Writing is a form of thinking, particularly on topics and information that nobody but you knows. If that form of thinking is beneficial to your wellbeing, then prioritize it.

This is tangent, but I think that AI is going to have negative effects on human psychology because writing something yourself as a way to think is better than having an AI write it for you and you just agree with it and edit it.

I never really saw the point of journaling, so it never “took” for me.

I write a bunch of stuff down, and then what? What do I “do” with it? Do I read it again later? No, I won’t do that. Somebody else reads it? No, it’s not intended for that.

So, I don’t journal as such.

I do organize my tasks and things to remember in a bullet journal (bujo) format, though, and that helps. But it’s less about thoughts and feelings (long-winded opinions and observations), and more about tasks and events (simple and concise one-liner statements of fact).

I do like bujo to keep my work organized.

Ok, on a side note, the idea of a “commonplace” book does sound kind of appealing, though; but I guess my life is too busy to afford me the leisure and luxury of analyzing literature, writing poetry, and sketching natural wonders, or whatever. I’ve got too much shit to do. My few fleeting moments of “free time” are spent here, complaining (wow those naughty word filters are way too strict) about MAGA, basically.

I just want to say how amusing I find it that a thread full of journalers only consists of very long comments. But overall I agree, journaling rocks. Helps organize my thoughts, and reading week-old entries helps keep my memory sharp.

Journaling is OK but what really keeps me grounded is an habit tracker. Without it my life is pure chaos.

Now I’m seeking advices from people who turned their life in a positive way by writing journals as a first step

I’ve been journaling since I was a 7-8 years old boy (now nearing my 60s). Don’t worry about pausing your journal. It’s not a job, it’s your journal. If it can be compared to anything, it’s a tool. You don’t always carry your hammer with you when you don’t need it, right? Neither do I. So, I’ve had plenty breaks where I did not use my journal at all. Ranging from a few days to a few… years. That’s fine. I know my journal is there, when I need it.

Not blaming yourself for not journaling can also make it simpler to get back to it. I mean, if you don’t feel bad for not writing in your journal you will not hesitate to re-open it and start writing in it again.

It doesn’t matter for how long I’ve not been using it, I never feel bad starting again. IN reality it even feels great as it’s a lot more like meeting one of my best friends I had lost touch with for a long time, and we’ve so much to tell!

Now I’m seeking advices from people who turned their life in a positive way by writing journals as a first step.

That’s a bit vague to suggest anything.

What I can say is that it helped me all my life. When I was a little boy going through what people nowadays would call some serious trauma, as a teen going through that thick and seemingly endless stupidity period I was stuck in, as a young adult when I decided to change life (I quit my well-paying job and decided to live a much more simple (and poorer) live). And so on, up to this day. It also helps me face mistakes I can make. It helps me even for more mundane things… simply by allowing me to take a step back from whatever it is I’m journaling about, allowing me to look at it more calmly, to think about it in a non-emotional way (or less emotional).

Like you already realized it’s great to feel more in control too.

It also helps me keep track of stuff I simply want to remember in the long run. Last but not least, it helps me be more present too. How? Journaling helps me be more attentive and so does sketching which I also do in my journal—badly and, exactly like making pauses, I’m 100% fine with that.

What helps me journaling almost daily nowadays is that I made it as simple as possible: I don’t try to make nice sentences. I don’t mind making mistakes and crossing out stuff. It’s a work-in-progress that will never be finished. One day, I will be gone and I won’t be able to write that one last sentence: ‘today, I died.’ ;)

For years, I had been using some a digital tool of some sort (word processor, journaling app, voice recorder, whatever) but I’ve come back to the analog way, good old pen and paper, because I never felt the same connection using digital, and because I don’t feel confident writing what are sometimes my most intimate thoughts into something that is connected to the Internet or worse, that is stored online, an app that can read what I write and do god knows what with it.

My journal stays at home. So, to journal on the go (which I always do) I use a small pocket notebook I carry with me. Somethig xheap with a cheap ballpoint pen I don’t mind losing. Later on, I copy whatever is in that pocket notebook to my ‘real’ journal. To make it quick to write on the go I don’t write full sentences in that pocket notebook, I use my own shorthand I devised along the years.

