Sometimes keeping a journal of your thoughts, feelings, and experiences helps, but often it makes things worse. In general, it is likely to hurt if it tries to help you “know yourself” in isolation and helps if it leads to greater understanding and behavior change in your interactions with others.

A journal is meant collect your ideas and observations on any number of things and put the happenings of each day into writing. In this way, you are able to better remember what you did, what you thought, and what was happening when you were younger.

Top 8 Benefits to Keep a Journal or a Diary

• Keep your thoughts organized. Diaries help us to organize our thoughts and make them apprehensible.
• Improve your writing.
• Set & achieve your goals.
• Record ideas on-the-go.
• Relieve stress.
• Allow yourself to self-reflect.
• Boost your memory.
• Inspire creativity.

Recap: 6 Journaling Ideas

1. Write down your goals every day.
2. Keep a daily log.
3. Journal three things you’re grateful for every day.
4. Journal your problems.
5. Journal your stresses.
6. Journal your answer to “What’s the best thing that happened today?” every night before bed.

What to write in a journal

1. Write about what you did for the day.
2. Write about what scares you.
3. Journal about your goals for the next five years.
4. Jot down your ultimate dreams.
5. Write about decisions you need to make.
6. Write about what you will do for the day ahead.

Set a time for how long you want to write. Somewhere between 5-20 minutes is ideal, depending on how much you want to jot down. Setting a time will help you stay focused and stop you from getting carried away.

When you journal every day, you’re practicing the art of writing. And if you use a journal to express your thoughts and ideas, it’ll help improve your overall communication skills. Sometimes negative thoughts and emotions can run on a loop in our heads.

Some people prefer to write in the morning; others at night. There’s conflicting research over which time of day is better for creativity, productivity, or emotional well-being, which ultimately means that the best time of day to write is the time that suits your own peak hours and the purpose of your journaling.

Writing in a journal a few times a week, such as every other day or 3-4 times per week, is often an ideal amount for most people. Journals are very personal and done entirely for oneself.

By keeping a gratitude journal, you develop a practice that keeps you accountable to developing appreciation and enjoying happier days. Translating thoughts into concrete language—whether oral or written—has advantages over just thinking the thoughts: It makes you more aware, deepening the emotional impact.

Gratitude journals are not unlike the diary you kept as a teenager, but instead of writing random thoughts about your day, you write about the things you’re grateful for—big or small.

Gratitude journaling is the habit of recording and reflecting on things (typically three) that you are grateful for on a regular basis. In essence, you are rewiring your brain to focus more on the positive aspects of your life and build up resilience against negative situations.

As you write, here are nine important tips:

1. Be as specific as possible—specificity is key to fostering gratitude.
2. Go for depth over breadth.
3. Get personal.
4. Try subtraction, not just addition.
5. See good things as “gifts.” Thinking of the good things in your life as gifts guards against taking them for granted.

8 Creative Ways to Express Gratitude

1. 1 Show a little enthusiasm. There’s nothing wrong with a little hyperbole.
2. 2 Vary your vocabulary.
3. 3 Get specific.
4. 4 Make it public.
5. 5 Share a list of your favorite things about them.
6. 6 Write them a handwritten letter.
7. 7 Give them extra encouragement.
8. 8 Get deep.

Get specific. Try to be more detailed in your gratitude journal than just, ‘I’m grateful for my bed’. Be specific about why you’re grateful for it. For example, ‘I’m grateful for my bed, because it’s a safe and comfortable place that I can relax and rest in each night’.

10 Positive Thinking Journal Prompts

1. Write down three things you are grateful for today – no matter how big or small.
2. Write down a nice act someone has done for you this week.
3. Write down something nice you have done for someone else, or something nice you could do.