The Incredible Benefits of Daily Journaling: How This Habit Changed My Life
For the last two years, I’ve kept a daily journal. I’ve heard many leaders & top performers talk about the powers and benefits of journaling every day, but it wasn’t until two years into the habit when I started to realize its benefits for myself.
In this post, I’ll break down my journaling methods and propose some easy ways you can start journaling now. Whether this is your first attempt at journaling, you’re looking to get back into journaling, or you’re a veteran who’s been journaling for decades. This post is for you.
You should be journaling every day. It doesn’t matter where you are in life. If you’re struggling, depressed, overwhelmed, anxious, lost your sense of direction in life, you should keep a journal. If you’re living your best life, catching green lights, seizing opportunities, making money, falling in love, riding the wave of success, you should absolutely keep a journal.
A journal isn’t for the low points in life, and it isn’t for the highs in life. Journalling is simply putting your thought process on paper. It’s documenting your life. There is no right or wrong way to journal. It’s the simple act of writing out your thoughts and having them logged in a place where you can reflect on them at any moment; that is why every person should journal.
“Most writers don’t write to express what they think. They write to figure out what they think. Writing is a process of discovery.” — Marc Weidenbaum.
This discovery process is how we navigate our crazy lives, whether you’re a student trying to find your purpose in the world or a business executive with decades of experience and success. We are always making decisions for the future and reflecting on our past. Journaling helps us think.
I hope this post either gives you a place to start or helps you evolve your current journalling habits. We are always changing as humans; thus, our journaling habits should ever be changing as well.
Why you should journal
Two years ago, I was struggling with depression and anxiety. It was crippling my life. I was always tired, and I was either oversleeping or waking up in a panicked sweat in the middle of the night.
I lacked the motivation to do anything productive. My sleep was inconsistent, my diet was unhealthy, and I had no fitness routine. I logged an average of 5 hours of screen time on my phone and spent an additional couple of hours on Netflix and Youtube.
I remember it being such a daunting task when you’re at your lowest low. It’s like sitting at the bottom of a deep, dark well. And you see the light above you. You can see the way out. But to get out, you have to scale the entire wall. You have to overcome all these problems in your life. You have to fix sleep problems; you have to improve your diet, start working out, cut your screen time, read more, write more, and be more productive. You need to start meditating, doing yoga, eating a keto-based diet, on and on.
There was no single path to climb my way out of this deep, dark well. To get out, I had to fix everything. But how do you set everything at the same time?
Every time I tried to get out, I was trying to overcome too much, and I would stumble and fall. I was caught in a vicious cycle of self-sabotage. Whenever I made progress in an area of my life, resistance would present itself. Resistance would highjack my self-talk, overcome my willpower, and I would fall back to the bottom of the well.
Sure I might have fixed my diet. But what about my fitness? What about my sleep? What about reading more and writing more? You really should meditate, you know?
So then I switch to reading more, and then my diet falls apart. Well, you’re reading more, but what about fitness? You know, maybe reading is just a form of procrastination. Perhaps I should read less. Oh, by the way, you need to fix your diet again.
It was like this for a year. And after trying to create better habits and falling short every time. It was at this point in my life I committed to keeping a daily journal.
Journaling is not a new concept. It’s an ancient practice that has spanned many millennia. Many famous historical figures kept journals.
Mark Twain, Anne Frank, John D. Rockefeller, George Patton, Ben Franklin, Leonardo DaVinci, Charles Darwin.
Many Ancient Greek Philosophers kept journals as well. Marcus Arelius’ was keeping a journal for himself during his time as Roman Emperor between 161–180AD. And look at the legacy he’s left behind because of his private journal. Meditations has survived thousands of years and reads remarkably well. The problems we face today are the same problems people faced two thousand years ago.
Many of the top thought leaders today preach journaling as well. Tim Ferris, Jim Collins, Lewis Howes, Robert Rodriguez, Seth Godin, Ryan Holiday, Austin Kleon, Mathew McConaughey, Dr. Jim Loehr.
So obviously, something is there. Journalling is a practice that has spanned multiple millennia. Every generation has top leaders who practice daily journaling, so let’s see what this is all about.
As I was sitting at the bottom of this deep, dark well, with no idea how to get out, I had heard about the powers of journaling for all these people. But I had never really journaled before, let alone journaled daily. So I decided to give it a shot. It’s been over two years since then, and I’ve continued the practice every day since.
And now I can say I am out of the deep dark well. My sleep is better, and I’m reading daily, working out regularly, eating a healthy diet. I’ve cut my screen time down to 1 hour a day, and I watch less Netflix. I meditate every day, and I live a low-stress, productive life. I’ve overcome my depression. I’m less anxious. I’m out of the well.
How did I do it? My journal has the answer.
Now journaling wasn’t like a rope ladder coming to greet me at the bottom of this well. It was nothing like that. To get out of a rut, build better habits, and construct your ideal lifestyle, takes long hard work. And journaling provided a road map.
