There are many different benefits to keeping a journal and it really depends what purpose you have for keeping a journal. It doesn't have to be purely professional; some people enjoy keeping a journal for personal reasons.

If you want to become a writer many books say that in order to get started it is advised to keep a journal. This doesn't have to be a detailed diary of everything you have done each day, but to just write down a few thoughts every now and then. It is useful to have a notebook of some kind to hand when you are out in case a thought springs to mind. Then you can easily write it down without having to remember it for later.

You don't have to use everything you have write down and if you already have a story or title in mind then don't just stick to things that relate to that. Ideas need to be recorded so you can look back on them later. This might help inspire another title that you hadn't thought of at the time. Day to day events can be recorded as well. They again might spark some inspiration at a later date or help to jog a memory when stuck for ideas.

On a personal basis, journaling can help release frustrations and help people on a mental basis. Sometimes it is useful to write down feelings in a journal especially if there are things you feel you can't tell anyone else. They say that you shouldn't bottle things up and by writing things down it helps release those feelings, be it anger, love or upset. Writing things down can often help people sort things out in their mind. If they are feeling confused about situations, writing them down and seeing them on the page might help to clear things up and make people feel better.

Journaling can also be used for historical purposes. There are many famous diaries, such that of Anne Frank from the Second World War. She kept a diary whilst hiding from the Germans in Amsterdam and has provided an insight into life at that time. It has been translated into several different languages and is the most read diary to date.

But keeping a journal doesn't have to mean you are facing exceptional circumstances such as Anne. Every day life can be interesting to great grandchildren if the diary is passed down through generations. It can show how times have changed and how things that we do now were done so differently a hundred years ago, or even not done at all.

Keeping a journal doesn't have to be in the form or a written diary. Scrap booking is also a good way to keep a record of past events. This can include pictures, newspaper cuttings, post cards or other artefacts that remind people of a specific event. A good scrapbook will include some captions as to what the pictures show, dates or why the postcard is significant. This could even go alongside the diary to provide a visual representation of what has been written about.

Journaling can have all sorts of benefits and doesn't necessarily need to be done everyday. But it does need to be personal to you and show thoughts, feelings and actions so that something productive can come out of it. Why not have a go at writing something down now, you might be surprised!

Learn more about this author, Claire Wolfe.
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