Along with every other kid in my class, I was required to start a journal in the sixth grade for self-reflection. Class time was set aside and journals were occasionally collected and graded to make sure that we did indeed write regularly. I remember the reactions to the exercise as rather mixed, but for myself, keeping a diary became a habit that has persisted through my life. While I can’t claim to have always written with consistency, over the years I’ve realised what a wonderful tool it is for self-evaluation and monitoring personal growth and progress. If you are a journal writer as well, you are already aware of the benefits keeping a diary can offer: A private place for reflection and documentation, as well as a possible map for future hopes and aspirations—Even better, it is a completely free way to maintain your sanity.

Tristine Rainer’s book, “The New Diary,” is a great source for seasoned journal writers or for those who have long thought of starting a diary, but have yet to get into it. As a sporadic but faithful diarist myself, I encourage others to read the book, but will highlight some of its key points in the following.

Starting Your Journal

There are a few misconceptions about journaling that may make it hard for us to start recording our life—or to keep at it regularly. Reiner reminds us that journal writing is neither beneficial nor fun if it becomes a chore. We can forget the “Today it was raining.” entries and focus on writing when we want to write. If that means every day, then every day, if once a year, then once a year. Our journal is the place to record the things that interest us the most—something significant we wish to remember; an intense emotional state; an event we were exposed to that moved us; or problems and grievances we need to air. It need not be a ponderous documentation of all the things happening in our lives.

Rainer encourages us to write in the way that makes us most comfortable. She recommends writing by hand, as a physical notebook is also good for pictures or scraps of entries written on different papers and pasted in later. I personally find an actual notebook too tedious, as I can type much faster than I can write by hand—so I keep a running Word document on my computer and add and save as I go. This makes it easy to cut and paste emails from friends or acquaintances that are significant to me or articles/written material from online and I can start a new Word document (and a new diary) whenever I feel that a significant break in my circumstances has merited a new journal start.

Emotional Disclaimers

The diary is a place where the only judgement we face is from our own selves (though for some, that may arguably be the harshest judgement of all). Unless we choose to share it with others, we need not fear critique about our content or writing skill. That being said, our journals are a good place to go back and see the states of mind we’ve developed over subsequent months or even years and some people may find the personality in their diaries to be much gloomier and more negative than who the world sees. Some go as far as to write disclaimers in front of their diaries for future readers saying: I’m sorry for all the negativity—it wasn’t actually as bad as all this!

One of the benefits of the diary is that in its pages, we can be the person we would like to be, are ashamed to be, are afraid of being, or even the person we don’t want to be. Many famous diarists have noted the cathartic benefits of penning rants, grievances, even unsent letters directed at friends, exes, or family members. The words that are too venomous to air in reality can lose their sting when we write them down. Though journaling is a private activity, many (myself included) feel a sense of freedom simply by recording the negativity, without the added necessity of airing it and potentially causing irrevocable damage in our connections with others.

Recording Joy

However, Rainer rightly points out that the diary shouldn’t just be a place for ranting. If we go back and find ourselves recording only our problems, she recommends some activities that encourage positive writing as well, for just as writing down negativity can potentially cauterise old wounds, recording joy can intensify our experiences and make us search for more positivity in our everyday life.

Making lists is one fast way to focus on the positive: What are we enjoying right now in our lives? It can be favourite activities, books, movies, music, foods—anything that makes us happy. We can also experiment with different modes of recording. If our diary tends to focus on narration, we can try one day to describe one of our happiest memories from childhood or from the recent past. What did the moment look, feel and sound like? What did we taste and smell? Writing down specific sensory information enhances the memory and is also enjoyable to read when going over our diaries later. We can also use recorded fantasies or daydreams to distil what we really want or expect out of our lives.

A Few Journaling Techniques for Different Directions

Unless we are professional writers or very serious about our journals, most journalists probably stay with one format or do not think too much of the voice they use. Still others may have started journaling by addressing a specific person (an ex-lover or an imaginary audience, for example, Anne Frank’s “Dear Kitty”) and then consistently address the entries to that person.

Here are some techniques that can change the direction of our writing or encourage new creativity. I’ve already mentioned lists and vivid descriptions, but a few more include:

Portraits: A detailed description of a person who has made a deep impression on us (either negative or positive) can be helpful in identifying what exactly draws or repels us about them and how to change our interactions with them, if we wish to.

Dialogues and unsent letters: Everyone has had an experience where they wished they had said something different than what actually came out of their mouth. The diary is a private place to have the conversations we wish we’d had, or wish to have in the future. It is also the place to send the letters we can’t send in real life, either because the intended recipient has passed away, or because we feel the letter to be inappropriate for whatever reason.

Altered points of view: During journaling, we can become other versions of ourselves in the most extreme form. We can write in the third person (So, “he did this,” or “she said that”) or even put ourselves in the place of someone completely different. This technique can be especially helpful when we have a complaint or problem with a friend or acquaintance that cannot be resolved. Writing from their perspective and having to consider their position can help us change our views and even resolve conflict to certain degrees.

The Journal as a Portal

Rainer says that “the present moment is the portal to past and future, and the diary is the vehicle that enables you to travel into both dimensions” (Rainer 229). The decision to go back and edit or even destroy our diaries is a personal one, but I find that any embarrassment suffered by badly written or over-dramatic entries is vastly overshadowed by the benefits reaped from having a portal to our old selves. The diary becomes a place where we can meet with the person we were and see the person we have become and are becoming every day. From my own personal experience, I can recall reading old entries and feeling awkwardness yes, but also surprise and a certain affection for the old self. I could get in touch with events that remained much more true and fresh on (metaphorical) paper than could have in my biased recollections. We cannot lie or discolour what we have written on the page, and having access to that truth is perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of keeping a journal.

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