When trying to climb out of the well, I would write about it. If I made progress, I would write about it. If I failed or struggled, I would write about it. And doing so provided a methodical path out of the deep, dark well. I would talk about each of my failures, my successes. If I wouldn’t fight the bad days or beat myself up about it, I would journal about it.
After a year of this, you notice patterns. You have data on your life. For me, I could see what made me fall. I could see how far up the wall I’ve gotten before and how I did it. I would meditate on my goals. And sure enough, after two long years, I’m out of the deep, dark well. But that doesn’t mean I’m done with daily journaling.
How to keep a daily journal
My journaling format is always changing. The method for journaling doesn’t matter at all. As long as you are journaling every day, you’ll get the benefits.
Let me repeat that because this is incredibly important. The method for journaling does matter at all.
For me, I almost always journal digitally. I use two apps. Google sheets, and the notes app. I love journaling digitally for a few reasons.
1. My handwriting is complete garbage.
2. I can type faster than my hand can write. This allows me to keep up with my rapid train of thought.
3. Everything I journal is stored in the cloud. I can journal from my laptop, my work computer, from my phone, even a public library computer. I can journal on a plane, in a different country, wherever, and whenever I want. If I lose my phone or any device I use for my journal, it doesn’t matter because everything is backed up and in the cloud. I love that.
I know many people who journal with pen and paper. I would say the mass majority of people I know who journal use a physical notebook. And if that works for you, do that. That style doesn’t work for me, but that’s my point. Find the best way that works for you.
I’ve successfully journaled every day for two years using notes and google sheets, and I love it. But that might not be the method for you.
At the end of the year, I compile my notes chronologically in a single document and print them out. So, in addition to this digital journal on the cloud. I also have a physical copy.
The best method for you might be journaling with a typewriter, using a large calendar, or journaling on the bathroom walls. It doesn’t matter. Whatever works for you. There is no wrong way to journal. The only rule is to do it every day.
That said, let me go over a few different ways you can journal. You can test as many styles as you want, find what you like, see what you don’t like. You can use any of these as a starting point for your journal.
The journaling styles:
Gratitude
Daily Reflection
Metric Journaling
Guided Journals
Stream of conscious
Gratitude Journaling
The core of Gratitude journaling is you write everything you are grateful for in your life. Do this everyday morning or night. Once a week, reflect on everything you were grateful for that week. Do this every week, and after a few months, I guarantee you’ll feel the power and benefits of gratitude journaling.
Daily Reflection
This practice usually comes at the end of each day or the morning after. The goal of daily reflection is to reflect on your day. Note anything that stands out and is on your mind. Can be positive things, can be negative things. Maybe you’re proud of an accomplishment. Perhaps you’re frustrated by a boss or co-worker.
Maybe you had a very uneventful day. Could be as simple as: Today I went to the gym, then to the grocery store. Today I ate spaghetti and meatballs and worked on this. It’s simply logging your routine and what you did that day. Reflect on all of it. It can be two sentences or two pages. Whatever works for you, do it daily.
Metric Journaling
I believe this is the best journaling habit you can have. It can easily be used in addition to other journaling styles.
I heard about this metric, data-focused journaling method from Jim Collins on the Tim Ferris Podcast. I’ll link the podcast episode below.
Basically, he journals by gathering data from his own life. Each day he’ll rate his day on a scale of -2, -1, 0, +1, +2. -2 is an awful day. +2 is the best day. And every day, you’ll give the day a rating on this scale.
Jim also logs how many hours each day he spends on a creative task and logs those hours.
The benefit of gathering data every day is that after two years of this, you can compile all the data and analyze it. You’ll see fascinating stats and trends. And the best part about it is it’s all unbiased data. What you discover are fact-based truths. Data doesn’t lie.
Here’s a practical example. After you have this historical data can sort your spreadsheet by all the +2 days and see what was it about your best days that made them the best days. You can also sort your spreadsheet by the -2 days and see what caused your worst days. With this data, you can construct your life to have more +2 days.
Let me give you some personal examples of this. For me, when I look at all my best days, there are a few noticeable trends. They are often days when I’ve spent a lot of quality time with friends and family. They are days when I was actively engaged in a personal hobby. They are days when I’ve been generous, either with my time or with my money. They are days when I’ve been very productive and made considerable progress on a personal endeavor that is very important to me.
These might seem pretty obvious, but the data doesn’t lie. If I want every day to be a +2 day, all I need to do is spend quality time with my loved ones, spend time on a hobby I love, and accomplish productive work on a personal project. That is my formula for success. When that happens, I have a great day.
On the opposite end, I can look at the -2 days and see what caused it. Again, there are immediate trends I notice when I look at my data. Most -2 days are very high-stress days. For me, it’s often video productions. Shoots are very stressful, and a lot of my shoots result in -2 days. Days with high screen time also result in less happiness. If I spend too much time on my phone or Netflix, I’ll have a worse day than if I didn’t.
