Journaling is one of the most powerful and accessible self-improvement activities. It doesn’t require special knowledge and costs as little as a piece of paper and a pen. You can do it at any time of day and in just about any setting.
Journaling requires little risk and offers great reward, making it a fitting exercise for understanding yourself better and creating order out of perceived chaos. However, getting started can be the hardest part. Understanding the many benefits of journaling and its best practices can help you make it a daily habit.
You can use journaling for the following purposes:
How can journaling help your mental well-being?
Including a journaling practice as part of your daily routine can improve your mental health, social health, and physical well-being. Recent research has shown that journaling helps reduce mental illness symptoms in some individuals. Those with anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) benefited most.
Other good reasons to keep a journal include the following:
5 types of journaling
Everyone turns to journaling for different reasons. You might want to use your own journal or diary to reflect on your behaviors. Your friend might want to keep track of their daily routine. Being clear about your intention will help inform the type of journaling you decide to do.
While there are many types of journaling, here are five common ones to get you started.
1. Daily journaling
As the name suggests, this is the practice of writing in a journal every day. Daily journaling focuses on sharing daily events and how you feel about them each day. It’s like a personal log of your life.
Daily journaling can be helpful if you’re going through changes or want to keep track of everyday life. It can also be useful to kick off preparation for a new job or another transition.
Having a daily journal is a great resource for looking back to see how much you’ve grown. It can also serve as a reference if you feel like life is moving too quickly.
2. Visual journaling
When most people think about starting a journal, they think of writing. However, drawing can be just as powerful.
A visual journal entry uses drawings to tell a story. These can be simple line drawings, storyboards, comic strips, or stylized sketches. If you don’t like to draw, you can also try pasting together images from magazines or other print sources as a form of visual journaling.
This type of journaling is good if you don’t enjoy writing or have difficulty expressing yourself with words. You might find language limiting and prefer a more visual representation.
3. Stream of consciousness/free-writing journaling
Many writers use free writing as a warm-up before jumping into their novel or other long-form text. This technique can also be a useful tool for starting a journal.
With stream-of-consciousness journaling, you write down thoughts as they flow through your mind. Its quick pace may make it difficult for your fingers to keep up, so don’t worry about your handwriting or spelling errors.
You can start this kind of journal with an intention in mind or just jump in and see where it takes you. The main goal is to get the bulk of your conscious thoughts out so that you can unearth your deeper ideas and perspectives.
4. Gratitude journaling
Research shows that practicing gratitude can make you happier. One study from psychologists at the University of California, Davis, and the University of Miami asked three groups of participants to write a few sentences each week on a certain topic. Some wrote about gratitude, some about annoyances, and some about life events. After 10 weeks, the group members who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. They also got more exercise and went to the doctor less.
According to an article on the science of gratitude published by the University of Maryland Global Campus, a strong gratitude practice can help with relationship building and developing greater resiliency.
You can structure a gratitude journal in different ways. Try listing the things you’re grateful for, weaving them into a larger entry, or formatting them as short thank-you notes.
Adding bullet points for things or people you are grateful for to your existing journal practice also has benefits. You can choose to keep these private, or you may want to share them with others.
5. Bullet journaling
You may have seen a bullet journal and wondered how to use one. Instead of lines, a bullet journal has evenly spaced dots to guide your entries.
Bullet journals are highly customizable. You can use them to track everything from your mood to your daily steps. You can also use one page as an agenda with bullets for reflections such as “one thing that made my day today” or “my intention for today.”
Try getting creative with different colors and mediums to design your journal entries just the way you like.
How to start journaling for emotional well-being (and make it a habit)
Keeping a journal can seem intimidating at first. Like any other habit, it takes a while before it becomes a part of your lifestyle. Here are some journaling tips to help you start (and keep) a journal.
1. Find the journaling techniques that work for you
Many people prefer keeping a paper journal because it helps them develop and express ideas more clearly. But putting pen to paper isn’t the only way to journal.
When you first begin writing, it’s important to find the method that works best for you. For example, you may find that using a laptop makes journaling more enjoyable. But you also don’t have to limit yourself to one method.
Say you prefer handwriting, but you get a burst of inspiration during your morning commute on the subway. In that case, you can use the notes app on your phone or designated journaling apps to jot down your thoughts before you forget them.
2. Let go of judgments
There’s no right or wrong way to journal. When you’re writing, it’s important to practice self-compassion and leave your inner critic at the door. Journaling is a judgment-free zone.
Don’t worry about things like grammar or spelling. You’re writing for your eyes only, not for an audience. When you lean into self-criticism or are afraid someone will read your journal, you tend to censor yourself and be less authentic and honest.
3. Keep expectations realistic
When you first begin journaling, don’t expect to write pages upon pages filled with insightful thoughts. Having unrealistic expectations about outcomes can discourage daily practice.
Like any other habit, you will want to set realistic goals and take baby steps to see results.
4. Create a writing routine
It may be easy to write when you feel inspired and motivated. But what about when you don’t? Creating a writing routine and scheduling journaling time can help you stay on track, even when you feel uninspired.
For example, you can set time aside every morning after breakfast or every evening before bed, even if it’s just for a few minutes. This time-blocking method allows you to prioritize journaling and incorporate it into your schedule.
5. Journal about anything that comes to mind
When it comes to what to write about, the possibilities are limitless. You can write about your day, your thoughts and emotions, or something that inspired you.
You can also use journaling as an outlet to release heavy emotions like anger, frustration, or sadness. Putting these feelings down on paper can free you from having them linger in your mind. It can also help you with self-discovery by uncovering feelings you may not have noticed otherwise.
6. Get creative
Don’t be afraid to express yourself and be creative. Journal writing isn’t just prose. It can be poetry, sketching, art, lyrics, or anything else that allows you to express yourself.
7. Use journal prompts
There will be days when you’re staring at a blank page and thinking, "I don’t know what to write." Don’t fret. There are countless journaling prompts online that can help you overcome your writer’s block.
Here are some helpful prompt resources:
What to write in your journal when nothing comes to mind
If you’ve looked at the above journal prompt lists and still feel uninspired, below are additional writing prompts. Use them to think about how you might want to use your journal and what to write in it.
- Personal or career goals
- A list of things and people you're grateful for
- Motivational quotes that inspire you
- Reflections or revelations about your past self
- Questions you hope to answer at a later date
- Things you want to improve
- Compliments to yourself as a form of self-love
- A personal vision statement of where you want your future self to be
- Your activities and what you’ve done and experienced
- Blockers or frustrations you’re struggling to overcome
- What you eat in a day and how you feel afterward
- A recent situation or past events that challenged you
- An (unsent) letter to someone in your life
- Small things that bring you joy throughout the day
- World events that have been on your mind
- The best decision you’ve ever made
- Daily positive affirmations
Choosing what to write about is a personal decision, and it can change over time. You might start writing your journal to gain clarity about what career you want and then adapt it to include personal goal-setting.
Journaling as a habit: how beginners can start
Learning how to start journaling is the easy part. It’s making it a daily habit that takes self-discipline. But nobody said building good habits happens overnight.
If you stick to it, you’ll start to see the positive outcomes of journaling manifest in your personal and professional life. Use it as a tool for personal growth, self-discovery, relaxation, or visualization. There’s no right or wrong way to journal. Make it your own.
Ready to make a commitment to yourself? BetterUp offers 1:1 personalized coaching to help you live a happier, more fulfilling life. A personal coach can help inspire you to start the right journal type and hold you accountable to make it a habit. Find a coach who works for you.
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