For the last ten years I’ve written daily journal entries and it continues to be perhaps the most rewarding habit I’ve ever built. What follows is everything I know about the practice collected in one place. I hope it inspires you to start your own journal. I hope it shows you a few shortcuts to a better journal. And if nothing else, I hope you find some entertainment in it. Most people will benefit from the practice, and by focusing on the why and how of journaling, I’m trying to lower the barrier of entry for anyone interested in giving it a try.

My journals before moving to text files.

Why keep a journal?

Let’s be clear, journaling is a tough routine to get into. Understanding why you’re keeping one and articulating your journaling goal will keep you on track as you build the habit.

The value of a daily journal entry

Journaling helps me reflect, process, and understand my day. Every night before bed, I take about ten minutes to write what happened in the preceding hours and notice how I’m feeling. Getting it all out on the proverbial paper helps me fall asleep with a clear mind. Alongside all the good parts of the day, I can write any concerns or worries, and I find this helps me defer these normally nagging thoughts to some future date. After all, I don’t need to spend my time in bed thinking about this stuff if it’s already recorded; there’s plenty of time to revisit it tomorrow.

The daily journal entries force me to acknowledge the passage of time, too. I’m anxious about forgetting my life, so writing a journal entry can boost my confidence that I can look back on almost any day from the past ten years and know exactly what happened. I can relive pleasant memories and experiences over and over again. I can marvel at my ability to get through the toughest moments of my life. I can laugh at some random and normally forgettable pillow talk with my partner that made its way into the journal.

It’s a vibrant storybook, even if I end up being the only reader.

You know when you get to the end of a week, month, or year and say to yourself, “Wow! It’s already the end of the week/month/year?! Where did the time go?” At some point in university, I read The Tail End from Wait But Why, and now consider those lapses to be a personal failure; a failure to recognize each day for the precious gift it is. Each day can be remarkable, even if nothing characteristically remarkable happens.

Just look at this entry from April 3, 2019:

Can’t believe it’s already Thursday. Remember when I said time felt like it was going fast the other day? I looked back on March and I did a boatload of good stuff. I lived life. I did important things. I just failed to remember them.

And that’s why the palest ink is better than the sharpest memory.

The journal helps me address this time void head-on. If I get to the end of a week and wonder where the time went, I can effortlessly flip through the last few days of my journal. That helps me remember that I talked with a friend, practiced the piano, played a video game to unwind, or just watched my cat bathe in the sun. The memories come rushing back. And so does the time.

Determine your journaling goal

While my journaling goal is a combination of everything above (reflection, processing, understanding my day, and acknowledging the passage of time) you’re not limited to that. Maybe you’d rather set your intention for the day instead of recording what happened. Maybe you’d rather focus on one aspect of your life as you traverse a breakup, meet the love of your life, travel across the world, or move to a new city. The demands of your life will undoubtedly influence your journal’s structure and content.

Even though I set out to record the day, my entries often turn into more than a record of what happened. Journaling frequently opens up opportunities for introspection that would otherwise be lost. I may start with what happened—watching my cat bathe in the sun—but that could eventually move into how that made me feel. The introspection helps me process the motivations of others, too. Someone may do something that either directly or indirectly harms me, and by reflecting on it in my journal, I can take a second to be empathetic to their situation.

But let’s be clear, I can also complain my guts out without repercussions.

I also record quotes or things I liked, the music I’m enjoying, or something a friend told me about their life. It’s all noteworthy, especially when viewed through the lens of a future date.

If your journaling goal isn’t yet clear to you, consider writing about it in your next entry. Use the prompt “what do I want to get out of journaling?” and see what happens. After ten years, I’m certain about one thing: there’s no wrong way to approach journaling.

How to journal

With the “why to journal” out of the way, it’s time for the brass tacks. If you’ve made it this far, you probably want some tips on how to build the habit. Here’s what’s worked for me—a process I’ve refined for the past ten years.

What to journal about

If you’re asking this, take comfort because you’re not alone. It’s undoubtedly the most common question I’m asked. Think back to your journaling goal. If you have one, keeping that in mind while you write might remove the blocker. If you don’t have a journaling goal, your first journal entry might be an exploration of what you hope to get out of journaling. In case it’s not clear from the above, don’t feel bad if you end up journaling about journaling. Sure, it’s meta, but it’s also not a waste of time, especially as you’re discovering this thing.

If you’re blocked, you might be blocked by ambition or expectations. Many entries will feel like “Dear diary-ing” and that’s okay. You aren’t writing the next masterpiece—you’re just working through your day. Although let’s be clear, I guarantee you’ll eventually/accidentally record genuine wisdom and put together some masterpieces if you stick with it.

If you absolutely need a step-by-step, my journal entries usually follow this format:

An icebreaker about the weather or how I slept the night before. It sounds boring, but when you write about the weather frequently, it starts to pick up some poetry.
The day’s happenings in chronological order.
How I’m feeling about the day, week, month, etc.

