Do you journal? Have you tried journaling? For the scope of this post I will be talking about the written word as opposed to art and other creative ways to journal. In a previous post I talked about some compelling immediate and future benefits of journaling. Maybe you want to journal but don’t know where to start. Maybe you tried to and you got hung up on what to write or how to write or even when to write. Have you ever sat down to write and ended up completely blank? I have struggled with all the above but have enjoyed the fruits of journaling to this day. Do I journal every single day? Nope. But I do it when the mood strikes or something keeps rolling around my head and I need to examine it before me to clarify and make sense of it. Here are some tips that might help get your “journal ball” rolling.
What to Write
What to write can be broadly categorized into two headings: 1) Recording the details of what has happened and how you feel about it (e.g. big or small moments, discussions, what the Lord revealed, what you feel led to do or say, scripture you read and how it applies, etc.) 2) Answering a question or using journal prompts.
I have heavily leaned on the first category and recorded what has occurred and how it affects me. I do not get stuck in grammar and spelling world when I am typing because I value what I am recording over anything else. I just let my mind go …….and my fingers try to keep up. I do add relevant pictures, diagrams, links as they are applicable.
How to Write
You can put pen to paper or you can type. I will confess that for many years I was a “purist” when it came to journaling and forced myself to handwrite my journal entries. Then the day came when I allowed myself to experiment with typing my journal entries……I was hooked on typing because I could type so much faster than I could write. Does that mean I do everything digitally? Absolutely not! I love to doodle and hand-write weekly plans, daily plans, my to-do lists, wins, sermon notes, thank you notes, love notes, goals, and everything in between. And in a pinch, I have found myself handwriting a journal entry when my laptop was nowhere near and tapping it out on my phone was unappealing. I have plastic bins filled with so many different and beautiful journals…all handwritten.
Handwritten journaling
If putting pen to paper is for you, some things to bear in mind when you purchase/create a journal:
- Consider the binding and its ease of use to write in – Many don’t lay flat and may require you to hold it down while you write
- Consider the size and bulk for portability if you are going to carry it with you
- Consider the quality of paper – will it bleed through, is it archival quality
- A solid pen is essential- I love the opaqueness and clean lines of a Pilot G2 Limited gel roller pen
Typed journals
You can literally open up a word document and start typing. But if you are looking for a platform or software that lends to journal entries which are typically organized by date, there are several to choose from. I have used the free version of Evernote. However, they were obnoxious about advertising their paid plan every single time I signed in. So I tried the paid version but the value of their software did not exceed the cost, for my journaling needs. So I began using Microsoft’s OneNote for free and fell in love. It’s been about four years and I still love it. There are many journaling apps available with different functions and interfaces. This article highlights pros, cons, costs, and platforms supported. This article reviews journaling apps as well as highlights the features to consider when shopping for one. I have considered trying another paid app for journaling and might try Diarium which is available across multiple platforms.
As with most things, the biggest barriers to journaling are self-imposed. Do not confine yourself and experiment! You may be pleasantly surprised at what you discover. Happy journaling!
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#journal #writing #journalwriting #typing #handwriting #writtenword #recordinglife #diary #documentinglife #digitaldiary image credit: Vlada Karpovich