SFH #78: A Case for Journaling
Science behind the health of journaling ✍🏼
While I love to write, I had to be convinced kicking and screaming that a journaling habit was worthwhile. ✍️
I honed my practice with at least a dozen Moleskin notebooks, a few spiral ruled notebooks, a couple of pocket-sized detective-style pads, a SuperNote A5, the Daily Journal app, the Five Minute Journal app, the Evernote app, and the Notes 5 app. As of this writing, I'm using Evernote to do a daily tracking of my time, activity, and high-level reminders. I utilize my navy blue classic Moleskin 5 x 8.5 for my BUJO style habit tracking and reflections. Quite frankly, it's a joyous ritual to meticulously map out life with a precise pen and colored pencils. 😂 I'm certainly not perfect. I miss days, I change things up frequently, and some days I spend more time researching journaling practice than writing. Yet, I always come back to the habit in one form or another. The benefits are too compelling not to.
Reflective journaling may reduce stress and trauma and increase cognitive functioning1
Expressive journaling may reduce anxiety and enhance focus2
Journaling may enhance your IQ3
Handwritten journaling may enhance your memory4
Journaling may improve our vocalized communication5
There is a beautiful world of journaling methodology to explore from daily gratitude practice, morning pages, and my favorite: the wide world of bullet journaling.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philip-Ullrich/publication/11212874_Journaling_about_stressful_events_Effects_of_cognitive_processing_and_emotional_expression/links/0fcfd5090027dd0d0a000000/Journaling-about-stressful-events-Effects-of-cognitive-processing-and-emotional-expression.pdf
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/write-your-anxieties-away-2017101312551
https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/WPLC/article/download/5160/2132/0
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704631504575531932754922518
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/00346543066001053