Why I keep a Journal…

Hi everyone,

Have you been wondering how to journal? Why start a journal? If starting a journal is meant for you?

Well, you’ve come to the right place! I LOVE to journal. I  started journaling when I was 9 years old and I have never turned back. Journaling is a great way to empty your thoughts, document your hopes, desires, experiences, and dreams onto blank pages.

Journaling is an excellent way to “talk” to yourself. You are able to release everything bottled up inside and there is no judgment and no one to please. Just you and your journal.

Benefits of Journaling: 

•  A journal becomes a record of all your memories in life.
• As you read back it can teach and reveal more things to you about yourself.
• It can help you to keep track of your goals.
• It can inspire you.
• It can help you become creative.
• Keep you organized
• Most importantly it DECLUTTERS the mind!!

There are many different types of journaling but it can become anything that you want it to be. Personally, I keep a yearly journal and I write in it daily. Inside my journal I write daily events, I keep little souvenirs that represent an event that has occurred, I record my goals, and it is also where I bible journal.

Journaling is very simple and you create your own rules.

How to start a journal? 

Purchase a journal

Choose a journal that you love! One of my favorite parts about journaling is buying the journal. At the beginning of every year, I go to Chapters/Winners/HomeSense/Dollarama and I choose whatever journal inspires me. It’s important to find a journal that inspires you then you will be inspired to write in it.

Consider the type of journal you’d like to start

Decide what type of journal who want to keep. There are many types of journals you can start from daily journals to bullet journals to prayer journals. Figuring out the type of journal you want to keep will motivate you to use it more often.

I like to use my journal to cover everything but if you want to start a specific type of journal that’s great too!

What should I write about?

In my journal I free write; this means that I just write whatever comes to my mind and I keep writing till I’m done. If I’m doing the devotional section of my journal I usually do my devotions/or bible plan then write.

This is definitely not the only way to write. Some people…

• Time themselves
• Dedicate each day to a new topic (career, health, emotions, etc.)
• Use journaling prompts (Pinterest has some great ones)

Remember there is no right or wrong way to write in your journal. It is your creative outlet so do whatever works for you.

How do I continue to journal regularly?

Journaling can be a difficult habit to adopt. I have been journaling for so long but even I find myself not dedicating any time to it. Life gets busy with school, work, family/friends, etc. so it can be easy to forget.

However, the only way to benefit from journaling is to do it continuously. I recommend giving yourself a goal to write in your journal 2-3 times a week for 10-15 min. It also helps to pick a time of day to write. Personally, I write in my journal most times at night. I feel this is the best option for me because usually at this time I’m settling down from the day, drinking a cup of tea and I can really give it my focus. ( This sometimes does change when I am busy with school)

It’s important to discover what works for you!

Extra tips:

• Give yourself time to figure out what works for you
• Try different types of journaling
• Remember there is no perfect way to journal
• Remember journaling is for you, so don’t be afraid to change it up and be creative!

Thank you for reading this post!

Till next time,

Efuaye