Victoria's Guide to Journalling (part 1)
I'll be the first to admit (and by "admit" I mean jump up and down and scream and generally be annoying about it) that I'm an avid journaler. I write almost every night (I miss nights, yeah, but I sound better if I don't admit that), and whenever I need to just unload my thoughts I can often be found in my bed, gel pens and journal in hand.
Because I enjoy journalling so much, I figured I'd share my many tips and tricks with you. (I mostly just like trying to get people to do the same things I like doing. I'm weird that way.) Today, we're going to focus on why exactly you should be journaling in the first place (hint: because it's awesome).
Like Spider-Man, we all have crazy things going on in our lives. (You knew I had to bring Spider-Man into this at some point.) We've got villains and explosions and that new girl at school with the crazy haircut and science experiments gone wrong and that last devastating math exam, and I know I personally get to the point where I need to talk about it all or I'll explode. Unfortunately, I don't always have access to people who don't mind me talking their faces off. Before I go to bed, I like to sit down, take out my pen and just write whatever's on my mind. By the time I'm done, I feel so much lighter and calmer because the stuff that was cluttering my head was swept out when I wrote about it.
It's also a pretty good way of keeping track of who did what when. When we were applying for permanent residency for Australia, we had to declare which countries we went to on what days, which was a bit difficult because we've done a lot of traveling since we've moved. It was the easiest thing in the world for me to pull out my travel journals and read out the dates for Mom. I can tell you when we went to see different movies, what we did on every day of each of our vacations (and what I thought about it), any childhood adventures I've had and when I've started or finished different writing projects. I don't have enough room in my head for all that, but I don't need to bother because I can just look it up.
Keeping a journal makes your goals pretty clear. As I've mentioned before, I'm not good with talking and my thoughts often get tangled in my head, but as soon as I pick up a pen everything makes so much more sense. Journalling is my favourite way of figuring out what exactly it is that I want, and how I'm going to get it. (I can also look back on previous goals and learn lessons from those, too.)
Journalling, in short, is awesome. I've been writing for years, and I don't think I'll be stopping in the near future.
Do you keep a journal? Have you ever tried? What are your best tips?
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| We're going a bit abstract with the pictures-that-don't-ever-match-what-the-post-is-talking-about today, if you don't mind. |
Because I enjoy journalling so much, I figured I'd share my many tips and tricks with you. (I mostly just like trying to get people to do the same things I like doing. I'm weird that way.) Today, we're going to focus on why exactly you should be journaling in the first place (hint: because it's awesome).
Like Spider-Man, we all have crazy things going on in our lives. (You knew I had to bring Spider-Man into this at some point.) We've got villains and explosions and that new girl at school with the crazy haircut and science experiments gone wrong and that last devastating math exam, and I know I personally get to the point where I need to talk about it all or I'll explode. Unfortunately, I don't always have access to people who don't mind me talking their faces off. Before I go to bed, I like to sit down, take out my pen and just write whatever's on my mind. By the time I'm done, I feel so much lighter and calmer because the stuff that was cluttering my head was swept out when I wrote about it.
It's also a pretty good way of keeping track of who did what when. When we were applying for permanent residency for Australia, we had to declare which countries we went to on what days, which was a bit difficult because we've done a lot of traveling since we've moved. It was the easiest thing in the world for me to pull out my travel journals and read out the dates for Mom. I can tell you when we went to see different movies, what we did on every day of each of our vacations (and what I thought about it), any childhood adventures I've had and when I've started or finished different writing projects. I don't have enough room in my head for all that, but I don't need to bother because I can just look it up.
Keeping a journal makes your goals pretty clear. As I've mentioned before, I'm not good with talking and my thoughts often get tangled in my head, but as soon as I pick up a pen everything makes so much more sense. Journalling is my favourite way of figuring out what exactly it is that I want, and how I'm going to get it. (I can also look back on previous goals and learn lessons from those, too.)
Journalling, in short, is awesome. I've been writing for years, and I don't think I'll be stopping in the near future.
Do you keep a journal? Have you ever tried? What are your best tips?
I love journaling! I do it nightly and I find that I sleep better and wake up in a better mood when I devote time to processing thoughts and feelings from the day before sleeping.
ReplyDeleteI would say my best tip is to make it a habit. Even if you feel like you don't have something to write about, take time to sit down and write a few sentences.
I love the post! I can only imagine how exhausting the process of applying for permanent residency is.
Another journalizer! *high fives* It really does help, doesn't it? I just love unloading and not having those extra thoughts floating around my head.
DeleteThat is an excellent tip :)
Thanks so much! Yeah, it was a real pain but thankfully I didn't have to do a whole lot, it was mostly my parents. Which sucks for them, I suppose :/
I've journaled for what seems like forever. As I've got older I've talked to my mum and sister more about my daily life, which has caused decline in my journaling, but once I move out of home I can imagine it'll go back up again. These days I write once of twice every month, jotting down things that happened that I don't want to forget.
ReplyDeleteI'd say don't feel pressured to write in each day, but I'm not sure everyone would agree with me on that :)
That's really great that you can talk to your family about your life! I think my words would just get too tangled up. That sounds like a great idea, and not too time consuming if you're only doing it once or twice a month.
DeleteI think if I didn't try to do it every day then I wouldn't ever write it in. I personally need it to be a habit, but it's definitely not for everyone! Thanks for commenting, Opal!
I used to keep a journal and write every day. But now, not so often. Which is sad because it helps a lot. Like you said, it's a good way to express what you're feeling without bothering people or trying to figure out how to verbalize it.
ReplyDeleteI hope you take it back up! Of course, time commitments are often a big problem :/ But yeah, I love how no one can judge you for the stuff you write because you know exactly what you mean.
DeleteI journal. I have never been a "journaller" in that I do it every day or am intending for it to be published or anything. Mostly it's just an easy way for me to let off steam and get emotions out of my head before I take them out on people. :/
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, I certainly hope my journals never get published. That would be embarrassing. Letting off steam sounds like the perfect reason to journal, and it's especially kind to everyone around you :)
DeleteI used to have a diary when I was younger. However, I kept bad mouthing my enemies so I stopped.
ReplyDeleteNow I want to start bullet journalling to help me accomplish daily tasks.
Ha, I kinda want to read pages of your rants about your enemies :D That would be hilarious!
DeleteI've heard lots about bullet journals, and I think I'll probably start one once I start uni next year. If you start one, tell me how it goes!