Reason #5 is the most important one.

A lot of people I know don’t journal. They don’t understand it. They say it takes too much time. They say they don’t know what they would write about.

If you’re in the same camp, let me convince you as to what you’ve been missing and why you need to start journaling today. Like right (or write) now.

#1: Journaling gives you a chance to brain dump.

“All the noise in my brain. I clamp it to the page so it will be still.” — Barbara Kingsolver

There are so many benefits to journaling. I recently read the book The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest, and I loved how she talked about junk journaling.

Whether it’s at the beginning of the day or the end of it, we have so many thoughts we just need to get out of our heads.

If you’re a person who struggles to sleep at night because your brain won’t shut off, journaling is for you. You just keep writing until all the thoughts get out. There is nothing structural about it. Write down all the thoughts as they jump from one thing to the next until you find that you’re done. You’ll know you’re done, because you’ll suddenly find yourself out of things to write.

#2: Journaling gives you the opportunity to reflect.

“Writing in a daily journal is important but the reason why I journal is because I can read my own writing after many months have passed by. I’m able to reflect on my life, my actions, my behaviors, my memories, and also the behavior of others around me.” — Nando Prudhomme

I feel like people who don’t reflect aren’t giving themselves the opportunity to grow. When you reflect, you can see where you’ve done well and where there are opportunities for improvement.

As a middle school English teacher, reflection is something I’m constantly doing. I teach five sections of 7th grade English, and each class is different in terms of their dynamics, cohesion, behavior, and/or intellect. I can’t teach the class the same way all five periods.

I find myself reflecting as I go from one class to the next. What worked well? What did we do that needs to be tweaked for the next group? What was an absolute flop?

While I don’t have time to reflect through writing during the day, at the end of the day I take 10–20 minutes to do so before I go home for the evening. I write down where we left off and where our roadmap is going to take us tomorrow. I consider students who might have been a little off so that I can have a conversation if it was more than a one off. I jot notes about students who were particularly engaged so that I can reinforce those behaviors.

If I didn’t take the time to reflect, I’m not sure I would be a very good teacher quite honestly.

Reflection can happen both professionally and personally.

#3: Journaling can give you insight into your future.

“A journal can offer you a place to be someone, anyone, who you want to be.” — Brian Ledger

I love this about journaling. Mapping out where I want to be in 1, 5, or 10 years is such an exhilarating experience. There are no boundaries, only possibilities.

Sometimes people put constraints on themselves. There’s nothing wrong with being realistic, but dream a little, okay? Or, dream a lot.

It’s a journal, and you owe it to yourself to believe in the biggest version of yourself that you can possible imagine. Or, even go beyond what you think is possible.

#4: Journaling allows you to be real with yourself.

“Your journal is like your best friend. You don’t have to pretend with it, you can be honest and write exactly how you feel.” — Bukola Ogunwale

This. Seriously, just this.

I had a friend who couldn’t journal. She kept saying, “What if someone else would find it and read it?”

I came back with, “Then rip it up and throw it away when you finish writing. Do something cathartic like burning it to ash. Do a digital version and delete it.”

Their response, “But then, I feel like I’ve just wasted my time.”

I just shook my head. They refused to be their own best friend. They refused the opportunity to be real, and I think that was a lot of their problem. They were afraid of being real.

But wow, when you hit that level when you can be real with yourself, that’s when you’ve hit a huge level of growth. If you can’t be your own best friend first, how can you be someone else’s person?

#5: Journaling reminds you of the moments you might otherwise forget.

“Documenting little details of your everyday life becomes a celebration of who you are.” — Carolyn V. Hamilton

I bought a One Line a Day Journal for this reason. It’s a five year memory book that I learned about from author Ryan Holiday. In fact, you can order it here from the bookstore he and his wife own, The Painted Porch Bookshop.

I’m in year two, and it’s pretty much the coolest journal I have. You simply write one highlight from the day. One page is the same date over a period of five years. So, you can look to see what you did on the same day in previous year.

I have forgotten so much stuff that I’ve done, and so I love that I can relive a memory. Most days are pretty simple in what I highlight. It might be time I’ve spent with my grandsons, a movie my husband I went to, or a book I finished reading. It also houses highlights from different trips and what we did on a particular day.

As much as I would like to think I would remember all of these memories, I won’t. Writing them down in such a succinct way is a thing of beauty.

In Conclusion.

If you haven’t already figured it out, I’m a huge proponent of journaling. For me, journaling is essential to life.

Give it a chance. I mean, really give it a chance, and I think you will come to agree.