, about our days, thinks we think or dream of, and sometimes, moments of sharing things that are too hard to say out loud. Or they draw, or doodle, or just make emojis to describe their day. It’s powerful!

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      Amazing! Thank you for sharing this. I have enjoyed reading along on your blog.

  7. Carolina | 18th Apr 19

    I used to journal a lot when I was younger and then I stopped. This year I decided to start a journal again, only this time is a gratitude journal. I write every day 5 things that I am thankful for. It helps me to stay focus on God and His goodness, to be more positive and to be grateful. I love all your reasons on why to journal. Thanks for sharing.

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      Yes, writing down what we are grateful for is important. It reminds us that life is good.

  8. Lina | 18th Apr 19

    I have always wanted to start journaling. I am not sure what was holding me back. I love your tips on writing your journal as if it has already happened and that would be your goal for the day. I was listening to a podcast yesterday and they talked about writing what you are grateful about everyday and added that you should also write down what you made you proud of today. All these are definitely things I would start doing. Thank you!

  9. Sharon | 18th Apr 19

    I’m not very consistent, but you make great points about why I should make this a priority! Thank you!

  10. Holly Bird | 18th Apr 19

    I totally agree with you..Journaling is a great way to remember and release thing in your life!!

  11. Caitlin | 18th Apr 19

    Love this, journaling helps in ways I don’t even realize sometimes. Maybe I just love writing in general. Great post!

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      I think as bloggers, it is a little easier for us to commit to it.

  12. Brittany | 18th Apr 19

    I absolutely love keeping a journal and writing things down. It helps me keep up with thoughts and certain feelings I may have been feeling in certain moments.

  13. Kim | 18th Apr 19

    This is a reminder of how much I used to love journaling. It helped to sort through my feelings and just get it out and move on. I’ll have to start again!

  14. Jennifer Morrison | 18th Apr 19

    I kept a diary when I was in Junior HIgh. A few years ago I spent the evening reading it to my daughters and sister. We laughed for hours and hours. Since them I have not always journaled, but when I do, I totally love to do a brain dump. I find it useful in every area of my life.

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      That is awesome!!! What a fun thing to share with your daughter.

  15. Leigh Ann | 18th Apr 19

    I have always loved journaling and think your tip of using it as a brain dump is right on!

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      Thanks! Brain dumps are critical.

  16. Paloma Cotton | 18th Apr 19

    I wish I was better at journaling, I’ve always wanted to but I just don’t do it. Your tips are great! Although I don’t journal often, I do like to write to do lists down because it helps me get it out of my head and I can organize everything better!

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      I would say that it is a form of journaling.

  17. jen | 18th Apr 19

    i have more writings and musing then i know what to do with. journaling is such a good thing to do.

  18. Michele | 19th Apr 19

    I tell myself all the time I need to journal. I’m more of a list maker…random things as I think of them…what I need to get done…phrased to incorporate in my writing. So, maybe I’m closer to a start at journaling then I realize!

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      I love a good list! LOL. You can definitely incorporate that into a journal.

  19. Meagan | 19th Apr 19

    I always loved journaling and I always dropped it after about 3 entries… I don’t know why it’s so hard to keep up on it!

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      Until we can make it a habit, it may be hard to make the time for it. Keep on trying!

  20. Erin | 19th Apr 19

    I used to journal, but stopped. It’s something I need to take up again. Thanks for the tips!

  21. Janine | 19th Apr 19

    I’ve been doing this first thing in the morning (3 pages) for the last two months and it’s been incredible. Such a great way to start my day!

  22. Sandi | 20th Apr 19

    I just started journaling about my daily nutrition, I’ve committed to blogging about it for 30 days. Love your incite.

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      Yes!! I track mine as well. It helps keep me accountable.

  23. Cindy | 20th Apr 19

    Journaling is a great way for me to move energy…from my thoughts swirling around my brain to words on a page. It’s an important way for me to express who I am and where I’m headed.

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      I agree. As women and bloggers, our minds tend to be on overload at times.

  24. Nyxie | 20th Apr 19

    I journal every day separately from my blog and it helps me so much.
    It is so important for us to optimize our brains by getting rid of unnecessary thoughts!

    – Nyxie

    https://nyxiesnook.com/how-to-practice-self-care-on-a-bad-day/

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      Yes, it is extremely important!

  25. Tricia Snow | 20th Apr 19

    I agree that journaling can be very cathartic! Thank you for the tips!

    • Heather | 21st Apr 19

      Your welcome! Thank you for stopping by.

  26. Tiffany | 21st Apr 19

    Writing more the past few years has really helped center me – with all the crazy that goes on in life sometimes you need the reminder of what you want to focus on, and what unexpected things are going on.

    • Heather | 23rd Apr 19

      Exactly! I am glad it is working for you. I know it helps me in the same ways.

  27. T.M. Brown | 24th Apr 19

    Oh, those are GREAT reasons! I used to journal constantly, but have lost the dedication since starting to blog. I really want to get back into it – so this was a little motivational. Thanks!

  28. Angela Greven | Mean Green Chef | 30th Apr 19

    Love the idea to use journaling as a brain dump, I used to as a child but haven’t in about 100 years! lol Love the tips and I may pick it up again, thanks so much for sharing 🤗

    • Heather | 30th Apr 19

      Thank you for stopping by. I find it to be super helpful, especially on those days I am feeling stressed.

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