I was recently asked by the lovely Rosalie Valentine to write a post about my journaling habits. I’ve been journaling since I was ten and finally dug out all my journals. Um…guys. I’ve filled 23 journals. O.o How do I even have a writing hand left?
My journaling process:
I started journaling when I was 10. I don’t even remember why I wanted to journal. Probably because I was reading the Dear America books (pssst the Titanic one is the best, if you’re wondering. Even though they updated the cover and I can’t look at it.) Those books made me want to live an adventure and write about it. Also, apparently I was writing books way back when I was a baby because I found this entry while going through my early journals.
When I first started journaling, it was mainly to record my day-to-day (as you can tell from the photo above, it wasn’t quite that gripping.) But then as a teen it helped me process through growing pains. The emotional ones. It helped me filter through my dreams and learn my passions. As I grew to love the Lord it morphed into prayers and lessons and verses all the while still recording my story.
It was incredibly therapeutic to me and now, looking back, I’m so glad I didn’t destroy them all when I was tempted to as an angsty teen. Phew!
Benefits of journaling:
Oh friends. There are so many benefits. I know that journaling isn’t for everyone, but if you have even an inkling to try it, there are so many reasons to give it a go:
1) Recording your story. I think it’s so important to record our stories. For the generations after us, but also for our own benefit. I’m not saying you should journal for someone else.
2) Introspection & emotional processing. Often times, when I’m dealing with heavy emotions or confusions, journaling is what helps me step back and see the big picture. In a world of social media where we can vent our despair and our happiness with a couple seconds of typing, I’ve noticed–at least for myself–that I don’t think through things as much. Impulse drives some of my choices and even my emotions at times. Whereas when I used to journal more often I had a better grasp and understanding of me emotions. I also processed through things more maturely. (I did freak out a little when I connected the dots that–when I finally got social media my journaling decreased. ?)
3) Writing depth. This one is probably only important for the writers out there, but journaling helped my writing skill increase. Mainly because I used it to describe my own emotions and journey and personal story. So when I write first person POV (which is all my books so far) I can more easily put myself into a character’s head and describe it in depth.
4) Looking back. It’s so encouraging to be able to look back and see what God has done or how He’s answered things in ways I didn’t expect. Or how he didn’t answer certain prayers I prayed and I can see now that I’m glad He didn’t. It’s also so refreshing to look back and see how I’ve grown as a person–in my fears, in my confidences, in my writing, in my thinking. I actually blogged recently about the importance of looking back.
The above four reasons are simply benefits that I have gained from journaling. But there are a bunch of (supposedly) smart people who have done research and put together lists. Just google “Benefits of journaling” and you’ll find some. But one that caught my eye when I was writing this post was this this Huffington Post article about journaling. Just reading it today was enough to urge me to step up my journaling habits!
Frequency of journaling:
A lot of articles will tell you to journal every day. I don’t know about you, but that usually turns into something like:
DAY 1: “I did these things.”
DAY 2: “I did these things…again.”
Also, days are short. Can we just get that out of the way? It can be hard to squeeze in something like journaling, just like it’s hard to squeeze in anything that’s not already in your daily rhythm. I actually used to journal every day. I only did that for a couple years, but that was because I needed to journal every day for that time in my life. I no longer journal every day. Or even every week. *ashamed laugh* So I will say this loud and clear for all our sakes: Different stages of life call for different types of journaling.
Famous people did it, so you should too.
*sprinkles a little peer pressure on self because why not*
A whole bunch of famous people journaled and they were smart and changed the world so I feel like they knew what they were doing. Also, as an author I like imagining that someday someone will read all my journals and think they know me. BAHAHAHA. Then again, I also hate thinking that someday someone will read all my journals. O.O
But it’s worth noting that, back in the day, a lot of people used to journal. They understood the importance of recording their stories and journeys. Our stories are so incredibly important. Every one–every thing–has a story. And it can change the world in some way.
The negatives of journaling:
Okay I tried. But my conclusion is: there’s really no negative to journaling. Except maybe hand cramps. And for that, you just need to buy a better pen. This is why I use a fountain pen, because it’s less strain on your wrist. If you need an affordable fountain pen recommendation, I suggest a Parker Vector pen, which you can get from Amazon for pretty cheap. That’s what I started with as a kindergartener and it served me well!
I understand that there’s not much time in a day. Especially for those who have kids or jobs or homework. But life is never going to slow down. Only you can organize your time so that you can breathe a bit more each day (which I think is important for everyone.) So if you think you’d like to give journaling a try or pick it back up again, I definitely say go for it!!
I also know that we journalers can get into a “journal high” and jump right in, journaling every day and then get burned out and stop journaling and then give up on the pretty journal we bought. You need to let yourself get out of the idea that there’s a wrong or right way to do it. This is for you. You can journal daily or monthly or yearly…just do it when you can! And maybe you can push yourself slowly to do it more frequently. If you want to. (Because there’s no one that says you need to do it every day.)
