With instant messaging and social media at our fingertips, it is so easy to put our views and opinions out into the world. However, when you sit down with a simple journal in your hands, it poses the opportunity to turn off the noise and express your thoughts to an audience of one.
Check out these five benefits of journalling to help us stay connected.
Connect Inward
One form of journalling that somewhat bridges the gap between digital and analog is the bullet journal. Its creator Ryder Carroll describes the bullet journal as “the analog system for the digital age.” Summing up the difference between the digital and analog space, he says, “Technology is really good at helping us connect outward, You know, we can connect with people around the world, we can connect with information. But an analog space, such as a paper notebook, lets us connect inward.”
Acknowledging Your Own Voice
Taking time to sort through your thoughts on paper allows you to own your voice. As Rachel Wilkerson Miller, author of Dot Journalling: A Practical Guide explains, “Writing about yourself and your life –even just brief notes! –is a huge privilege, and that writing can be incredibly liberating. Writing in a diary is, at its core, a declaration that your voice matters.”
A Safe Place
Journalling offers a safe place for judgment-free venting. Another plus of zero-technology–if you want to erase what you wrote you can always cross it out and move on. Your journal is for your eyes only and can become your closest confidant.
Harness Creativity
Writing by hand accesses a different part of your brain than when you type on a keyboard, allowing you to process ideas at a different pace.
Take Control
Do you check your emails first thing in the morning or last thing at night? Social media and technology can have a habit of demanding your time. You may be pulled in so many different directions that you feel stressed as soon as you awaken or as you try to drift off for the night. Instead of habitually reaching for your phone, try and reflect on the day that’s gone or what is ahead of you. You might find you slowly start to feel you have more control over where your precious energy goes.
The simple journal is a powerful tool and might be more important in our interconnected world than ever before. So, when the urge to unwind by scrolling through social media hits you after a long day, try connecting inwardly instead.
