Jot It Down: Why Famous Writers Kept Journals (And You Should Too)
Keeping a journal is a habit that is beloved by many famous writers – and for good reason. Not only does it provide a space to vent and process your thoughts and feelings, but it can also serve as a source of inspiration for your creative work. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of journaling, how to get started, and some tips for making the most of this habit. So grab a pen and paper (or open up your laptop) and let’s get started!
The benefits of journaling
There are many benefits to keeping a journal, both for your mental health and your creative work. Here are just a few of the ways that journaling can be beneficial:
Helps to reduce stress and anxiety: Venting your thoughts and feelings on paper can help to reduce the levels of stress and anxiety you’re feeling. It can be a way to process and make peace with difficult emotions and experiences.
Improve your emotional intelligence: When you journal, you’re Forced to confront and make sense of your emotions. This can improve your emotional intelligence – i.e., your ability to understand and regulate your emotions.
Boosts your memory and concentration: The act of journaling can help to boost your memory and concentration. This is because you’re regularly practicing writing and recalling information, which helps to keep your mind sharp.
Helps you to achieve your goals: When you journal, you can track your progress and reflect on your successes and failures. This can help you to learn from your mistakes and make better progress towards your goals.
Makes you more self-aware: regular journaling can help you to become more self-aware. This is because you’re constantly reflecting on your thoughts, emotions, and experiences. As such, you’re more likely to notice patterns in your behavior and be able to make changes for the better.
How to get started journaling
If you’re convinced of the benefits of journaling and want to give it a try, here are a few tips to help you get started:
Find a comfortable place to write: choose a spot that’s comfortable for you and where you won’t be interrupted. This could be at a desk in your bedroom, at a table in your kitchen, or even outside in your backyard.
Get the right supplies: you don’t need anything fancy to start journaling – a pen and paper will do just fine. But if you want to make it more enjoyable, you could buy a nice journal or some pretty stationery.
Set aside some time: try to carve out some time each day, even if it’s just 10-15 minutes. This will help to make journaling a regular habit.
Know what you want to write about: before you start writing, take a few minutes to think about what you want to write about. This could be anything from your day-to-day experiences to your thoughts and feelings about a particular issue.
Be honest with yourself: your journal is for you and you alone, so don’t hold back. Write whatever comes to mind, even if it’s something you’re embarrassed about or that you wouldn’t tell anyone else.
Don’t worry about perfection: there are no rules for journaling, so don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or sentence structure. Just write whatever comes to mind and don’t worry about making it perfect.
The Palm Notebook Journal from our InFlight Collection.
Why famous writers kept journals
Now that we’ve looked at the benefits of journaling and how to get started, let’s take a look at why so many famous writers kept journals. Here are a few reasons:
To process their thoughts and emotions: many writers used their journals as a way to process their thoughts and emotions. This was especially helpful when they were experiencing difficult life events or emotions. Writing about these things helped them to make sense of them and to find some peace and closure.
To boost their creativity: many writers found that journaling helped to boost their creativity. This is because it provided a space to explore their thoughts and emotions, which could then be used as inspiration for their creative work.
To keep track of their ideas: writers are usually full of ideas, but it’s not always easy to remember them all. Keeping a journal helped them to capture their ideas as they came to them, which they could then refer back to when they were ready to start writing.
To reflect on their progress: journaling also helped writers to reflect on their progress. They could look back on what they’d written and see how far they’d come. This was motivating and helped them to stay on track with their writing goals.
Tips for keeping a journal
If you want to make the most of your journaling habit, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Set a regular time: try to journal at the same time each day, or at least set aside a regular time each week to write. This will help to make it a regular habit.
Be patient: it can take some time to get into the habit of journaling, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t see results immediately. Just keep at it and it will become easier with time.
Write regularly: the more you write, the more benefits you’ll see. So try to write in your journal every day, or at least a few times each week.
Be honest: as we mentioned before, your journal is for you and you alone. So don’t hold back – write whatever comes to mind, even if it’s something you’re embarrassed about.
Don’t worry about perfection: there are no rules for journaling, so don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or sentence structure. Just write whatever comes to mind and don’t worry about making it perfect.