Take it from someone who’s been journaling her entire life. I’ve been on the same journal for the past two years. And I’m okay with that. 🙂
Have you ever tried journaling or wanted to journal?
What benefits or struggles have you encountered?
..
THE DEAR AMERICA BOOKS!!! My favorites were the Titanic one and the one about Clotee (a slave girl who was so so so so brave!!). WHY DID THEY UPDATE THE COVERS??? There are no words for how awful I think the covers are now!! *whine whine whine* I also loved the royal diaries series (though I can’t remember what it was called)–Elizabeth I was my favorite!
How have you filled 23 journals??? That’s crazy!! That’s more than one a year if you started when you were 10! O.O
Anyway, thank you so much for writing this post!! I was so happy to see it pop up in my inbox this morning, and it is. so. helpful! My biggest struggle has been journaling consistently for a month and then not touching my journal for six months and then feeling like I have to start all over again and then throwing away partially filled journals, etc. SO, this post is like being set free. 😉 🙂
Thank you!! <3
Yes!! Those books were so good! I don’t think I read the one about Clotee! Now I must.
I’m so happy this post was helpful! I felt like I could have gone several directions with it and I almost wish I’d said more. But that’s how I feel with every blog post. LOL. I totally went through that problem when I was journaling, where I felt like the journal had to be consistent and I needed to start over, but once I realized that it could be whatever I wanted it to be, and that I could journal once a year if I wanted, that really freed me. 😛
Oh my word, YES! The Titanic book was the best one! And the new cover is sad!
…ahem. Amanda, that was totally not the point of the post. BUT IT WAS TRUE.
I was absolutely enamored with the idea of journaling when I was very young. I finally made it a daily habit out of sheer willpower just before I turned 10. I think it was good to have that habit–to have the experience of sticking to something no matter what. But yeah, daily entries were largely boring. After five years I realized this was something I was forcing myself to do rather than something I was enjoying. So I stopped. And that was hard, but I think it was the right choice.
However, I do wish I hadn’t stopped altogether. And in the past two years I’ve picked it back up, but only when I feel like I want to/need to process stuff. I also started my current blog around then, which was a similar sort of thing to a journal, but with the intent to both process things AND encourage people. And that worked out to about once a month.
So yeah, my process has changed a lot. But that’s a good thing. I think it’s definitely good for people to write things out, no matter how often or what that look like. 🙂
Yes! I had that revelation, too, where I realized I was forcing myself to journal and once I got freed of that I was able to write what I wanted and *needed*. Also, blogging can totally be a type of journal. Blogs didn’t exist when I started journaling so… #amold. 😛
ah yes, that Dear America book was the best…..
I really liked this post. I’ve been journaling for about four years, and only filled 2 1/2 notebooks *hides* I’m going to try to do better, maybe writing every day, and recording my writing thoughts and feelings more. ?
There’s no shame in only filling 2 & 1/2 journals! Each period of life is different. There was one time in my life where I went through two journals a year. Now, though, I’ve been on the same journal for the past two years. And it’s okay! Be free, my friend! 🙂
You have such beautiful journals!
Awww, thank you! I made a lot of them myself. 😛
You have such lovely journals!
I tried keeping a diary several times when I was very young – it never lasted more than a week, but I just can’t help but buy another notebook or journal when it’s too beautiful to pass up. I’ve had a collection that I’ve carried with me through the years. Most have barely been used since college: one was for memories but I only wrote a few things in it, another is half-filled with some of my favorite quotes & poems, a third has random thoughts and prayers. Nowadays the only one I consistently use stays in my purse for book and blog ideas. Recently I decided to start *using* my notebooks, not just save them because they’re pretty, so one is at work for staff meeting notes and I’m using another to organize my notes on my WIP – timeline, plot layers, etc.
There’s just something about those beautiful blank books. *happy sigh* I still buy more journals than I use. But that’s a bookworm life, right? 😉 I’m so glad you’re using them! It took me a while to get to that point, too, but I love knowing they’re not being wasted or just taking up shelf space anymore!
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I met a woman that started a journal when she married her husband. She was still journaling when I met her at 83. She had gone around the world a whopping four times. I asked her how she did it and here is her answer, get a calendar with big boxes for the dates. When something happens that is notable (funny, life changing, historical or heartbreaking) write it down in the box. Write enough that you can bring it to mind easily. Then on the first of every month sit down and journal the month.
Oh wow!!! This is such a neat story! It inspires me to journal even more! Thank you for sharing this, Linda!
Yes yes yes to it all! (Except that I read one Dear America book and didn’t like it…) Especially different seasons of life call for different types of journaling. Over the years I have written ranging from every day to every few months. Currently I try to journal every Sunday, because I have found I NEED it to be consistent but not daily. Sometimes I miss (and by Wednesday I *have* to make time, lol!), and I don’t make myself stop if I feel a need to write (I think l’lI probably write 3 entries this week, though I thought I was good on Sunday, haha!) , but I usually do about 7 pages on a Sunday afternoon abd it just really works for me. I also consider blogging rather like journaling, as well, though :).