What are the benefits of journaling?
By Ellie Duncan
Journaling is essentially a written record of your thoughts, feelings, and ideas and can come in numerous forms including bullet journaling, artistic journaling, and gratitude journaling. Not only is journaling a versatile and accessible activity that can be tailored to each individual, but research has also found that frequent journaling can have a wide range of benefits that include but are not limited to:
1. Improves mental wellbeing
The off-loading nature that journaling has through the simple process of ‘getting stuff off your chest’ can aid the reduction of both anxiety and stress levels. Furthermore, journaling encourages a deeper exploration of internal conflicts and potential mental health triggers. This can lead to increased self-awareness of one’s feelings towards particular situations or people, which in turn can encourage the formulation of a plan to improve mental wellbeing.
2. Improves academic performance
Research has shown that academic performance improvements of up to 25% can be achieved through daily journaling. For example, journaling methods that encourage students to reflect on what they have learnt in class or revision can significantly boost grades. In addition, the concept of transfer journaling, which focuses on recording new information that can be transferred into the future or in a more practical setting, has been shown to further aid these academic improvements. By writing information down in an original way that makes sense to the individual, information is significantly more likely to be remembered and has been shown to produce greater recall.
3. Helps to achieve goals
Research suggests that those who write down their goals are significantly more likely to achieve them. Writing down a goal increases the likelihood that a goal is remembered and will be at the priority of cognitive processing. These goals can be tailored and recorded in a meaningful way unique to the individual. Using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals as a guide to setting goals is an effective practice to enable the achievement and measurement of these goals.
4. Boosts creativity
The endless creative possibilities are a key aspect of journaling. It allows for self- expression and exploration which could manifest in simple doodles, the use of colour schemes and highlighter, or more elaborate art forms such as drawing. In addition, this creative aspect allows journal keepers to draw inspiration from feelings and surroundings, providing a creative outlet to work through both highs and lows. It is important to be aware that it can be easy to fixate on perfection with journal creation, however, remember there is no right or wrong way to journal, and trial and error is often a useful way to explore what design works best for you.
Overall, journaling has endless possibilities with a wealth of benefits beyond those listed here. Simply taking a notepad and paper and setting aside 5-10 minutes every few days can provide these benefits. If you’re just getting started with journaling and haven’t quite found what works for you yet, here are a list of suggestions to try out. Happy journaling!