The Surprising Benefits of Journalling

When you think of journalling, you might picture it as a an activity reserved for famous writers or angsty teens. And even if you wouldn't mind giving it a try, who has the time, right? Well, I'm here to tell you about some suprising benefits that come with journalling that will hopefully inspire you to find a few minutes for it every day.

Reduces stress and anxiety and can help you heal

Journalling is a great tool to relieve stress and help manage anxiety and depression. Writing about your problems and worries helps you sort through and deal with them, helping you clear emotional blockages and stopping spirals of unhealthy overthinking. In fact, writing about traumatic and stressful experiences after you've calmed down can help you work through and manage them in a healthy way, and there are even studies that indicate that this can help with physical healing as well!

Improves your mood and makes you more mindful

Forming a consistent habit of journalling can also boost your mood and improve your feelings of overall well-being - i.e. it can make you happier! Journalling is a great way to help you organise your thoughts and give you some perspective in life. It can help you figure out your goals, identify negative (and positive) patterns of behaviour, and make you a more mindful person. This translates to improved emotional intelligence and communication skills, which means you'll also be a more pleasant person to be around and perhaps make those around you happier as well.

Improves memory, comprehension and creativity

Writing about something helps you remember it better, it's as simple as that, so it's a no-brainer that consistent journalling can improve your memory, comprehension and even your working memory capacity. This also links back to the mindfulness we mentioned above, as writing about your days and experiences will help you remember them better, which can make you more present in your life and stop that feeling you might be having of your life passing you by. Naturally, writing down your thoughts and any ideas you have (for anything!) is a great way to draw out your creativity and get you thinking differently about things.

Journalling as a revision technique for studying

With the previous paragraph in mind, have you ever thought about using journalling as a revision method? Writing a short paragraph or making bullet points about what you just studied without looking at your notes can be a great way to revise and test your comprehension of the subject matter. This method also goes well with the try-to-teach-what-you-study-to-someone-else method, as you can do it before or after (or before AND after) the teaching-it-to-someone-else part.

Different types of journalling 

There are different ways to journal for different people and different goals, so if one doesn't work for you, don't be afraid to get creative and play around. If you don't know where to start, the internet is full of ideas and different methods to inspire and motivate you. Otherwise, just write about anything that comes to mind (or use bullet points if the thought of writing full paragraphs makes you groan). Just get started, you'll figure it out as you go!

 
 
 
 
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