Thinking about Journal Writing

There you are sitting in your favourite coffee stop and you look up from your book to see a woman in the corner. She is writing into a small book, stopping every now and then to gaze around and gather more thoughts. You wonder what she is doing? My guess, she is writing in her journal.

Journals are not just for adolescent girls writing about their latest crush, they are for men and women as well as boys and girls.

There are famous politicians who kept diaries of their life in public service and there are elderly women who keep diaries for their grandchildren. The range of journals and their writers is extraordinary.

Some people know they are keeping a journal, others are unaware. I know, that sounds silly doesn’t it?

And my friend, Sam, has kept a pocket calendar faithfully recording appointments and events. He just thinks of it as a calendar – having seen it, I know it is more.

I have another friend, Sally who thinks I am nuts for keeping a journal. “What a waste of time!” Yet she is an avid gardener and has years worth of records on her gardens, her plans and the results of her labours. It’s a journal just not the conventional kind.

As for me, I have been keeping a journal since Grade 8. It started out as a record of boys and crushes and over time has evolved to a safe place to think, to dump, to whine and to celebrate.

I cannot imagine my life without my journal.

My partner also keeps one and we often go out to a coffee shop to have a drink and write. Away from the distractions of home it is easier to write.

There is a substantial amount of research that indicates the value of journal keeping on an emotional and psychological level. A journal is a safe place to record your thoughts and feelings, make plans or scribble out your creative fantasies. If you are living in a situation where you don’t trust others in your home, you will need to get imaginative about preserving your privacy if that is important to you.

Over the next couple of blogs I will be exploring the types of journals there are, the rules for journal writing, some techniques and some recommended reading. Keeping a journal is one of the techniques I encourage my coaching clients to do.  It becomes a valuable record of accomplishments and successes.