What is a journal? Often people have ideas about what a journal should be and what it should look like. They may think of journals they had as kids. I can remember having a pink diary that had a lock and key, which I would keep under my mattress. It contained all of my innermost thoughts about my fifth-grade crush, which I did not want my mom to find out about.
Diaries usually contain personal thoughts and feelings, but a journal is any record of a person’s life. It is not limited to expressing our thoughts and emotions, but can also be used to track our progress on goals. In a journal, we can record the outside temperature to keep as a guide of what the weather has been like in our local area. Or, we can track our feelings to see how many days we were feeling good, sad, or even mad. It also can be used to track our physical health, such as keeping a log of our blood sugar or cholesterol levels, and to see if we are meeting our goals.
There’s no rule that journals must be super specific, where we write about one thing and only that one thing. We can have journals that are dedicated to drawing or sketching a picture—or one that tracks random phrases that interest us. I have worked with children who draw using colors, with each color representing a different feeling, such as red for anger and green for happiness. Thus, journals can be very specific, or they can be very loosey-goosey, designed primarily to get us to write something every day.
How many of us have had our height tracked in a doorway or closet? That is a journal, because it is an autobiographical accounting of your life. Recipe books are also great journals, because whether you collect recipes from other people or write notes in the margins, it is an account of something you made or that your family liked. These are all forms of journaling (even if they didn’t feel like journaling) that you may already be doing in your everyday life.
We often think that journaling needs to be an accounting of our day, but it does not have to be. Several types of premade journals contain prompts about what to write about, and reckless journals encourage individuals to have fun with journaling and strengthen their creativity through different activities. Graphing paper, notebooks, and blank books can also be used for journaling and keeping track of whatever interests you.
Another common journal type includes letters that you have written and mailed to someone, or letters that you have mailed to yourself. Any writing that tells someone else about your life and is autobiographical is considered a journal.
Another type can be a calendar, because this is a daily record of what the person is doing. With calendars, individuals can add special occasions, appointments, and even health-related information. Since we live in a technologically advanced society, individuals can use phones to record videos of themselves talking about their day or something that they are passionate about. An unconventional way to journal is by writing down something every day and sticking it into a jar, for a “journal in a jar.”
Here are a few tips to help you start your journaling journey. Be forewarned that sitting down in front of a blank journal can often feel intimidating and may stunt your creativity. To help get your thoughts flowing, you can start by going online and searching for journal prompts that can assist with what to write about. It does not matter what you want to journal about—just that it matters to you. Keeping it consistent by setting aside a part of your day and keeping it short can help with being able to journal consistently.
It is important to remember that mistakes are normal and that your journal does not have to be perfect. Whatever you decide to do, make journaling something consistent that you can reflect on and be able to have fun with.
Alice Chapman, BA, spent eight years in the U.S. Army as a multichannel transmission systems operator-maintainer before discharging to take care of her special needs son. A happily married stay-at-home mom to three wonderful kids, she volunteers with local nonprofits, helping parents to advocate for their children’s needs in school. She also has a passion to help military veterans fight depression and combat the rising number of veteran suicides each year.
Meredith Lewis, PhD and LICSW-S, has worked for more than 20 years with teens and families in therapeutic foster care, substance use, blended families, transitional teens to adults, and in the mental health outpatient setting. She is a mother of teenage sons, and her passion is to address symptoms of depression and anxiety.