You will find a lot of interesting facts about yourself when you have the data. I always thought I loved to travel, but it turns out days when I’m traveling, are not my happiest days. I thought I was primarily an introvert, but it turns out days with high social interaction, making new friends, and making new connections make me happy. There’s a lot of self-discovery when you incorporate metric journaling into your daily routine.
I’ve played around with other metrics as well. Jim Collins recommended the happiness scale, as well as logging hours spent on creative work. But I also have measured screen time, reading time, watch time, the hours of sleep I get each night, the hours of fitness I get each day. You can decide what it is you want to measure with this spreadsheet. The one thing I think is an absolute requirement in your journaling habit is rating your day. This simple act is so invaluable and provides the most insights.
A guided journal
So guided journals are journals you can buy. A popular, well-known example is the 5-minute journal created by Intelligent Change. I first learned about the journal through Tim Ferris, as he is a big fan of the 5-minute journal. But the 5 min journal is a physical journal you buy that provides prompts for your journaling. The idea is to set aside a small amount of time each day and follow the prompt for the day. This could include gratitude journaling, self-reflection, meditation, a creative thinking exercise, and more.
There are many journals like the 5-minute journal as well. The Bullet Journal by Ryder Carroll, Austin Kleon has the Steal Like an Artist Journal. Adam Kurtz has the 1 Page at a time daily creative journal, Ryan Holiday has the daily stoic journal, Dr. Jim Loehr has the Personal Credo Journal. Each journal can help create a daily habit of journaling by providing you a prompt for the day. They usually set an expectation of taking 5–10 min each day to complete the journal prompt.
These guided journals are a great way to begin building a journaling habit. It gives you the prompt and the paper; all you have to do is take 5 min and write a response.
These journals are also great if you are a veteran as well, they may give you new insights to improve your process or provide prompts that make you think in a way you’ve never thought before. I’ll like some of my favorite guided journals in the description below.
Stream of consciousness journaling
And finally, the stream of consciousness journaling. Some people call it freehand journaling or meditative journaling. This technique is to write everything on your mind in the current moment. Pretty much the opposite of using prompts or having a specific focus on what you are journaling.
Stream of consciousness journaling is getting the self-talk in your head and putting it on paper. The goal is to write with speed and with no judgment. Just let the thoughts in your head flow onto the paper for however long you decide. Could be 5 min, could be 20 min.
The benefit of the stream of consciousness journaling is it’s just dumping your brain. All the weight of the thoughts and feelings can pour onto the paper and free up space mentally to go about your day with a clear mind.
Reflecting on stream of consciousness journaling also gives you insight into your thought processes, feelings, decision making, and so much more. You’re able to look at how your brain works, how your self-talk speaks and sounds. These insights allow you to see trends you might not know existed, clarify your thinking, and will enable you to improve and craft your thinking process.
These are just a few styles. There are many more out there, some I’m sure I’ve never even heard of that probably work excellent. I want you to find what works for you and make it your own. Each style has its benefit. That’s why I like changing my journaling style.
If there is a pandemic, daily reflection and gratitude journaling might be very beneficial for your specific situation.
If you’re starting a business venture, logging your days and doing a guided journal focused on business might help clarify your thinking and keep a history of your routine and progress.
If you want to boost your overall happiness, having a gratitude journal and a stream of conscious journal might be the best fit for unloading your doubts and highlighting the good in your life.
If you’re an athlete, maybe you want metric journaling and daily reflection so you can optimize your performance and track your training and progress.
So I highly recommend testing many different styles, combining different types, coming up with your own style. If a style doesn’t work for you, you don’t ever have to do it again.
You should spend the right amount of time on your journal. Your daily journal might only take you 2–5 min of your day, that’s great. It might take 30 minutes of your day, that’s great too. But let the journal tell you what the right amount of time is. I’ve had days where I’ve journaled for 5 minutes and days where I’ve journaled for 1 hour. Don’t put pressure on having to meet a quota — just journal.
Also, consider what you want to improve. If it’s your health, measure your health. If it’s diet, measure your diet. If it’s sports performance, measure your training. If it’s leadership skills, count that. I want to reiterate journals are not set in stone. The way I journal and what I journal about is always changing because life is ever-changing. But as long as you’re doing it every day. That’s what matters.
Keep in mind; this habit takes time to pay off. It took me two years of daily journaling to feel the effects and see its benefits positively impact my own life. So be patient and trust the process.
I’ll leave you with my favorite quote from Bojack horseman.
“It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier. But you got to do it every day. That’s the hard part. But it does get easier.” — BoJack Horseman.
Thanks for watching! If you liked this video, please pay homage to your Youtube gods by smashing the like button, dropping a comment, clicking the bell, and subscribing. It helps me out, and it’ll help get this video to more people.
I also want to hear from you. Are you new to journaling or a veteran? What are some of the things you like most about journaling, or what are some of the things that have always prevented you from journaling? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
Make it a great day or not; the choice is yours.