If you have other (more specific) questions, feel free to ask them.

BTW, you (and anyone else reading this) are more than welcome to join the !journaling@sh.itjust.works community. I’m the admin and I would love to see more people share their experience/doubts/questions, like you just did. Hopefully that would motivate others to start doing it as well.

I wrote journals for years, they help a little. I used them to vent, to discuss with myself about stuff I couldn’t discuss with someone else, put thoughts in order, practice calligraphy (people now praise my handwriting), etc. I never took it as a chore, so when I didn’t feel like it I didn’t write.

I went to cognitive behavioural therapy and that not only helped the most, it gave me tools to get out of the hole when I fall into it.

Also helped to stop pretending anything on a screen is social interaction. I ditched every social platform except reddit and now lemmy, these two, because I don’t know anyone feel different

You might want to check if you have ADHD buddy

I don’t think journaling has had any magic for me but I really enjoy it. I write my daily tasks, random thoughts, things I learned, and feelings. I really like the act of physically writing especially with fun pens. One thing I came across recently is to right your daily highlights at the end for record keeping.

I’ve been journaling for the past few years and, like a lot of people will say, it’s not the magic bullet people want it to be. But it is a great tool for sorting thoughts, tracking events, and just a general brain dump. But we all slip every now and again but I will say my experience lines up with yours. I feel that journaling has helped to keep things in my life in control because it forces me to A) keep tabs on myself and B) keep track of the things going on around me.

Another thing is that there is some scientific research that shows writing by hand is better for journaling and memory. I think that by going back to the app after writing so much didn’t help your case. Part of the problem with digital journaling is that distractions are just a button press away. When I sit down to write at the end of the day: my computer is off, my phone is on the desk or charging, and it’s usually quiet or some music on. Being a daily ritual helps keep the train on track. If I dont get to it on the evening then it’s usually the first thing I do in the morning. Routine helps a lot.

Lastly, the tools you choose make a difference. There are a lot of journaling systems out there aside from a notebook/diary. The pens you use should be ones you enjoy using. I’m a fountain pen person and will use a different pen each day and can rotate pens and ink to suit what i feel like using. You could color coordinate entries depending on the mood, emotion, or day. There is a lot out there to make your journal unique instead of black ink in a notebook.

Lastly I will say sometimes life just gets too hectic. You can get so busy, tired, or burned out that you just default to survival mode. For me its ultimately a matter of discipline/ roitine to stay on track and keep up with it as much as possible.

I’ve been journaling for a few years, starting with a Mind Journal in COVID which I found really useful. It’s built to ease you into it, get you reflecting more and introspecting as well as build the habit by making it as easy as possible to note something down each day.

I don’t use their products any more as they are quite expensive but I’d definitely recommend looking into them for trying to turn journaling into a habit. I do use the system though which is for each day you note your feelings, 3 (or more) achievements which can be anything from got up and showered to got a promotion, 3 (or more) things your grateful for and a happy hour where you have or plan to do something good for yourself.

This is a really useful prompt I find because those bits only take a few minutes and are a great way to track things over time. For example looking back at my COVID journal I can spot when I started getting burned out by having feeling: tired every day for several months. Noting down what you’re grateful for is also proven to help your mood, basically you start looking for positive things more and it’s a happy feedback loop.

Once I’ve done those bits I write stream of consciousness style, anything that’s playing on my mind, details of my day, stuff I hope might or might not happen, things that made me angry. For me it’s a really useful medicine practice which has definitely helped keep my mental health more stable over the years.

I like having a nice book and pen to write in too, I’m looking forward to finishing this journal so I can upgrade the book to something more fancy, maybe going leather bound next time.

My main advice would be to stick with it, habits take a good 3 months or so to bed in. The mind journal is good for this as it makes it really easy to journal something and gradually builds you up to more free form writing.

Good luck with your journalling I hope you find something which works for you. There are loads of methods out there from billet journaling which helps like a load of work to me but looks amazing like an art project, to the VOMIT method to just get your thoughts onto the page. Keep at it, try to find what works for you and build the habit, but don’t stress if you miss a day or two.