5 Reasons to Journal and The Best Journals to Get You Started!

Don't forget to share!

Why Journal?

When some women hear the term journaling, they may be immediately catapulted back to their pre-teen or teen years, when it was common for girls in that age range to write down all of their most important secrets in a diary.

Others may be more familiar with the therapeutic benefits that keeping a journal or even multiple journals can bring to their everyday life.

Whatever your knowledge or experience of journaling is, this post will highlight some of the most important reasons you should begin journaling, how to get started and some of the best journals to begin your journey!

*This post may contain affiliate links.  This just means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.  It just helps me to keep this site running.  You can read my full disclosure here.

Reasons to Journal

I’m a journaling fan, and use various means (phone notes, paper, online software, premade journal with prompts) to keep track of important events or times in my life.  This is how I journal!

As a Mom, I use journals even more often these days to keep track of important milestones and memories.

In my post about preparing for pregnancy, I shared how valuable keeping a journal was for me during my TTC journey.

Related Post: How to Prepare Your Body for Pregnancy!

 

As a therapist, I often recommend to clients that they start a journal to record their feelings, thoughts, memories or even aspirations for the future.

As you can see, the possibilities are endless when it comes to journaling!

Below, I’ve summarized 5 key reasons to begin journaling.  These are meant to help get you thinking about how starting a journal can bring value to your life or can be a great form of self-care.

To read more about the importance of self-care, check out my post on prioritizing self-care!

Related Post: Self-Care Tips to Spice Up Your Life!

 

1. Journaling Helps You to Remember Key Events or Important Memories!

Journaling is a great tool to help you record and remember important events, milestones and memories.  Writing daily or weekly can help you to record life events that are significant.

2. Journaling is Great for Self-Reflection!

Have you ever looked back at statements you wrote a few months or even years ago, and were reminded of a different time?

Reviewing a journal can be a great reflective tool to help you to track progress and growth.    I love re-reading old journals to see how things have changed over time.

3. Journals are a Great Therapeutic Tool to Help You Process Thoughts and Feelings!

Journals can be used as a method of self-reflection, to track progress and growth and to review goals.  As a therapeutic tool, journals are a great resource to help you record and review your thoughts and emotions over a period of time.

4. Makes a Great Gift for Family or Friends

If you choose to share your journal, it can become a type of biography or personal reflection piece that shares information about you!  Journals make a great gift for children once they are older.

5. Helps You to Develop Your Writing

Even if no one else ever sees your journal, journaling is a great way to develop your writing skills.  It helps to get you into the habit of writing and reflecting, and provides you with an outlet and opportunity to be creative.

These are just some examples of reasons that journaling is a great practice.

How to Journal

If you’re new to the concept of journaling you may be wondering why you should start one or how.  This post will share how to get started and some of the benefits of journaling you can start taking advantage of right away.

There is no right or wrong way to start journaling.  Journaling is a creative medium that allows you to express yourself, record your thoughts, feelings, goals, memories or other important information.

It is a very personal activity, that should be just for you, or if you choose to share it with others, an account in your words.

The great thing about journaling is that you can record and share whatever you would like, however you would like.

Different individuals choose to take on different styles in their journals.  Some like to write openly about what happens to them in the course of the day, while others prefer to keep journals for different topics.

Another trend is to use a journal as a medium of letter writing that you will one day share with someone else, like your children or other family members, for example, as a sort of biography.

Here are some simple steps to help you to begin your journal writing experience:

 

Choose your Journaling Method:

Whether you prefer to write in an actual journal,  use online software or use an app, selecting a method to journal is the first step.

You may even want to try out different methods at first, until you decide which one you prefer.  There are even some options (such an online software or apps) that don’t involve writing, instead you can record video or audio messages.  Video Logs or Vlogs are one of the latest journal methods that many are getting into.

Choose a Journaling Medium:

Once you have selected your journaling method, choosing a medium is the next step.  Say you decided that you want to journal using online software, next you will have to choose which platform to use.

Some popular online journal platforms include Penzu, Day One or Momento.  Check out the various options in order to decide which may work best for you.

Whether you opt for a paper or online journal, things to consider include features offered, possible costs and security of your data.

