10 Things You Need to Know About Journal Writing- Free Journal Templates

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10 Things You Need to Know About Journal Writing

Journal writing is an informal way to put down your unstructured thoughts. You can write anything and everything in your journal. There is no right or wrong in journal writing. Journals help you to keep a record of your life, pen down great ideas, or keep the details of an important event.

Now, one thought might cross your mind “Who can write a journal?” Anyone and everyone. No, you don’t have to be a skilled or professional writer to start writing a journal. There are no rules in journal writing. There are no age restrictions or time restrictions.

Why Write a Journal? – 10 Reasons You Should Start Maintaining a Journal in 2021

Maintaining a journal is a great habit to incorporate into your daily routine. Getting into a habit of writing a journal has numerous benefits.

Why should you make journal writing a part of your new year resolution?

Let’s take a look at some benefits of writing in a journal-

1. You can preserve your precious memories. You can note down every detail of a special day spent with your loved ones or a special event celebrating your success.
2. A journal can be your practice ground if you are a budding writer. You can actually keep a record and see how you evolve.
3. Emotionally expressive journal writing can help you reduce stress and anxiety. Writing a journal is like opening up to your personal therapist. You can write down how you feel. You can express your thoughts without the fear of anyone judging you.
4. A journal can be your springboard to exploring creative formats- make a reading list, make your own dictionary of new words, your bucket list of places you want to travel, a stamp collection journal with stamps of all the places you have visited.
5. Activate your creative brain. Your left brain is responsible for analytical thinking and reasoning. However, your right brain is responsible for creative thinking. Consciously or sub-consciously we use our left brain for decision-making in our daily life. Writing activates your creative brain and helps you to discover your artistic potential.
6. Maintaining a journal helps you to stay focused, reduce clutter, and keep your thoughts organized.
7. When you start writing and maintain a record of your achievements it helps you to reach your life goals easily. For example- you can maintain a food journal if you are planning to maintain a healthy diet, write your body measurements, and keep updating them to track your results.
8. Maintaining a journal can be self-empowering. Writing every day may help you discover your potentials that you are not aware of. Journal writing helps to inculcate a deeper level of learning.
9. A gratitude journal is a great way to unleash your inner peace. Maintaining a gratitude journal helps you to appreciate yourself, be happy with small things in life, and achieve greater goals in life.
10. Keep a record of your life history. A journal is a blank canvas to record your life history in your own creative way. You can publish your journal to inspire others.

Daily Journal-Templates

How to Start Writing a Journal?

Journal writing is collecting thoughts, observations, and experiences. So, all you need are some basic items-

• A journal or a notebook, pens, and your thoughts. You can also purchase or design certain creative items based on what you want to write or how you want your journal to look.
• A dedicated time slot to write
• You can make a template for different topics, different ideas, a day-wise template, or a month-wise template.

Monthly Journal Template

Physical Vs Digital Journal-Which One to Choose?

I prefer using a physical journal since I find it more impactful and it helps me to feel a personal connection. Again, there are no rules. You need to write for yourself. Choose any medium you are comfortable with.

If you are planning to explore some digital journal writing platforms, here’s a list-

• Penzu.com
• Diary.com
• Evernote.com
• journey.cloud
• writediary.com

Now that you know why, how, and where to start writing your journal, you might be wondering what to start with. Let me help you with some journal writing prompts to start your 2021.

Weekly Journal Templates

26 Self-Learning Journal Writing Prompts for the New Year- 2021

1. 10 Great things to accomplish in 2021
2. 5 New things to learn in 2021
3. Strategies to be more productive in the new year
4. My journey in 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months
5. 5 things to do for reducing stress
6. How does my dream career look like and what am I doing to accomplish it?
7. What are the healthy habits I want to adopt in the new year?
8. What are the new experiences I want to have this new year?
9. How will I manage my expenses in the new year? What financial mistakes to avoid this year?
10. Weekly self-care routine
11. Books to read in the new year and learning from them
12. Self-confession for mental well being
13. 5 things to do out of my comfort zone
14. 10 things/ skills I’m proud of and how to become more proficient?
15. What are the negative mindsets that I need to give up?
16. My monthly accomplishments
17. Where do I see myself by the end of this year-2021?
18. Things to do to follow my passion
19. Everyday quotes to inspire you
20. What are the fears you want to overcome? Something you planned to do but didn’t
21. Things that I am curious about
22. My greatest struggles.
23. Events that have helped to shape my future
24. Funny moments that I cherish to date
25. What the things I need to speak up about but I unable to?
26. What new skills I want to learn and why? How do I plan to learn them?

Happy writing!!

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2020 Debaleena Ghosh