Don’t Think of It as Journaling, Think of It as ‘Getting It Down’

13 min readDec 4, 2020

There has never been a more important time to record your life

Here are the three things I know for sure: 1) Sleep fixes everything; 2) one must always read the book before seeing the movie; and 3) journaling will save your life.

Number three, I know, is the most controversial. It has come to my attention that some people dislike the idea of journaling, seeing it as yet another daily obligation to eventually fail at and then feel bad about (Exercise! Meditate! Drink water! DOES IT EVER END?). And sure, a journal can feel like a weird futile to-do to try to shoehorn into a busy life. Write things down. Why? So no one can ever read it? And that’s the best case scenario?

But maybe it’s time for a rebrand. Don’t think of it as keeping a journal, or god forbid, writing in a diary. Think of it as getting messy thoughts out of your head and down on paper. It’s taking notes on your life. Here’s why you should.

The benefits are immense

Ryan Holiday writes: “I journal each morning as a way of starting the day off fresh — I put my baggage down on the page so that I don’t have to carry it to meetings or to breakfast with my family.” As I found when diving into Stoicism, recording your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the things that pop up in your day is a basic practice of the philosophy, and can help you to better evaluate what you do and don’t have control over. If it was good enough for the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius, surely it’s good enough for you.

Journaling has been proven to reduce anxiety. As Kaki Okumura puts it, “Our present selves, it turns out, are horrible judges of our immediate realities. We’re swayed by temporary circumstances, by our shifting emotions, by what we see others around us doing or achieving.” She notes that writing to our future selves “helps us focus on our true goals and values so we don’t get caught up in the challenges that can cloud our vision. It’s also helpful for controlling anxiety, doubt, and indecision.”

I’ve kept some sort of journal since I can remember, and I stand by this finding. When I came to a big life crossroads last year, reading my old journals helped me to remember what I have always really valued, and how something I thought was a new problem was really an old, firmly entrenched one. Thanks, past-me!

Why You Should Write Notes to Your Future Self

‘Future journaling’ helps you see past your everyday challenges and focus on your true goals

forge.medium.com

There’s no way to do it wrong

I know people get spun out about the idea of having to record everything that happens to them, but that’s simply not how it has to work. As Anna Goldfarb writes, “Over the years, a wealth of scientific research has extolled the benefits of ‘expressive writing.’” She outlines several different ways you can get going with a journal, from quick line-a-day versions to dream journals to artist’s books full of sketches and collages.

Some people swear by a failure journal. As Danny Forest puts it, “Not only does it help you remember your mistakes so you’re less likely to repeat them, it allows you to disassociate with the emotions around your failures and discover lessons in each one. You’re reframing failure as a necessary part of success.”

But really, you can make your journal anything you want it to be. And you don’t have to apologize to your journal! I can’t tell you how many of my own entries begin with “wow it’s been a while…” A few years later, I don’t really care that I didn’t record what happened every day in June of 2007 but I’m glad that the one entry from that month recounts the details of a weekend trip I’d completely forgotten, with a friend I’ve now lost touch with, during which I had a big breakthrough on a book I was writing.

Why You Need a ‘Failure Journal’

There’s surprising power in recording all the ways you screwed up

forge.medium.com

There’s never been a better time to keep a journal

I’m probably not the first person to mention this but… we are living through unprecedented times, have you noticed? I know that I really value having the historic record that is my journal from 9/11/01, when I had recently moved to New York City and my then-boyfriend was in the towers when they fell (don’t worry, he was unharmed, but still: a bad day). I was surprised to reread it recently and remember how raw the terror was, how completely we imagined the world had changed, and weird details I’d forgotten, like how for days afterwards it smelled like burning rubber and there was a subtle rain of paper and ash in Brooklyn.

There are so many things about our current pandemic lives that are so extraordinary and that it seems like we’ll never forget… but that we might, actually, as our brains sort out our memories and gloss over various details. Jot down the most salient things about your life right now — your daily walks, the face masks hanging to dry in your bathroom, hearing the kids’ teachers’ voices over Zoom, the way little huts for outdoor dining have sprouted along the sidewalks — anything you’re likely to forget.

For one thing, we might be adding to the historical record. As Sarah Begley writes for GEN, “Besides the fact that journaling is good for your mental health — and we could all use some stress-busting right now — your recollections of social distancing, quarantining, and perhaps even suffering from the disease, will be hugely valuable for historians of the future.”

Even if you’re not hoping to contribute to a historical archive (I will go ahead and say that my journals are VERY much for an audience of one and definitely NOT approved for archival purposes, insert nervous laughter here), this time of your life is one that’s worth recording. Nicole Peeler writes, “we’re spending a lot of time in our heads right now. Psychologists have found that journaling can help combat anxiety, depression, and stress and that freewriting exercises can help us maintain our mental health. And on a practical note, journaling can be productive. This is an opportunity to meet yourself where you are and assess what you’re doing with your life. I’ve been thinking through a lot of my priorities and don’t want to forget what all of this alone time is helping me realize.”

Don’t Let Your Brain Forget How Much This Experience Sucks

A case for an Anti-Gratitude Journal

forge.medium.com

There’s no more interesting story than the story of your own life. And when you take notes, it’s easier to see the big picture. Go ahead, get it all down.

Don’t Think of It as Journaling, Think of It as ‘Getting It Down’

There has never been a more important time to record your life

The benefits are immense

There’s no way to do it wrong

There’s never been a better time to keep a journal

Written by Masuddit