I know that in self-improvement spaces journaling is often encouraged as a way of organising yourself, but does anyone actually find it useful? I don't have the restraint or the patience for it quite frankly. But if it does work for you, that's great. Personally I gave up on it because it's too easy for it to become an obsession. I become too focused on the journal that I forget what I'm doing it for and the upkeep of the journal becomes the only task in sight, which defeats the whole point. I am like that with to-do lists, if I'm not careful I'll have the most detailed list at the expense of getting anything done. That's why I limit myself to one side of A5, when I want to add more tasks I'll go through the list and see why I haven't completed the others. Then I'll try to cut it down so I have spaces for more tasks. It's no nice, neat, organised journal, but it does the job and doesn't consume everything I do, unlike properly kept journals.
Well, it's works for me. I find that just getting your thoughts out onto a page means they're not going round and round your head. I've kept a diary for over thirteen years. Not religiously, every day. But when I need to. Inevitably, when things are going well in my life the entries dry up, but in times of crisis they return. It definitely helps and I'd recommend to anyone.
Yes, I have found it to be profoundly helpful. I have been writing every day since the pandemic started, and it has allowed me to navigate through a bunch of really stressful situations. I don't know what I would have done without my journal.
I don’t have patience for it either. I did try, but I never stick to it. I just have a to do list and notes on my phone and this way I don’t forget stuff. I also like to keep a small notebook, that can fit into a pocket, so I could write down reminders, if I don’t want to use my phone.
Journaling I think can be a great way to get thoughts out of your head and stored somewhere else and I know tonnes of people who love it. Personally I too lack the patience I would be able to do it for like 2 days and get bored or the other extreme just like you I would get obsessed with doing it and lose track of all else.
I have a diary and over the years I would keep a diary every once in a while. I didn’t remember to write in my diary enough so there are months between entries but when I do remember it’s more of a journal. Nine pages long sometimes. I don’t think it helps anything. I write down stuff if I do something but since Covid I haven’t done anything.
Journaling does help me to get thoughts out and in the light and solve problems that accumulate in my head. It is a means to articulate my thoughts and organise them as I write. That is what I use it for. It really has no worth after that. Once I solve the issue or can put it to rest, I just as well burn the entry, because it is doubtful I will ever go back to it. So to me, it is not the journal that is beneficial; it is the process that is beneficial.
I think journaling can help someone improve their communication skills. I can’t speak for other people’s experiences, but it’s an issue I personally struggle with. I can picture what I want to tell someone in my head, but saying it out loud is much harder. By writing it down first I can keep my thoughts organized and not miss any major points I want to bring up for the actual conversation.
I've found it immensely helpful, especially when I'm under a lot of stress and I can't stop thinking about something. Putting the thoughts down on paper helps me make sense of them, and I don't spend hours chasing them around my own head. That being said, my journals are all on the computer. It hurts for me to hand-write for any length of time and I have a terrible habit of writing on a few pages of a notebook for setting it aside and never writing in it again.
It's helped me in a way, but I don't use it as often I meant to. Initially I vented and complained in listed my problems in it and then I started adding solutions or goals and after that I would write a section on the stuff I grateful for, that habit of thinking what I have to be grateful for stuck even when I don't journal it and that's how it helped me because it keeps me positive and reminds me even if things aren't great, for now I am where I need to be.
Thank you for all the replies. I agree that writing about your emotions can help, I used to write poetry to help me make sense of more intense and complex emotions. Or write daft song lyrics when I was annoyed at someone. However, I haven't done that in a while, since I haven't felt the need to vent as much as of late. Sometimes when I'm struggling to place the exact emotion that I am feeling, I compare it to a texture (sharp, soft, slimy) a pressure (hard, soft, pressing etc) and a colour. It has been a little surprising that others often know what I'm describing, even when I am doing so in such an abstract way. Describing the physical feeling can also work, especially if I combine it with the abstract descriptions and make it clear which parts are the abstract and which are the physical.
I sometimes write down thoughts that circle in my head and try to organise them. It helps me see the problem more clearly and pricess it. Heck, with regard to school and work I also think a lot on paper or in a text editor. I write things down, sort them, make to-do lists. But I don't keep such material.
Journaling and creative writing is said to help those who suffer from PTSD. Several experts seem to think so. It depends on how and where you do it. If you write a bunch of stuff and it's fairly private and graphic, and then someone finds it, I've heard stories where it can get ugly. So it looks like a person has to find the right time and place.