It sounds silly, but journaling genuinely changed my life. I’m now a militant journaler who won’t miss a day. After years of scepticism about how writing down thoughts could change my reality, I discovered it actually did, and it may have even saved my life. I want to demystify journaling and show how keeping a weekly, daily, or even sporadic journal could help anyone.
From Victim to Agency
Before journaling, I saw myself as a constant victim. Bad things always happened to me, I’d never catch a break, and I couldn’t imagine a future without struggle. This sense of impending doom infected my work, social life, and relationships.
Journaling wasn’t magic. I didn’t write one page and suddenly feel empowered. It was gradual and subtle, but it helped me rewire my brain and choose how I respond to life’s challenges.
The Science Backs It Up
Research shows journaling improves health outcomes across the board:
Speeds up biological healing
Reduces anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms
Improves sleep quality
Creates a 42% higher goal completion rate for written goals
Vision boards aren’t just aesthetic procrastination after all.
My Two Game-Changers
Self-awareness: Journaling made me aware of what my emotions actually feel like. I used to be argumentative and quick to anger, often ending debates in tears, regretting what I’d said. After journaling, I started noticing the signs I was about to enter a rage state – clammy hands, faster speech, louder voice, interrupting people. After six years of daily practice, I can now see rage coming, catch it, and decide what to do with it. I still have outbursts but they are rare and I know how to deal with the aftermath.
Gratitude: I write three things daily that I’m grateful for, trying not to repeat any. At first, this felt pointless. My negative worldview was so dominant I couldn’t see what was worth being grateful for or how being grateful for things would change the s*** that was all around me. Today, I consider myself extraordinarily lucky. Not because my circumstances changed massively, but because I’m now trained to notice what makes life good. A ladybird chilling on a leaf, the smell of fresh bread from a bakery, my pillow under my head at night. I started seeing beauty amongst the crap, and I became happier and more hopeful.
The “What Do I Write?” Problem
The biggest challenge when starting was knowing what to do. Most people try a “dear diary” style, writing meaningfully about their day or week. This can work, but I found it boring and laborious, especially on dull days.
Over the years, I developed different structures I use interchangeably. It’s about finding a method that doesn’t feel like a slog. Here are a few suggestions…
Integrate a Daily Habit
I anchor my journaling practice with a simple daily check-in. Each day, I write out four self-care non-negotiables — small, foundational actions that help me maintain a basic level of wellbeing.
Mine are:
Eat three meals
Read
Move my body
Sleep for eight hours
Alongside this, I include:
An affirmation
One goal for the next day
The core emotion I felt most strongly during the day
This practice helps me stay grounded and gently accountable, without turning journaling into another thing to “get right.”
Freewriting
Freewriting is writing without fear, judgement, or stopping. The goal is to bypass the inner critic entirely.
You can begin with a prompt, such as:
Three wishes
My dream life is…
What’s behind the big brown door?
Or you can simply write with no prompt at all.
There’s only one rule: don’t stop writing.
If you don’t know what to write, write “I don’t know what to write” over and over until something shifts. It always does.
List of Threes
Sometimes structure is more helpful than freedom. One of my favourite low-pressure formats is making lists of three.
Examples include:
Three things that made me smile
Three urges I resisted
Three things I’m proud of
Three things I’m looking forward to
Three things I noticed today
It’s simple, contained, and surprisingly powerful.
Mini Mind Maps
When I feel disconnected or like I’m losing sight of what matters, I make small, messy mind maps.
These might centre around:
My values
Long-term aspirations
People who love me
People I love
Places I’ve been
Favourite memories
There are no rules here. Anything that helps you reconnect with yourself and gently realign is worth putting on the page.
The 6-Minute Journal (Inspired by Lynda Barry)
This is one of the most transformative practices I’ve ever adopted.
The focus is on tuning into the senses — sounds, textures, snippets of conversation, small details that usually slip past unnoticed. After making this a regular habit, I found myself remembering even the quietest moments of my day. The world felt more vivid, more colourful — especially in nature.
It taught me how much richness is already there, if I slow down enough to notice it.
Here is a video explaining the process in more detail: Six Minute Diary
A Comic Strip of Your Day
As a writer, I was initially terrified of drawing. I’m not “good” at it, and my early attempts felt juvenile and embarrassing.
But then I remembered: no one is going to see my journal (hopefully).
And honestly, that’s the point.
Creating comic strips became a way of confronting self-doubt head-on and telling it to f*** off. Over time, I developed my own strange, messy, unapologetic style – and I love it.
Sketching and Doodling
On days when my brain feels tired, writing can feel like too much. Instead of abandoning my journaling practice altogether, I switch mediums.
I’ll sketch, doodle, or draw aimlessly — still putting pen to paper, still creating space to be present with myself, just without the pressure to find the right words.
Some days, that’s more than enough.
You might not hit it off with journaling like I have, or you may discover that another way of doing it is better for you. But I would encourage anyone who has struggled with intense emotions, overwhelm or burnout to give it a go. It may just change your life like it changed mine.