Choose your Journaling Style:

Your journaling style may change as you become more familiar and comfortable with the process, but initially, it is a good idea to have a general sense of what you want to write about.  For example, will you write about your day-to-day life, specific events or recount happenings about a certain subject.

As I mentioned earlier, I have journaled for many years, but during my trying to conceive journey, I began a new journal to record about that subject.

Once I was pregnant, I started a journal to record the details and memories of my pregnancy.

These are examples of subject specific journals.  To contrast, the journal I kept prior recorded general day-to-day events.

Related Post: The First Trimester!

Begin Writing in Your Journal:

The next step is to just jump in.  You can try to commit to writing at a certain frequency (i.e. daily, weekly) and a certain length (at least one page).  You may also choose to just freestyle it, and write as you feel without structing it.  It is totally up to you!

Review and Reflect as You Go:

As you get into the habit of journaling and learn what you like about journaling, you may choose to adapt aspects of your journaling.  As I mentioned before, journaling is an individual activity and any changes you make are totally up to you.

Remember that you are the creator of your story, or your personal logs, and can make any changes you would like as you continue to enjoy your journaling journey.

A Few Points about Journaling for Newbies

Try Journaling Prompts

If you’re someone who prefers to have a little guidance as your write, using journaling prompts are a great way to help you think of how to start or to theme your writing.

Some people feel intimidated or run out of ideas of what to write about.  Journal prompts can help.

Especially if you are pursuing a certain goal, journal prompts can help you to work towards this aim.

Journaling and Privacy

Journals can hold very personal accounts and information.  Remember to consider privacy, no matter which journaling method and medium you choose.

For written journals, purchasing a journal with a lock or keeping your journal in a secure place where it is not accessible by others is a good idea.  For online software or applications, be sure to read about the encryption and security policies.

 

The Best Journals for Newbies and Seasoned Journal
(for those who prefer physical journals)

Now that you know why and how you should start journaling, you may be eager to get started right away!  I have already shared some popular online journal software and applications above, and most of us are familiar with popular vlogging mediums (like Youtube or Tiktok).

For those who prefer to write, there are a multitude of options for physical journals or diaries.  Depending on what style you prefer, you can choose from different sizes, looks and features.

I have compiled some of my favourite physical journals below to help you begin your search!

 

STANDARD JOURNALS

A standard journal typically describes a type of notebook or diary that is used for personal records.  They may be lined or un-lined, and have spaces to write.  Variation exists between different journals, as some have spaces for date, subjects or other information.

Here are some of my favourite journals:

JOURNALS WITH LOCKS

Keep your personal information a bit more secure with a locking journal.

Check out some of my favourites below:

 

BULLET JOURNALS

For those who want to get creative and have more control over their journal, bullet journals are an exciting trend that allows full flexibility in how and what you journal.

A bullet journal is a special type of journal or organizer, created by Ryder Carroll.  You can learn all about the method and how to use/create one here.

A bullet journal is essentially an organization system that combines journaling, scheduling, to-do lists, reminders, brainstorming, tasks and other lists, all in one single notebook.

They are great for individuals who like to keep a lot of lists, record personal data and track progress!  A plus is that they are customizable, so you have the full flexibility to personalize it to your liking.

Here are some of my favourite bullet journals.

 

PROMPTED JOURNALS

Prompted journals contain prompts to help direct your writing.

You can purchase prompted journals that focus on a particular subject (such as gratitude) or general prompted journals that help to guide personal development or self-reflection.

Here are some great examples:

Final Thoughts

Journaling is a very good self-care and self-development practice that has many therapeutic and creative benefits.  The sky is the limit in terms of how you can express yourself and the options that you have to begin your journaling journey!

I hope that you have learned something new about journaling, and that I have given you some direction to get you started!

To learn more about other types of self-care, check out the self-care section of the blog here.

 

To learn about other self-development avenues, check out the self-development section of the blog here.

 

I Would Love to Hear From You!

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments!  You can also leave a comment below.  I would love to hear about your experience with journaling or your favourite journal!

Want to Join the Chronicles of Kae Tribe to stay up-to-date on the latest! Sign up Below!

Don't forget to share!