Take the pressure off yourself, though. Some days I don’t describe how I’m feeling, while some days it’s almost all I write about. The consistent part is that I try to relive the day and pull out key moments.

If I could make one rule about journaling, it’d be this: I firmly believe you should not censor or over-edit your writing. My journal entries have spelling mistakes, incomplete grammar, and half-formed thoughts. I’ll usually fix the spelling mistakes if I catch them, but I let the other stuff sit as a representation of the moment. The entries are also embarrassing! I could probably get into a lot of trouble with people if they found out what I wrote about them. But my theory is that by writing it on “paper” I process grievances privately instead of gossiping with friends, and like I mentioned above, journaling often helps me have empathy for their actions.

Where to journal

I started on pen and paper in a Moleskine notebook, but after about five years and even more notebooks I realized the significant loss I’d incur if I were to lose them to fire, water damage, theft, etc. It didn’t make sense to store the journals in a safe or safe deposit box because that makes recall and review even more difficult. With that, I started writing them in plain text files (.txt) which was the most future-proofed file format I could think of. Eventually, I worked back through my five years of physical journals and transcribed them as well. I have deliberately avoided using apps because at the pace I’m going, I’m doubtful any piece of software or service will outlive my habit.

My entries quickly stepped up in richness after switching to text files from pen and paper. The reason is simple and unromantic: I can type faster than I can write. Given the same 10–15 minute time limit, I can get down much more detail when I type than if I write with a pen. With more detail in the digital entries, I feel like my output is better when I’m assisted by a computer.

Somewhere along the way, I made a small switch to the digital format. I write entries in Apple Notes since it's everywhere, then I move them to text files for long-term storage at the end of each month. It only takes about five minutes, but I’d like to automate it one day.

Writing journal entries in Apple Notes before they move to text files for long-term storage.

When to journal

I find the end-of-day journal more valuable for me since my entries focus on reflection. I already spend my mornings with a to-do list and calendar to set the intention for the day. But I can see the flip side, too. If you’d like to set your intention for the day, a journal entry in the morning is a great way to accomplish that. If you’ve had trouble with the evening entry in the past, it’s worth experimenting with morning journaling to see if that works better for you.

Keeping your journal secure

Everyone deserves a private space to reflect and process. If you’re trying to write privately while also fearing someone might read what you’ve written without your consent—an unfortunately common outcome of keeping a journal—you need to set up an environment that you know is secure.

A journal should be a place to externalize your thoughts so they aren’t left to their devices in your head, causing all sorts of chaos. It’s also an opportunity to think in writing, which can create some structure around day-to-day life. That deep introspection is tough to do genuinely when you’re preoccupied with someone breaking into your journal.

Breaking down an entry

I thought it might be helpful to share one of my unedited, least embarrassing, somewhat shareable journal entries. Hopefully, this lowers the bar enough that you don’t hold yourself to such high expectations.

If you completely lost interest and didn’t make it through the whole thing, don’t feel bad. I’m not writing my journal for you. I’m writing it for myself.

For those of you that did stick with it, let’s break this entry down:

Like I mentioned above, I’m starting with the weather notes as a little icebreaker, but also as a way to stay connected with nature and the seasons.
I’m currently fixated on improving my sleep, so I’ve been writing about how I feel after waking up.
This ridiculous part about Animal Crossing is embarrassing and cute all at once, but I’d be lying to my journal and myself if I didn’t include it in there.
I mentioned the housework for the day. I think by writing this part out I was hoping to reinforce its benefit so I stick with the new approach to staying on top of chores.
I usually talk about my workouts. That’s useful if I need to go back and see how recovery is going, but also just a reflection to make sure I’m always challenging myself to do better.
I wrote about what I’m reading. Hopefully, that improves my recall, even if I don’t end up writing an official book summary for it.
Some notes about how the evening went and recording some personal projects progress.
Finally, a brief note about my dumb iMessage anxiety and replying to friends on time. I’m atrocious at text messaging. If you know, you know.

What do I get out of this entry when I relive it in a few years? I’ll smile at the Animal Crossing part. Laugh at how naive I was, thinking I had housework figured out. The book notes will jog my memory. I’ll be proud of my personal projects. That’s it, there’s no grand plan or anything.

This is how I write my journal. This is everything I know about the practice. I’ve spent ten years figuring out why I do it, refining my goal, and learning how to do it most effectively. Maybe this will serve as a jumping off point for your practice, but I hope you quickly discover what you want from it and what works for you, then take it somewhere new.

A journal is as unique as the life, thoughts, and feelings of the person doing the writing. Make a repeating to-do, put it on your calendar, set a reminder—whatever you need to do to turn it into a habit. Give it an honest chance and see if it’s right for you.