Mamas, here’s why you should keep a journal

I’ve always been a journal girl.

In my tween and teens years, I was the “Dear Diary” girl, keeping a memo of my days; what made me happy, the sad details, the crushes, the heartbreaks, everything.

I had so many diaries, I’m talking piles of them. I think that’s where my obsession with journals and notebooks started.

While my years of addressing my diary each time I made a new entry in it are over, my love for journalling never left me. It’s become such an important part of my being that I cannot go a couple of days without making an entry.

Mamas, why you should be keeping a journal. #motherhood #journal
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I’ll admit, I don’t write each day. And that’s okay.

Some days there just isn’t enough time to sit and write out a detailed version of my day; my thoughts and feelings. If that’s the case, I’ll just leave a short and to-the-point journal entry of that day. It’s just enough detail to remind me of what had happened and how I felt, without needing to explain in essay-form to remember it over the years.

I think that’s why many women feel discouraged to continue or to even start journalling. It’s time-consuming, and in our already busy lives, where are we suppose to fit in this as well?

It’s only time-consuming if you let it be.

Writing two or three sentences at the end of your day about how it was won’t take you much time. I’ll admit, some nights I pass out before making an entry and I’ll just add the snippet the next morning if it’s something I need to have written down.

If you really just don’t have time during the week, you could do a weekly round-up on the weekends, which can be kept simple and quick, and you’re ready to go again!

There are a couple of other points I’ll discuss on the best ways to start journalling a little later on to help you set-up and start your journalling journey.

So mamas, if you’re wondering why you should keep a journal: here’s the breakdown.

Stress relief

Whenever I’m going through a rough patch, I write out my feelings and emotions. By letting it out on paper, I feel relief letting it out of my system, and my head. The ‘pressure‘ I feel of the thoughts clouding my mind is released as soon as I’ve written it all down.

Regulate emotions and be happier

Stress and anxiety can take a strong hold over you, and knowing how to manage it properly can help regulate and relieve your emotions. By writing about my fears, anxieties, worries and other stress-causers, I’m able to break the hold they have over me to address them with a clear mind. I journal a lot more when I’m feeling down, and I need to spill as much as I can out, I do feel slightly better afterwards by using journalling to regulate my moods.

I’ve also found that the relief does tend to bring peace over me and bring happiness back around. Sometimes it just takes a little longer than other times.

Clarity to solve problems

By having a look at your problems from a different angle, you’re often led to finding solutions for them you otherwise wouldn’t have looked at. Taking a fresh view at them a few days later helps to see solutions and perspectives that could assist in solving problems you’re dealing with.

Understand yourself better

By reading older journal entries, I can follow a pattern of how much growth I have had over a certain period of time. Over the years, my journal entries have changed. When I was younger, the topics I wrote about weren’t as serious and deep as they are now. It has also shown me how my views and opinions on matters have evolved and built-on. It has enlightened me to see how my though patterns work and what my biggest concerns are. What I need to improve in my life; work on, change, enrich.

Improve relationships

I’ve had those days those days where I’ve had a disagreement with someone, and no matter which way we took things, we just couldn’t reach a middle ground. These frustrations stayed with me for days to come because things felt unresolved to me, and it was stirring inside me all the time.

Same when someone has wronged me, and no matter how many times I’ve reached out to explain, no peace was found or the person/people simply didn’t care for it as much as I did.

I wrote about it. I listed all my frustrations and feelings. While I couldn’t resolve the issues with the people (some just don’t care for budging), I was able to bring myself peace of mind by releasing the emotions, and yes, much anger, by writing about the situations that were causing me discomfort.

I’ve written about days my kids frustrated me to the limit and left me in tears. I’ve written about days when HB and I had massive arguments and I needed to release emotions.

Each time, I’ve felt much better than I did before writing in my journal.

Record moments and memories

As time goes on, our memories fade. Those tiny little details of our kids’ lives and moments disappear. I have journals from the time that Kid1 was born, and it’s always a pleasure to go through them every few months and read something that I had already forgotten about.

I hope these points encourage you to start on your own journalling journey, and help you understand yourself, strengthen relationships, find peace and solutions, and enjoy life a little more.

Remember to share this post with your mama friends to encourage them to start their own journey.