You probably know of someone who loves to journal, or have come across a variety of journal notebooks being sold in bookstores, or even attempted to try one yourself. For some of us, journaling is a breeze while others don’t really understand what the fuss is all about. Well, it appears that journaling does have plenty of health benefits to offer such as enhancing your memory, recording important events in your life, and even relieving some tension on your body which can actually be good for your health.
You see, when you write down your thoughts, at the end of the day, a bit of tension gets released. Sometimes it is difficult to vent to someone but a journal can be a good place to put everything down. Of course, there is the dread that you will have to write on it every day, but there are different ways to get started journaling. Here are a few tips on how you can start your journey to journaling.
Choose your medium
The first thing that you need to do before you start any journaling is to choose your medium. Will you use a notebook, your computer, or your smartphone? All of these are useful for jotting down your thoughts but they also have disadvantages. For example, if you lose your phone or your computer gets corrupted, whatever notes or journals you wrote on it will be gone. They can also be prone to hacking which is dangerous in these times. On the other hand, when you lose your journal notebook, or get damaged by water or even fire, whatever you have written will be lost. So choose your medium by weighing the pros and cons.
Time it
Most people can’t keep up with their journal writing because of their busy schedule, but setting aside some time to write on your journal, even 5 to 10 minutes of free writing, can help. You don’t really have to spend more than an hour on it. It all begins with a few minutes of your time in the morning or at night whichever works for you.
Don’t forget the dates
When journaling, it is important that you write down the dates. This will help you remember all the things that happened during that day when you review your journal. It is okay if you weren’t able to write on your journal every day, you can use this as a guide to what you’ve been doing, how busy you were back then, and how much you’ve changed over the months or even years that passed.
Track moods
If you notice that you are having mood swings several times in a month, or you want to track your expenses or even your medication, your journal will be a good place to write it down. Do this for a few months and you will be able to get a good idea on what causes your mood to change, what your constant expenses are, and even how many times you took certain medications. You can consider your journal as a tracker of important information about you.
Be honest
Your journal is just for you. Be honest. You’re not helping yourself one bit if you alter any stories or entries in your notebook. Remember that your journal is a way for you to find release from your stress, put down your thoughts, and even record events in your life for posterity. You won’t get anything out of changing your entries to make yourself look good in your eyes.
Read your entries
Another tip that you should try after writing on your journal is to re-read what you have written. You see, your journal is not just a place for you to confide your thoughts in but it is also a good tool to understand yourself better.
