Can journaling really change your life?

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

I stare at computer and phone screens sixty to seventy hours a week. I utilize dozens of applications to manage my work as a healthcare administrator, freelance editor, and responsible partner and parent. I keep an eye on my phone at all times for urgent communication. But my favorite tools for work, creativity, and wellness? They aren’t anything accessible through a phone or laptop—they’re actually my journal and pocket notebook.

There’s nothing particularly special about these two things; they aren’t the catalyst to me earning millions of dollars, and they unfortunately don’t let me bear the powers of a Shinigami. My pocket notebook and journal, however, help me do something incredibly powerful: improve my career while addressing issues of imposter syndrome and chronic guilt. Here’s why.

The simplicity of taking notes with pen and paper is timeless. If I think of a task or question unrelated to my immediate work, I write it down on paper to prevent that thought from distracting me. I struggle with consistently taking notes on my phone because of how easily I get distracted by everything else my phone entails, which discourages me from wanting to take notes at all. I convince myself in the moment that I will not need to write anything down because I will remember it later. Turns out, I rarely do. My notebook, on the other hand, offers no notifications, no emails, no distractions, and therefore, no friction. Instead of pulling out my phone, I pull out my pocket notebook, jot down the note, and then put it away. Simple. Timeless.

My notes aren’t neatly categorized into separate sections for my job, freelancing, or personal life. And they don’t need to be, because this is a palm-sized notebook and not an encyclopedia. I can always find a specific thought or idea in less than ten seconds. Paradoxically, this nearly system-less way of capturing ideas and tasks is what keeps me the most organized. And I like it that way.

I do use one journaling system, though. Every day, I write a single-line entry about how I spent my time outside of my day job to be productive. Busyness doesn’t equate to success, but this practice does motivate me to be a bit more intentional with my free time. Work, freelancing, family time, groceries and cooking, gym—no matter how small and brief, it is worth recording. Looking back at the single-line entries reminds me of how much energy I dedicate to my career and family, which helps me combat my imposter syndrome.

There’s no shortage of work that qualifies as a daily entry. As a parent of a two-year-old, a professional in both healthcare and editing, and someone in the process of buying a home with my fiancé, I juggle a lot. Sometimes the juggling makes it hard for me to be in the moment. When I’m at the gym, I feel guilty for not spending more time with my family. When I’m cooking or cleaning, I feel like I should be working on my professional development. It’s a cycle of guilt that is neither constructive nor healthy.

Journaling helps me quiet those thoughts. Writing about my day and my emotions allows me to create space to process them. It pushes me to come to terms with my experiences, even when my emotions are non-linear. I track daily highs and lows, helping me recognize when I’m being too hard on myself. Journaling helps me catch cognitive distortions and correct my perspective, and by proxy, helps me live in the moment. Even while juggling.

With how quick and easy it is to doomscroll and get a dopamine hit before bed, the act of sitting down and being alone with one’s thoughts is difficult. It is also liberating and cathartic. Once I stop caring about whether the first sentence is gobbledygook, the rest of what I have to say flows through a bit quicker. Writing in my journal forces me to turn difficult emotions or complex thoughts into coherent sentences. That ability to communicate has tremendous carryover to my professional and personal life.

My journal itself is especially useful at work, too. When my mind drifts to personal matters, I pause for a minute to quietly document what’s bothering me. Just like the tasks that get tucked away in my pocket notebook, those thoughts get tucked away in my journal. This technique is a quick, quiet, and healthy way to acknowledge my feelings and refocus on my actual work tasks. They hold on to the information and feelings that I need to revisit at more appropriate times without costing any mental or psychological energy. And when I do revisit them outside of my work hours, I get to process them on my own terms.

I don’t foresee there ever being a virtual tool that will replace pen and paper once and for all. Not for me. My journal and pocket notebook are essentially my second brain that do not require screen space. I have the creative freedom to do what I want with them, and therefore they are the mediums I choose to use to stay organized, look inward, and be honest with myself without judgment.

Can journaling really change your life? Will carrying a pocket notebook change your relationship with to-do lists and productivity? With the right habits and techniques that work for your lifestyle and your brain, they just might.